Page 12 of Rebellious Royals

"Wilder's been getting a lot more shoulders hitting him in the halls. Glares too. Rain said Aspen was nervous this morning. You also need to know there was an incident last week."

"What incident?" I growled.

He gave me a tired look. "Relax. Not us. This was a college guy whose room was iced down. Ms. Rhodes told Rain."

Ok, that actually surprised me. Not that it had happened, but that the dean of Silver Oaks had made sure Rain knew? It seemed the general was doing more than I'd expected. Clearly I needed to rethink my opinion of her a bit.

"Have you seen anyone making a gesture?" I asked.

"Like a wheel churning?" he asked. "I'm not going to try, but yeah. It's quick too. Someone made it at me and their friend tried to stop them."

"Who?" I asked. "Because the guy who did it to me was in eleventh grade. Not a jester."

"Not a jester," Hawke agreed. "Mine was a college guy. One of those quiet ones. Wilder hasn't gotten it, and Rain had no clue what I was talking about."

"Fuck!" I hissed. "Hawke, something's going on. I need you to stay charged up."

"Always," he assured me. "Rain's running high too. I'll talk to Keir this afternoon..." He let his words trail off as a smirk took over. "I mean, unless you'd rather do the talking?"

"Fuck off," I grumbled, but the curl of my lips ruined my best attempt to act annoyed.

"I like him," Hawke said. "For youandRain. He's good with Aspen too."

"Yeah, she approves," I admitted. "But approving isn't the same as anything happening."

"Mhm," he said, making it clear he agreed and knew me better than that.

"That man is fixated on Rain," I reminded him.

"Shit," Hawke said around a laugh. "He's in love with her. She's in love with someone else. That someone else is trying to make sure all things work, so how about you let a dude suck your dick - trust me, it's worth it - and then we can break these fuckers who seem to be starting shit."

"Or we can skip right to the breaking," I pointed out. "Hawke, something's brewing."

"Usually. You sidhe shits get off on politics or something."

"Not me," I grumbled. "I just want to make sure things don't get fucked up now."

"But now," he said, "we're actually ready, Tor."

"Not yet," I countered. "Yes, we're all in place, but she doesn't want a fight."

"Too bad. It's coming, so you'd better get her ready."

I checked the space around me, then stepped closer to Hawke's chest. "I can't. She has to realize this is a good thing.Instead, she hates it. She thinks we're splitting people apart, and she just wants her life to be normal, or so she says. She isn't ready for that kind of responsibility. I'm sure you can figure out the rest."

"Shit," Hawke breathed. "But she said she was ok with this!"

"Ok is a good word. Not good. Not bad. Hawke, she's trying so hard to be all things to all people that she's pulling herself apart at the seams."

"Or," he offered, "maybe her way of doing things isn't the same as yours?"

Ok, he had a point. I wanted my sister to take her crown and shove it in everyone's faces. I also wanted her to hide it away and make sure no one knew so they couldn't come at her. I was pretty sure she was feeling the same thing, and since she couldn't exactly do both, all I could feel from her was the strain of it all.

"I just have a bad feeling about all the onlookers," I told my best friend. "The courtiers can confirm we were out there when the Hunt hit. For some, that's all the confirmation they'll need to believe the rest."

"Because it's true," Hawke whispered. "Tor, we've got this."

"We do not fucking have this," I snarled into his face. "You know as well as I do what's about to happen, and I won't be the one paying for it. I need more power. I have to make sure my control is impeccable. I need -"