Page 18 of Rebellious Royals

"Ok? But we can change that, can't we? I mean, if I'm supposed to bring balance, and this is clearly far from being balanced..."

"No, that's not what I'm getting at," she told me. "My point is that things are already unbalanced. Then you have a group of fae who believe the Exodus was a chance to start over. To remake things the 'right' way, and do whatever it takes to make that happen. Extremists, basically. They want to learn everything, push the boundaries, and keep to themselves - as in no human contact. I hear the students here are called the Children of the Exodus."

I vaguely remembered hearing something about them when I'd first arrived. I'd assumed they were the nerdy group of the school. Clearly, I'd been wrong about that. Instead, they werestarting to sound like the sort of deranged freaks I wanted to stay far away from.

"So, school shooter types?" I asked, just to make sure I was following along.

Tag nodded. "Sadly, yes. That's why Ivy doesn't want me telling you about them. The ones we caught the other day? They call themselves The Silent because they do not speak of this outside their group."

"So, how do we know they're extremists and not just shy?" I asked.

Tag gave me a knowing smile. "This is our school, Rain. We have our ways. No, we don't know enough, but we do know more about our students than most of you realize. That means you need to know too, so you can protect Aspen and Wilder."

"And the rest?" I pointed out.

"The Silent won't care about the rest. Well, maybe Hawke." She winked, proving she knew about him too. "But Torian and Keir are safe from them. I'm not sure about you. In other words, watch your back."

Chapter Five

TORIAN

When our eighth and last class of the day was done, I had every intention of walking my sister back to her room. Instead, Keir, Rain, and Hawke walked in just as Aspen, Wilder, and I came around the atrium. My darling sister's face lit up, and she actually skipped ahead to meet up with Rain.

I sighed heavily, trying to keep from laughing at how cute those two were. Wilder cast me a sideways glance just as we reached the guys. Hawke jerked his chin at Wilder. Wilder nodded back.

"Food?" Hawke suggested.

"Sounds perfect," Wilder agreed. "Tor, you need us?"

"Go," I told them. "I'm headed up. Ms. Rhodes is trying her hardest to bust my balls."

"More like keep you from sticking your nose into shit," Keir said as he fell in beside me. "Night, Rain!"

"Night, Keir!" both Rain and Aspen called back.

I rolled my eyes, but that was cute. I also took my time sauntering past the atrium as I watched the reflection in theglass to make sure their elevator came. When we reached the door to enter the atrium, Keir leaned across my body to pull it open.

"Cutting across?" he asked, tilting his head like I was supposed to go in first.

I did, using the turn as an excuse to check the girls again. Their elevator had just opened, which meant they were as safe as I could make them. Pausing, I watched as the doors closed and the numbers began to climb higher, showing what floor the car was on.

"So, sounds like Rain's getting all the good gossip," Keir told me as he turned me toward the other side. "Evidently, Anita Taggert - "

"Tag," I said, proving I knew who he was talking about even though I didn't take any of her classes.

"Yeah, she says those 'new court on earth' freaks are the ones who are out of hand."

I gave him a careful look. "Who?"

"Children of the Exodus," Keir said. "I'm sure you've seen them sitting quietly at lunch?"

I murmured. "The faelings who are even more outcasts than we are?"

"And fervent about the 'truth' of Faerie?" Keir offered. "Yeah, them. I guess that's who Ms. Rhodes is watching right now. Tag didn't say why, but she gave Rain enough to point her in that direction." He rocked his head from side to side. "And our little Morrigan did a very nice job of telling the truth about what happened on Aspen's birthday, leaving out all the things we shouldn't want people to know."

"Like they'll buy that," I grumbled.

"Oh, she mentioned enough to tempt them."