Fated to the Triplet Alphas-Chapter 27: Tales of Spice

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Chapter 27

~Jade’s POV~

After classes that day, we all headed to the training grounds for our last period before our mock trial’s lessons.

Since it was a combined training with the sophomore year, the training grounds were louder than usual, filled with overlapping voices and the dull thud of practice strikes against padded targets.

"Warm up," I muttered.

"More like show offs," Javelin chipped in.

I stood near the edge of the field, tightening the strap of my wrist guard and trying to ignore the way my thoughts kept drifting back to the announcement earlier.

Torch Bearer Games of Prestige Lunar Academy. Everything felt heavier since then, like the academy itself was holding its breath.

Rumour had it that it was as brutal as the Trial of the Moon and once I had sneaked to get a glimpse.

"Jade."

I turned at the sound of Isadora’s voice. She was walking toward me dressed in her sport’s wear with someone new at her side.

Silvie. Javelin tensed as she approached.

She looked exactly as she always did, perfect posture, smooth smile, and eyes that never quite matched the warmth she pretended to show. The kind of smile that made you feel like you were being measured.

"Hey," Isadora said, stopping in front of me. "I was just about to look for you."

Her tone was normal, but something about the way Silvie stood slightly behind her, listening instead of speaking, made my shoulders tense. My eyes were on her fully to make Isadora know, she wasn’t invited in my circle.

"This is Silvie," Isadora added. "And as you know, she just transferred into our class."

"Yes, how could I forget? She spared with me on her first day here. And lost."

I noticed the glint in Silvie’s eyes for a second, before masking it with that warm smile.

Scratching the back of her head, Isadora added shyly, "Oh, yes. Umm... We were talking about training groups."

Silvie stepped forward and offered her hand. "It’s nice to finally and officially meet you, Jade."

"Yeah, like all the times we’ve met in the palace. Who the heck did she think she was playing trying to get close to me through my friend?"

"I’ve heard a lot about you," Silvie added with a more charming, suggestive smile.

I hesitated for half a second before shaking her hand. "From who?"

"From everyone," she said lightly. "It’s hard not to hear things when you arrive in the middle of so much... excitement."

Isadora laughed, clearly trying to keep things friendly. "She was asking about the Torch Bearer Games. I told her you’d probably take it seriously."

"Probably?" I repeated, glancing at Isadora.

She grinned. "Definitely."

I did not know whether the fact that another hot girl was suddenly befriending her, was what made Isadora giddy without seeing the claws her enemy wielded.

Silvie’s eyes flicked between us, and her smile widened just a little. "I was hoping we could get along. New place, new people. It’s always easier when someone shows you the ropes."

I nodded, but something about her tone felt rehearsed, too smooth, and too careful.

Before I could respond, two familiar voices cut in. "Jade."

I turned again to see Adrian and Silver walking toward us. Adrian looked relaxed as always, while Silver had his phone in his hand, thumb moving across the screen like he was already half distracted.

"We were just looking for you," Adrian said. "They’re assigning temporary pairs for the first week of training. Thought maybe we could team up."

Silver nodded, briefly taking his eyes off his phone. He was bad at distractions, and multi-tasking, which was good and bad all the same. "Yeah. At least until they reshuffle based on performance."

Isadora brightened. "That’s a good idea. We should stick together at the start."

Silvie tilted her head. "I wouldn’t mind joining too, if that’s okay."

There it was again. That polite, perfectly timed insertion. Isadoa’s face lit up.

I sighed softly, making sure to keep my tone neutral. "We can figure it out."

Silver’s phone vibrated in his hand, followed by several pings all at the same time. He frowned at the screen. Then it vibrated again, and again.

Adrian noticed, well we all did. "What is it?"

Silver’s expression shifted. "The forum, sthe school’s gossip site, Tales of Spice. It’s going crazy."

For some unknown reason, my stomach tightened. "Why?"

He didn’t answer right away. His eyes were scanning whatever was on his screen, and the color slowly drained from his already handsome face.

"Silver?" I pressed. This was not good.

Students were starting to walk past us in small groups, and I noticed the way some of them were whispering. A few of them looked at me and then quickly looked away. Others didn’t bother hiding it.

"Jade this is not good," Javelin warned.

No kidding. My chest felt tight. "What’s going on?"

"It’s probably nothing," Adrian said, but he didn’t sound convinced either.

Silver locked his phone and slipped it into his pocket. "It’s stupid gossip. Don’t worry about it."

That only made my heart start racing. "You don’t look like it’s nothing, Silver. Spill the bean."

"It’s just the forum being the forum," he blurted. "You know how they are."

I took a step closer. "Silver. What did they post?"

He hesitated, then shook his head. "You don’t need to see it."

That was the wrong thing to say. I reached for his pocket. "Give me the phone."

"Jade, wait—"

I grabbed it anyway—thankfully it was still the same password I had seen him type in once or twice before vacation, Silver spelt backwards—and unlocked the screen before he could stop me. The page was already open.

Tales of Spice with my name was right there.

I felt my breath catch. "What is this?"

Silver moved fast, trying to take the phone back before I could scroll down further. "I said I’ll handle it. Let me take it down first."

But before he could grab it, someone bumped into me from the side.

"Oops," Silvie voiced smoothly.

The phone slipped from my hand and hit the ground. For a split second, everything froze.

Then Silver moved faster than I did, bent, snatched it up, and took off running. "I’ll help you take this down!" he called over his shoulder.

"Silver!" Adrian shouted, then looked at me, clearly torn. "My phone’s in my locker. I’ll go after him. Just... stay here, okay?"

And then he was gone too.

I stood there, my hands slowly curling into fists. "What did he see?" I asked no one in particular, quietly.

Isadora looked uncomfortable. "Jade, maybe you should sit down."

That made my pulse spike. "Why would I need to sit down? Do you know what it is about?"

Isadora shrieked at my anger. I shook my head, muttering an apology to her. My phone too wasn’t with me. I just needed to find out what they were looking at.

Silvie stepped forward. Her smile was still there, but now it felt different, sharper.

"I think you deserve to know what everyone else is already talking about," she said.

"What are you talking about?" I demanded.

She pulled out her own phone and tapped the screen a few times, completely unhurried.

"Two posts," she said. "Both trending."

My stomach dropped. "Silvie, don’t—"

She had no intention of playing with me and turned the screen toward me.

"Relax," she said softly, with something almost like satisfaction in her eyes. "It’s already everywhere."

I looked, and my world tilted. There they were two pictures of me, and they showed me in poses that revealed far more skin than I had ever shown anyone, with my name right under them.

Trending.