6.55 – Consequences

6.55 – Consequences

"I didn't do anything," Natalie said. "I told you I wouldn't, didn't I? But, um, Alaina might have done a few things to me."

Jordan gave her perhaps the flattest look in all of existence.

Natalie's ears burned.

"And, um," she continued. "Someone might've found us ... I mean, her, on me, getting intimate ... in the middle of a public alleyway."

The flat look turned disbelieving.Th.ê most uptodate novels are published on n(0)velbj)n(.)co/m

"Alaina said I should go find you, and that we should take an early train back to Aradon," Natalie finished. "Apparently her dad is ... protective. Might make a big fuss. We don't know how long it'll be before he finds out, but Alaina knows it'll happen. Apparently the woman who found us is loyal to him, so there's no way she stays quiet."

Jordan stared at her.

Finally, she forlornly looked down at her half-eaten pastry, and let out an enormous sigh. She wrapped it up in the paper it had come in and walked over to the nearest bin, tossing it in the trash.

"Natalie," Jordan said. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"H-Hey."

"Do you really have to fuck anything that wiggles its ass at you? Anything at all?" She walked up to Natalie and poked her in the chest. Narrow green eyes scrutinized her. "Do you not already get your pick of us, three times a day?"

But, admittedly, a small part of her couldn't help but think:

At least the pussy was good.

It was probably for the best that she didn't voice that to her teammates.

***

By some miracle, they escaped Tarenhelm without issue. The next train had only been forty-five minutes from departure, and that hadn't been quick enough for the Baron to discover what had happened and come chasing after them—whether he would even do something like that.

They made it to Tenet well past evening, with night having taken over. They hauled their luggage to their respective dorms and unpacked. Despite her exasperation and annoyance, Jordan wasn't actually mad; she cuddled up with Natalie like normal that night. Though it went no further than cuddling. That might've been because Natalie didn't initiate, not wanting to push her luck. Could've just been that they were both exhausted too. Natalie had been through a wringer of a day. Those bruises from the chieftain had gone nowhere.

The next morning, they made their report to Tenet. They omitted anything to do with Greed and Natalie's class, instead simply explaining what had happened—including the golden veins, but not offering any theories of their own. The only part they outright lied about was the shards of Greed Natalie had absorbed. All else was unfiltered.

Later, she wasn't sure how long from now, she would be meeting with the King to give a full report. Liz had work to do on her side to arrange that. The concept disoriented Natalie. A meeting with the King. How insane.

The day at Tenet passed like normal. Morning training, followed by classes, then lunch, and academics. A part of her started to relax, wondering whether anything would even come from her indiscretion with Alaina. The team had been split on whether to tell Tenet what Natalie had done, but they had decided against it. It was possible the Baron wouldn't want rumors to spread and would fume in silence.

Then the other shoe dropped. At the end of the academic day, a Tenet official fetched her, a woman in a prim suit and high heels. The dean of the academy wanted to speak with her, she told Natalie. She tried not to panic; it was possible that she'd been sent for because the dean wanted clarification on their bizarre quest report. In fact, that was likely the case, logically speaking.

But her hopes were squashed when, stepping into the dean's office, Natalie found herself in a meeting with not just one of the most powerful and influential women in the world, the dean of Tenet Delving Academy, but also Baron Crestwood.

And neither of them looked happy in the slightest.