Page 19 of Rebellious Royals

"Like?" I asked as I reached for the door on the other side, letting Keir go first this time.

"Gates," he said. "A birthday party outside that was approved by Ms. Rhodes. Us fighting back-to-back against the Hunt, and how you, Aspen, and Wilder all used some impressive magic. Right, and that she killed one."

"She took the credit for that?" I asked.

"Blame," Keir corrected. "Rain made it clear she used an iron sword. Well, steel, but you know what I mean. Tag called her out for slacking in class, pulled her out, and yeah."

So I put the human weaponsmith onto my list of people I was learning to trust. It wasn't a long one. The court was on it, of course. So were Rain's fathers. Ms. Rhodes and Nurse Robin were the only other ones. Now, it seemed Tag needed to be put at the bottom.

I wouldn't trust her yet, but I would give her a chance. I also wanted to know what the tie was between her and Ms. Rhodes. The human wore a few too many protection spells - all with Ms. Rhodes' signature - and that raised questions. I hadn't asked, but I was starting to think I should.

"You went quiet again," Keir said as he hurried forward to hit the button for the elevator. "Bad lesson today?"

"Easy lessons," I assured him. "It's more that I know something's going on, and I know better than to trust it."

"Your mom?" he asked softly, moving beside me to wait for the car to get down.

I glanced over, aware this man was handsome. Shockingly so, if I was honest. His blonde hair was truly a golden shade. His clothes were meant for physical work, so tight. That showed off every muscle in his upper body. He was as tall as me, but warm to my cold.

"We do not talk about her," I reminded him.

"Which means yes," he said as the elevator dinged to announce its arrival.

Luckily, no one was on it. Together, we stepped in, but he let me press the button for the top floor. As we moved upwards, we both faced the doors, silent as the elevator vibrated with its motion. As soon as the doors opened at the top, we stepped out in sync.

That shouldn't amuse me, but it did. Everyone else let me go first. Rain did it because she was used to guys taking the lead. Aspen did it because she'd learned caution. Hawke and Wilder waited because of my rank, but Keir? He walked at my side like an equal, making me remember Liam's words.

I was just about to invite him to my side of the suite when I noticed something in front of my door. My steps slowed, but Keir's lengthened. The man moved before me, placing his body as a shield for the threat. That blocked the view, but I knew the move. I'd done it a million times for Aspen.

"What is it?" I asked.

He paused before my door. "Gifts."

"What?" I hurried to his side to see he wasn't exaggerating. "What the fuck?"

"Can you detect enchantments?" he asked.

"Yeah."

I crouched down before the four gift bags. One was covered in bows and streamers, making me think a girl had sent it. Two were in the standard sort of gift bags available at any drug store. The last one was literally in a bag. The paper kind. That convinced me there were at least three people involved. Maybe four, but two of them were friends? I couldn't be sure.

But revealing enchantments was a simple conjuration. I focused my attention and released my desire, not surprised at all when more than one bag proved to have been enhanced magically. The first showed a common protection charm. The sort of thing to discourage anyone from removing it - and likely all of these bags - from my door. The other?

That was from an item inside the bag. My conjuration revealed an adoration spell and what appeared to be a poorly attempted love enchantment. A flick of my fingers dispelled that mess, crushing the magic so it was harmless.

"So, not safe?" Keir asked.

I pushed to my feet with a tired sigh. "Love spell and one to make sure no one took them. Gather those up." And I unlocked my door to let us in.

Surprisingly, Keir actually did, but once we were in my room, he headed to my bed and dumped all the bags out on top of it. As soon as the items began to rain down onto my blankets, I huffed in annoyance.

"And what if there's something in there that's activated with contact?" I asked.

He flashed me a smirk. "Then I guess you'd have to sleep on the floor - or ask nicely to share."

"Asshole."

"Mhm," he agreed, reaching down to pick up the first thing. "So, I think you have admirers, Torian."