The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy novel Chapter 803

“We have no confirmation of that,” Dominic snaps, his eyes likewise on Jacks. Jackson starts to breathe hard, panicking at the idea of it. Was this – was this the Goddess reassigning someone after Luca rejected her? Or –

“Really,” Roger says, breaking in with a nod, “they would say that, just to establish Ariel as a member of their court, to have a true claim on her, we can’t know –“

But Jackson is done listening. He turns hard on his heel, heading back into the bedroom, straight for the closet. Before he’s halfway across the room, he hears the patter of the Queen’s footsteps behind him.

She reaches him, her hands outstretched, as he hauls the bag up on his shoulder. “Jackson,” Ella says, looking up at him with worried eyes. “Don’t –“

“It doesn’t change anything,” Jackson intones, his voice low and gravelly, looking with perfect seriousness into Ella’s eyes. “Mate or not, I’m going to get her. They’re still the enemy. It’s still a world that seeks to…destroy its women.” He drops his eyes on the words, shaking his head, hating again that she’s there. That some other man even has made a claim on her, when she’s so clearly his.

“Jackson,” Ella says, cool and strict, making him raise his eyes to hers again. “I don’t want you going out there unless you have your head on straight. No heroics. No…suicide missions. All right?”

“I promise,” Jackson says, meaning it. “None of this changes anything for me, Ella. It was…good to see her well.” He swallows hard, thinking of how beautiful she looked, even with her waist pinched so tight. “But all of the other stuff? It…Ella, I just want to go. Please, let me get started.”

“All right,” Ella whispers, looking over her shoulder at the closet door. “Let’s go, darling.” She nods to him once more and the two quickly leave the closet by the third door, which leads down a set of stairs and then into a servant’s hall that Jackson hasn’t seen before.

He follows the Queen through a long set of hallways that lead, to his surprise, out to a set of garages.

“There,” Ella says, gesturing towards a black car that has a man Jackson recognizes driving – one of their trusted bodyguards. “You go with Conner, he’ll take you to the outskirts and then to the badlands, where you can cross to Atalaxia.”

Jackson nods, knowing that it’s a good plan. Fast, secret. They had decided to keep it small, knowing that Dominic would object, that he’d want to keep Jackson there to help the military. But…both Ella and Jackson know, in their hearts, that that’s the wrong choice. That Jackson’s abilities are best used in stealth now, going on an individual mission.