Everyone was shocked.
Jaxon had defended her… again.
"Jaxon, what are you doing?" Kayla snapped angrily.
"I'm your future Luna! Why do you keep defending her?"
She pointed at me with disgust.
"She's just a poor, dirty, ugly commoner. Why are you on her side?"
Jaxon's expression didn't change.
"I'm not defending her," he said calmly. "I'm stopping you from doing something terrible."
Kayla froze slightly.
"She's weak," he continued. "You could kill her if I don't stop you."
He stepped closer, his voice turning colder.
"As the future Luna, you're supposed to protect your people. If you can't do that now… how do you expect to do it when you become Luna?"
The hallway went silent.
Kayla stared at him, shocked and furious.
"Wow… Jaxon, just wow," she said bitterly.
"What's so special about her? You've never done this for anyone before."
Her voice dropped dangerously.
"What makes her different from other lowlifes?"
She stepped closer.
"Do you like her?"
Jaxon scoffed lightly.
"Come on, Kayla. You know she's not my type," he said. "I'm just stopping you from doing something stupid."
Kayla clenched her fists.
"Let's go," Jaxon said, turning away. "Leave her alone. Don't bother her again."
Without waiting, he walked off.
Kayla glared at me one last time—full of hatred—before turning and leaving with her minions.
AKALYA POV
I was still on the floor… shocked.
The prince had stopped them.
Again.
A part of me felt relieved.
Grateful.
Because I didn't know what would have happened if he didn't come.
Something inside me had started to change.
It felt like… it was about to burst out.
Kayla finally left.
And Nora ran to me immediately.
She dropped to her knees beside me, already crying.
"Akalya!" she cried. "Are you okay? Oh my God…"
She was crying even more than I was.
I almost laughed a little.
She's such a cry baby…
I smiled weakly.
"I'm fine," I told her.
But she didn't listen.
She helped me up carefully and wrapped my arm around her shoulder.
"I'm taking you to the infirmary," she said firmly.
"Nora, I'm really fine—"
"No," she cut me off. "You're not fine."
And just like that, she dragged me along.
As Nora pulled me away… I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was still watching me.