Page 196 of Rebellious Royals

That was when he broke.

Hawke tried not to cry, and he mostly succeeded. Still, he gasped a few times, and he kept looking away to blink hard. I knew what that felt like, so I would never make him feel bad for it. If he wanted to cry, this was a good reason to do it. If he didn't, then it only meant he would be ok. This? It worried me more than all the other options.

So we talked to him. We worked it out. In that moment, cramped in a small dorm room, with all of us trying to hold the man who'd just risked it all to save people who might end up hating him, the lines between us vanished.

Torian wrapped his arms around both Wilder and Hawke. Aspen grasped the guy's hand. Keir brushed Hawke's hair back, and I rubbed his leg, since that was all I could reach. Bodies lay against others, and none of it mattered at all. We came togetherwithout fear or shame, and between the gasps and mumbles of reassurance, we worked it all out.

They'd planned for this attack to be a suicide bomb of sorts, or so it seemed. The pebble that was still in my pocket? It was a piece of the same stone that had made the crow in my bracelet. Ms. Rhodes didn't know how anyone could've gotten it, but she was going to handle that part.

We needed a game plan for how to deal with Hawke revealing his wings. To me, that was easy. The court kept thinking of the students here as being just like them, but they weren't. In many ways, they were more like me. We'd grown up in a world with Disney and Pixar. Our fairytales were animated, and the monsters were cute. Myths and legends were blurred with the eraser the church had wielded over the centuries, and what was left had all been sanitized for younger audiences.

But it was Keir who had the best idea yet. "We go to the gym this afternoon to test the waters," he said. "The sentinels may not be there. For all we know, having classes cancelled means they'll be busy, but if they are?"

"But Pascal knew," Wilder pointed out.

"And the rest didn't," Keir said. "They're his friends, so let's see if they're pissed about this, and then we'll have a better idea of what we need to do."

And that was how we ended up dressed in workout clothes, heading across the lawn as a group. The halls upstairs had been bustling, but sneaking out was easy. We simply put Hawke in the middle of us and didn't stop until we were outside. Even better, the lawn was completely vacant.

But when we walked into the gym, the clack of sticks proved we weren't alone. The first person I saw was my zez. Next was Pascal, but there were too many impacts to be only two men. Heading around the corner, I found Bran, Daivon, and Axelsmacking the wooden dummies in the same pattern I'd been taught to use as a warm-up.

"The man of the hour!" Pascal said, all but announcing us.

The clatter slowed to a halt, and all four sentinels turned toward the door as Hawke and Torian moved into sight. Keir was in front of them. Aspen and Wilder followed behind.

"What the fuck, Hawke?" Daivon asked, stepping forward to the railing so he could look down at us.

Hawke dropped his head. I watched his shoulders slump right after, but when Torian opened his mouth to reply, Daivon lifted a hand at him.

"Daivon," Bran said, "don't be a dick. That shit today was rough."

"Hawke!" Daivon called, ignoring his friends. "Why didn't you tell me we're on the same side, huh?"

And I felt the strain immediately vanish from my own body. Behind me, the rest of the court relaxed as well, but Hawke's head slowly came up.

"What?" he asked, sounding like he was sure he hadn't heard Daivon right.

"I'm neutral, man," Daivon said. "I mean, Bracken said you're a wildling, so that means you are too, right?"

"He's Summer," Torian said, his tone making it clear that wasn't up for debate.

"Yeah, but I'm technically Summer and chose neutral."

"Earth," Keir corrected. "That's what we've been calling it."

"That," Daivon said, gesturing absently at Keir without looking away from Hawke. "So if my fellow sentinel - because you sure as shit aren'tmyduke - is caught between Summer and the middle, then we're kinda like the same, right?"

"I..." Hawke had to pause to swallow. "I guess?"

"Yeah, but I want to know something," Axel said, moving to lean beside Daivon. "What the fuck is a jevadu anyway? I mean, you've got wings! Seriously, man. I want wings!"

But I quickly looked at Bracken, aware he was saying absolutely nothing. My zez caught my eye but shook his head subtly, making it clear we should not interrupt this. Then he smiled. That, more than anything else, convinced me this would all end up ok.

"I was born with the ability to call them," Hawke told Axel.

"Can you fly?" Pascal asked.

"Yeah," Hawke mumbled.