Page 14 of Rebellious Royals

"Well, I'm pretty good at it, and that applies to deciphering the looks I'm getting in the halls. People aren't all happy with me. Some are pissed, and it's worse for Aspen. All I'm saying is that you might think you're the king of this school, but I have a bad feeling someone intends to take you down a few pegs."

Damn, she was good. The first week she'd come to Silver Oaks Institute, she'd thought my arrogance was that of a normal high school boy. She'd been wrong, but that was what she was referencing. It also sounded true, which meant no one around us would feel a lie in her chiding. If anyone was listening in, they'd think she was still annoyed with me.

No wonder my sister was in love with her. And fuck, was it a strong feeling. In all my life, I'd liked many girls, but I'd never felt likethatabout them. When Aspen thought about Rain, it was a release of fear, a rush of happiness, and this awarenessthat there were no limits between them. It was similar to what I felt for my sister, but more wild and intense. More immediate.

More romantic.

I'd thought my attraction to Rain was because of her glorious curves and sensual human features. I was starting to realize it was my sister's lust flooding into my mind. There was a need with it, and an insecurity. But it was hard to separate all of that from the brilliant and driven girl who'd stepped into my world and now refused to leave.

The one beside me was a fighter. Oh, she'd never call herself that, but I did. Rain le Fae was kind, gentle, and dangerous - all in the same beautiful person. She caught the eye, dared the mind, and pushed the boundaries.

More than all of that, she was my friend, and I didn't have many of those.

"Hey," I breathed. "How are you holding up?"

"Me?"

I nodded. "Yeah, because I have a feeling no one's asked you that yet."

Her teeth clamped down on her lower lip and she stared at the desk. "I don't actually know. Tor, I think I'm happy. Is that wrong?"

"No." It was a good thing. The best - I just hadn't expected it. "Maybe you can teach me that trick sometime?"

"How to be happy?" she asked, clearly confused.

So I met her eyes and simply stared. For a little too long, she looked back, but I could see she was thinking. The fact that her crow was keeping his beak shut all but proved it. Then her eyes began to jump across my face as if she was looking for something.

"For me, finding my family helped," she whispered.

"Same," I agreed.

"And my friends."

My fingers tensed into a fist on the desk. "Rain..."

"Because friends are important," she continued, all but ignoring me. "They have your back when you need it, don't spill your secrets, and push you to do the silly things you really want to." And she lifted a brow pointedly, almost like asking if I was keeping up.

And I was. Having my back? She meant fighting for me - well, us. Keeping secrets? That was a reference to our titles. The silly things? I had a feeling she was talking about Keir, but I could be wrong there. Still, she was getting her message across loud and clear.

"So does this mean we're friends now, Rain le Fae?"

She paused as the teacher walked in, then hurried to say, "Well, I'm certainly not your bitch, so I think friends will do, Torian Hunt. Try not to fuck it up, ok?"

"I'll do my best," I told her - and truly meant it.

Chapter Four

RAIN

At lunch, the court compared notes. For the most part, we'd all been noticing the same things. Even worse, the jesters kept looking over at us like they were confused - and none of them tried to start shit. To me, that meant something had definitely changed over spring break, but I couldn't go over and just ask.

But when we headed outside for our afternoon classes, Hawke made a point of walking with me. The guy smiled a few times, but he didn't say anything until we were both far enough away from the main building and not close enough to the Forge.

Then he stopped. "Wait up a sec?"

Expecting something like this, I turned to face him. "Ok, what?"

"I don't like you being in the Forge, ok?" He quickly shoved a hand over his mouth. "It's the one place none of us can come help you, and while I can tolerate more iron than them, because, um, you know..."