CROSSFIRE HEARTS

Chapter 1: The Psychology of Chaos

Cecily Knight walked into the lecture hall, heels clicking against polished tile, head held high despite the storm she carried inside.

She wasn't the same girl who used to blush when Landon King passed by in the hallway. That Cecily had been soft-spoken and gentle, hiding behind her psychology textbooks and bottled-up emotions. But that version of her died the day she watched Landon wrap his arm around Mia Sokolov-unapologetically, possessively. Like he'd never looked twice at anyone else. Especially not Cecily.

Now, she was bold.

She wore red lipstick that dared anyone to speak against her, black eyeliner sharp enough to slice insecurities. Her voice was velvet and venom, and her eyes-always watching, always reading.

"Knight," a familiar voice drawled.

She didn't have to turn. She knew who it was. Killian Carson-med student, future heartbreaker, certified menace. He leaned against the doorframe with a half-eaten apple in hand and a stethoscope hanging out of his pocket like a flex.

"I have an anatomy quiz in twenty minutes," Cecily said, flipping a page in her notebook.

"You're not even in med school."

"I know," she smirked. "But I figured if I wanted to understand your brain, I should start with the basics."

Killian's grin widened. "You've been trying to psychoanalyze me since freshman year. Hasn't worked."

"Who said it hasn't?"

Killian's eyes darkened just a little. Enough to make Cecily feel like he was looking past her skin and into something deeper. Something she wasn't sure she wanted seen.

But before she could say anything else, the door swung open and in walked Landon King-tall, brooding, and untouchable. And right behind him, Glyndon King. Her childhood friend turned distant rival.

Cecily watched as Glyndon's eyes followed Landon like a shadow, the kind you don't notice until you're drowning in it. She felt the twinge in her chest-nostalgia? Guilt? Jealousy? She wasn't sure. Not anymore.

But what stole her breath for a second was the man who walked in next.

Jeremy Volkov.

He didn't speak. Didn't have to. The way his eyes met hers from across the room-dark, intense, almost hungry-said everything. His hand was loosely wrapped around Ava Nash's waist, but his gaze? Fixed on Cecily like she was the beginning and the end.

Cecily smiled-slow, dangerous. She leaned back in her chair, daring Jeremy to look longer. And he did.

Killian noticed. "Volkov's got a death wish," he muttered.

"Why?" she asked innocently.

"Because if he keeps looking at you like that while his girlfriend's in the room..." Killian stepped closer, lowering his voice, "he's going to end up losing more than just his pride."

Cecily tilted her head, gaze locked with Jeremy's across the room. "Maybe he's ready to lose something."

Killian's jaw tightened. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"You ready to burn a kingdom just because a king looked your way?"

She turned to face him, eyes burning gold under the fluorescents. "I don't burn kingdoms, Killian. I build them. And then I choose who's worthy to rule."