Page 198 of Rebellious Royals

"And I know how to spread rumors," Daivon said. "We'll help where we can."

"Which will help more than any of you know," Bracken told us. "But Hawke, I want you to talk to Liam as well. When you're done here, come to my place. What you're doing is hard, and I don't want to pretend like it isn't. You are changing an entire generation of minds, and while I can't do it for you, I will help in any way you need. I'd like to think we all will."

"You're one of us, Hawke," I told him.

That earned me a smile, but the other guys all offered their own comments about being there for anything he needed. Hawke's eyes dropped to the ground, and he leaned over his knees like he was trying to hide from the overflow of support, yet I still saw the smile taking over his mouth.

"And now," Bracken said, pushing to his feet, "I think it's time to hit things. Go warm up. Stop smothering Hawke, and let's see if you can stand against him when he isn't holding back!"

Chapter Sixty-Two

RAIN

Once we were all warmed up, Bracken told us to attack as a group. The court faced off against the sentinels, but I was put on their side. To even out the powers, Bracken said. Then he set us loose on each other, and we sparred with all we had.

Magic flew. When it wasn't enough, Bracken yelled for us to stop playing it safe. At one point, Jack swooped down, grabbing at Keir's practice stick before he could bash me with it. Aspen was making obstacles, Torian was conjuring distractions, Wilder was cursing our weapons and bodies. Then there was Hawke.

He didn't need to call his wings out, but when I ended up face to face with him in the mess of swinging sticks, his eyes were constricted into narrow, horizontal slits. His upper lip was lifted just enough to give him a sneer, and I had a feeling he was done pretending to be a mere sidhe. I'd said he was the monster who'd decided to fight for good, and in that moment, I was sure of it.

But it was Aspen who got a hit on me, sending me out of the fray. Torian took out Pascal, but Daivon cracked the prince's hand, making him drop his stick. That brought out even more magic, and then Wilder did the last thing I expected. He began shooting glitter bombs across the room. When the pink oneexploded, that was it. No one could fight while laughing that hard.

"It's always the pink," Bracken said around a laugh. "Ok, now pair up. I want to see good form. Torian, this is full speed, so you're going to sweat a bit. Let's act like we have a purpose, people!"

"Heard!" the sentinels replied, and this time I was only a split-second behind them.

We worked. As our sticks clashed, I heard the guys asking questions about the attack earlier, Hawke's revelation, and more. Seasons, magic, and who was about to graduate came up. That turned the chatter to finals, but the whole time, we swung, blocked, attacked, and parried with gusto.

Our hour was almost over when Jack cawed out, "General!"

The clacking slowed to a halt, and one by one, we all turned to check the door. I could see it move, but my angle was wrong to see if anyone was inside. The short false hallway wasn't pointing directly at me, yet with a clack of high heels on hardwood, Ms. Rhodes stepped into view.

"Is there a problem?" I asked, taking a step toward her.

In my mind, I was thinking about all the crap that would be hitting right about now, like her trying to expel Hawke. But then I saw the book she was holding against her chest. It was a massive thing, bound in a dark blue color, with brown corners. From the way she was holding it, the thing was clearly heavy.

"What's that?" I asked.

She glanced at everyone in the room, then paused to examine me. "Rain, where's your shadow?"

"Uh..." I looked down, finding it beneath my feet like it was supposed to be. "Being normal. Why?"

That made her move further into the gym. "Well, I think this is something all of you might want to hear." She gestured for us to move closer. "Rain, I have been looking for any reference toa Morrigan in the past with magic like yours. My hope was that we'd get a hint of what powers like yours have faced before so I could train you to be ready for it." She paused to let out a sigh. "I found this earlier today. I was going to talk to you about it tomorrow morning, but after what happened..."

"What did happen?" Hawke asked, stepping forward. "Ms. Rhodes, I didn't mean to kill her."

"She," Ms. Rhodes told him sternly, "meant to kill us. And while yes, I'm sorry a student had to handle that, the outcome would've been the same if I was there. You, Hawke, saved the children - students - at this school, and I will not hear anything else about it!"

"Which means some have already complained," Torian grumbled.

"They always complain," Ms. Rhodes admitted. "That's the job of parents."

"We want to keep our kids safe," Bracken said, moving closer so he didn't have to yell. "Knowing our family members are in danger? It makes us want to lash out, and the ones who are supposed to protect our kids always end up as a good target."

"But I have made it clear," Ms. Rhodes said, looking around at all of us, "that Hawke Woods is fae. He is a legally accepted student. I have not only known his background, but have done my best to train him in his wildling abilities. With that said, he will not be talked to, yelled at, and certainly not expelled. That is not how we treat our heroes." She lifted a brow, her expression turning beautifully stern. "Does anyone here have a problem with that?"

"I do," Daivon said. "You didn't tell them to fuck off."

Which made everyone chuckle. Even Ms. Rhodes smiled, but then she waved us all down. "I am currently off-duty, but Rain, I don't think this can wait."