Chapter 1 The Boy Everyone Feared

LIONA

“What’re you gonna do if I don’t move?”

Damian Cross leaned against the desk in front of me, blocking the narrow path between the rows.

My heart slammed painfully against my ribs.

I swallowed hard and tightened my grip on my notebook.

I didn’t want trouble.

That was the thing about Stoneleigh Academy. Trouble found you anyway.

Especially if you were poor.

Especially if you were different.

Especially if you were me.

It had only been two weeks since I arrived at Stoneleigh on scholarship, and somehow I had already become entertainment for the rich kids.

Lucky me.

Beside Damian, Sloane Kensington crossed her arms over her expensive blazer, blue eyes glittering with amusement. Perfect blonde hair. Perfect makeup. Perfect cruel smile.

Queen of Stoneleigh.

And apparently one of my personal nightmare.

I stepped to the side quietly. “Excuse me.”

Damian moved too, blocking me again.

Behind him, somebody snorted.

Heat crawled up my neck.

I just needed to get to the bathroom before class started. That was it. But even something that simple felt impossible here.

“Excuse me,” I repeated, softer this time.

Damian mocked my voice instantly.

“Excuuuuse me,” he whined in a fake trembling voice.

The classroom erupted into laughter.

I felt every pair of eyes on me.

Some students looked entertained.

Some looked uncomfortable.

Most looked away.

Nobody at Stoneleigh helped scholarship students. Not if they wanted to survive socially.

The worst part was that I had tried to stay invisible.

I kept my head down. Sat quietly and avoided eye contact.

Somehow, they still found me anyway.

Slowly, I took a step back toward my seat.

I’d rather hold my bladder than deal with another scene.

The bruise under my eye from last week was still fading.

Before I could sit down, pain exploded across my scalp.

I cried out as Damian grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked me backward so hard my vision blurred.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” he snarled.

Tears instantly burned my eyes.

“L-let go…”

“You don’t turn your back on me, pig.”

And then he slammed my face into the edge of the desk.

Pain detonated through my nose.

A sharp crack.

A scream ripped out of me as I hit the floor.

For a second everything went fuzzy.

Then warmth spilled over my lips.

Blood.

My blood dripped onto the white classroom tiles.

Humiliation crashed into me so hard I thought it might actually kill me.

Nobody moved or said anything.

I curled slightly against the floor, dizzy, trying not to cry in front of everyone.

Damian crouched beside me and grabbed my hair again, forcing my head up.

His expression was calm now.

That somehow made it worse.

“The next time you disrespect me,” he said quietly, “I’ll break more than your nose.”

My breathing shook.

Then the energy in the class changed.

A girl’s voice cut through the noise, half-excited, half-terrified.

“Ryder Russo is here!”

Everything changed.

The room erupted instantly.

Students scrambled back to their seats.

Whispers spread like wildfire.

Even Damian released me immediately and stepped away.

I stayed frozen on the floor, blood still dripping down my mouth, trying to understand what was happening.

Then the classroom went silent.

Completely silent.

A strange chill slid down my spine.

And suddenly I smelled it.

Cedarwood.

Warm vanilla.

Something darker underneath.

My stomach twisted.

Slowly, I lifted my head.

Black boots stopped directly in front of me.

Then long legs.

Broad shoulders.

Black hair falling slightly over sharp blue eyes.

The boy standing above me was easily taller than everyone else in the room. Cold-looking. Beautiful in a way that didn’t feel real.

The entire class watched him like prey watching a predator.

His gaze dropped to me.

To the blood on my face.

Then back to my eyes.

Something strange flickered across his expression.

Not pity and definitely not concern.

My pulse skipped.

“Move,” he said.

His voice was deep, calm but terrifying.

I scrambled up so fast I nearly slipped on my own blood.

“S-sorry.”

My face burned with humiliation as I stumbled sideways, gripping the desk for balance.

He walked past me toward the back row like the room belonged to him.

Nobody spoke.

Nobody breathed.

That cedarwood-and-vanilla scent lingered in the air even after he sat down.

I became painfully aware of everyone staring at me.

The bleeding scholarship girl.

The loser.

The freak.

I quickly wiped under my nose with my sleeve.

Then, against my better judgment, I glanced backward.

The new boy was already watching me.

Those icy blue eyes locked onto mine with an intensity that made goosebumps rise across my arms.

I looked away immediately.

“Vaughn.”

I jumped.

Mrs. Fairfax stood in the doorway, frowning.

Her gaze landed on the blood covering my uniform.

“Oh my God. What happened to your nose?”

A quiet snicker came from Sloane’s direction.

I looked at Damian instinctively.

The warning in his eyes was clear.

Say something and you’ll regret it.

I lowered my gaze.

“I walked into a wall, ma’am.”

Mrs. Fairfax blinked. “A wall?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Silence.

She didn’t look convinced.

But she also didn’t push.

That told me everything I needed to know about Stoneleigh Academy.

“Go to the nurse,” she said finally. “Then come back to class.”

I nodded quickly and hurried toward the door.

But the second I stepped into the hallway, goosebumps prickled across the back of my neck.

Like someone was watching me.

I turned around.

Those bright blue eyes were still on me.

Unmoving.

Cold.

My stomach tightened.

Who the hell was Ryder Russo?

And why did looking at him feel worse than looking at Damien Cross?