Stomach roiling, Arilee Selvig sat on the bed in her room at school and watched as her step-mother paced the small area. It was only the day after her talk with Navi about family. And she was sorry that she’d chosen to come back to her room after her first round of classes. It had made her far too easy for the step-b***h to find and corner her. And rather than cause a scene, she’d submitted to the painful interview meekly.

“… and I don’t understand why you’re so wasteful of every opportunity you’ve been given, Arilee. I really don’t. Just because your father has money and your mother left you a sizeable trust fund doesn’t mean that you should be wasting it on doing your best to look and act like a delinquent.”

Arilee closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath through her nose in an effort to keep her temper in check. It was the same old line of bullshit. She wasn’t ladylike enough, she wasn’t grateful enough for being shunted off to various boarding schools. She wasn’t grateful enough for the fact that her mother’s death had left her with a sizeable inheritance. Her fingertips found the blanket and dug in, the only visible sign of distress she would allow herself. At least the lecture should be winding up soon with the usual threats of shipping her off somewhere new if things didn’t improve.

And then, she received an emotional blow to the gut that she had not been expecting.

“I’ve already talked to your father and he agrees. We’ve arranged an enrollment for you at my old finishing school. I’m sure you’ve heard me talk about St. Eglantine’s in England. You’ll be leaving in a month. They were kind enough to arrange a quick entrance for you. And I’ve spoken to the faculty here and they’re willing to waive some of your assignments and exams.”

She had paused, clearly expecting some sort of reaction. All Arilee could manage to do was gape and stare. And, at some point in the middle of her dumbfounded reaction, her step-mother had let herself out of the room.

One month. One ******** month before she was being shipped off to another country against her will. Oh, this was not good. Not good at all. How on earth was she going to explain this to her Princess and her newfound family? Granted, she could mirror walk, but not that far. Not yet. No, clearly something else would have to be done.

Throwing herself back into her bed, the tall, mohawked blonde felt a small burst of panic deep in her chest. She could try just dropping out of school, but that in an of itself was a mess. Her parents could still track her down and bundle her onto a plane. And if they really wanted to play nasty, they could find a way to freeze her inheritance from her mother. No, she’d have to be smart about this. The first step would be to make sure she had control of her own money. That would be a project for after her step-mother was on a plane safely away from Destiny City.

Then, she would have to talk to Leto, if not Ares herself.