Chapter 496

"Judge me not, Ariel, that librarian is cute. And not all of us are on a sex ban right now," he says, dry, laughing a little. "Don't hold the rest of us to your ridiculous standards. There's a lot of hooking up at this Academy - just not in your room."

I ignore his glib remark - because honestly, they're Luca and Jackson's standards, not mine - and look at him curiously. "So are the rest of the Cadets hooking up...with each other?"

"Some are,” Ben says, giving a little shrug. "The rest go down to Newtown to meet girls."

I just stare at him, a little agape. He stares back for a second before he bursts out laughing.

"You seriously haven't even heard of Newtown?" he asks, leaning forward to stare at me. "Ariel. You let those boys keep you too sheltered."

"Well, I didn't even know I was being sheltered!" I burst out, throwing my hands out to the side. "What the hell is Newtown!?"

"It's not really a town," Ben says, grinning, I think a little delighted that he gets to be the one to dispossess me of my naiveté. "More of like...a camp? I mean, the roads are made of dirt, the buildings were thrown up hastily ten or twenty years ago and were not made to last. But there are bars there - and girls. Some looking to meet Academy guys, some for hire, if you know what I mean. And then some Cadets' girlfriends and wives live there full time, though that's all kept very much on the down low. Cadets sneak out to go there at night, or go on weekends in second year, when we're allowed to leave the Castle."

My mouth falls open a bit because...well, because I've never even thought of sneaking out of the Castle.

"Have you gone?" I ask, turning sharp eyes on Ben.

"Nah," he says, stretching his arms above his head. "I'm kept entertained enough here."

"Can I go?"

He bursts out laughing again. "Why would you want to do that!?"

"Because," I say, eager, leaning forward towards him. "I want to see it! It's fascinating! I want to go to the bars and meet the women." "You sheltered girls," Ben says, teasing and shaking his head. "Always the most curious. It's not like, nice, Ariel. It can be dangerous." "Yeah well, I'm dangerous now too." I say, smug, leaning back in my chair and making Ben's grin deepen. "Or at least I'm going to be soon." "I have no doubts," he murmurs.

I sigh happily, relaxed in my chair, looking around the room and out the windows. "Thank you for bringing me here," I say quietly. "I like it a lot."

"I like it too," he says, his expression softening. "I come here a lot by myself to study - it's the quietest place in the castle. And..." he shrugs. "I've been here with the librarian a couple of times."

"Oh yeah?" I ask, raising my eyebrow at him. "Are things...serious with you two?"noveldrama

"Nah,” Ben says immediately, shaking his head. "I always made it clear that my feelings were elsewhere. And while I initially meant Rafe..." he sighs and looks away out the window. "Everything is different now."

I follow Ben's gaze and realize that he's looking south and east.

Towards Atalaxia.

Towards his mate.

My heart sinks for him, because I don't know how he stands it. Even if things were confusing with my mates when I first found them, at least they were always around where I could see them - sleeping in the same room as me, in fact, for the first few weeks.

But the idea of recognizing your mate from across the room? And realizing they're your enemy? And then watching them leave the palace, and the country, for good?

God, I don't know how he handles any of it.

“Ben?" I ask, my voice soft. He turns his head back to me. "Will you tell me what happened?"

He sighs, his usually cheerful expression falling as he looks down into his lap.

And then, Ben begins.