The Republic of Linae (Book 1)

Chapter 17: Lydia

Resisting the urge to fiddle with the long sleeves to my shirt, I try to ignore the nerves tying knots in the pit of my stomach.

I am currently standing outside of the private school of the most powerful kids in the country. Some of them are the most powerful kids in the world. My job is to walk in there and pretend to be something I am not as if these kids won't be able to see right through my facade as soon as I walk through those doors.

My feet remain planted in their spot as students walk past me into the building. None of them even spare me a second glance.

I should not have let Flicker talk me into this.

Before I can even consider turning around, someone gently taps on my shoulder.

Jumping, I slowly turn around. The girl standing behind me stares up at me with inquisitive green eyes. Her red hair with a small white streak shines in the dim sunlight. Freckles dust her pale face. She flashes me an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," she informs me.

Immediately shaking my head, I force a pleasant smile over my face. "It's fine, I was just completely wrapped up in my thoughts."

The girl sticks out her hand. "You must be one of our new temporary students. I'm Celeste. I'm one of the two people assigned to show you around the school."

Taking her cold hand, I furrow my eyebrows as I stare at her. There's something familiar about her, but I cannot quite discern it. "One of—"

"I wasn't expecting to be in the presence of three ladies," an accented voice states. I move my gaze to a boy, who is approaching us with a charming smile. His golden brown skin looks absolutely gorgeous in the morning sunlight. Amusement flares in his blue green eyes when he catches me staring at him. He winks over in my direction. "I would have worn something a bit more formal."

As if he needed to dress up anymore. He's wearing a loosely fitted white shirt with a long v that slips to the end of his sternum. A black beaded necklace adorns his throat with a silver pendant hanging off of it. Rings decorate his long fingers, glinting in the bright sunlight. His black pants swallow every single bit of the light that it touches.

Heat rushes to my cheeks despite the fact that I want to gag at the attempt of flirtation and the realization that I am staring. I force my gaze away from the boy and look toward the girl, who is walking beside him.

My heart completely stops beating at the sight of my best friend. It has been a little over a month since I have seen her, and she has changed so much since then. Her once sickly pale skin glows. There's something different about her blonde hair, but it's difficult to decipher what exactly it is. It's obviously longer, but there's something more healthy about it. The shape of her body has also changed. Only a month ago, she was a scrawny girl who would get knocked over in the wind. Now, she looks more like a grown woman.

She rolls her blue eyes at the boy before turning to face the two of us. It somehow feels as though she has grown taller. Perhaps she has, seeing how we were very similar in height when I last saw her. "Don't mind him, he's just a natural flirt," she informs us. She places quotations around the words "natural flirt".

Celeste beams at the boy. "I'm Celeste," she greets with an outstretched hand.

He takes her hand and places it to his lips. Redness spreads along the girl's cheeks while he looks up at her through lowered lashes. "A pleasure to meet you, Celeste," he states. "I'm Prince Caspian of Consahdance."

It's hard to keep the shock off of my face. I had completely forgotten that the Prince of Consahdance had arrived last week. Of course he would be spending as much time as possible with Allyson. Of course my first day would also coincide with the prince's.