Page 79 of Rebellious Royals

Spring green met my primal gaze without fear. "And they didn't get him. You did well, Hawke."

Which meant I needed to stand down. I'd guarded my boyfriend. My prince was pleased. I was done, so now I could relax - but my body didn't agree. The need to rip and tear was still there, humming in my mind. Hopefully, it was only in my mind and not visible to everyone in here!

"Fool," Bracken grumbled as he caught the guy's arm. "Why are you here? What did you think you were going to accomplish? Who were you after?!"

And the boy looked at him, then shook his head.

"Answer me!"

He tried, but our attacker's mouth just flopped open and closed like a fish. No sounds came out, yet the tears continued to stream down his cheeks. Even worse, his eyes were locked right on me.

"He's one of the fucking Silent!" Rain snarled, bending to the guy on the floor to shake him awake. "Hey. Fuckhead."

"This one's still alive too," Wilder said as he moved beside Keir to check on the one I'd drained.

Aspen just smiled at me. "How you feeling, Hawke?"

I gave her the only answer I could: a growl. She nodded like she was impressed, then looked down at the guy she was beside. Rain didn't even flinch, acting like my rage was the most normalthing in the world. It was Bracken who looked back at the sound I'd made.

"Wings," he reminded me. "Put them away, Hawke. Even better, someone close the door. Both!"

I grumbled and turned to the wall, trying to let the adrenaline fade a bit. Putting my wings away was easier said than done. I had to be calm to do it, in control, and right now, I felt like I was still protecting my man.

"Wilder?" I asked as I stared at the wall. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, babe," he said, understanding what I needed. "I don't think he really even touched me. You flew out of bed before I knew what was going on. I'm fine, Hawke. Completely fine. I didn't even have a chance to get scared."

Ok, that helped. Pulling in a deep breath, I forced my body to be calm. Breathing slowly, relaxing all my muscles, I demanded my mind calm down until I finally felt my heart rate slow.

And then I pulled in my wings. They were magical things, like the tail of a mermaid. Both of our kinds had some control over the exposure of our inhuman traits, but that wasn't the same as complete. It was more like trying not to blink. Sure, it might work sometimes, but other times the body had different ideas.

I'd just gotten them hidden when the door opened hard. "Why am I out of bed?!" Ms. Rhodes demanded, walking in without waiting for an invitation.

"It seems our students can't tell us," Bracken said, shifting so she could see the guy he held.

"Two more on the floor," Rain told her. "Hawke handled it."

"And I'm going to assume you heard something and came over here to check on it," Ms. Rhodes told me pointedly before looking at Torian. "Why didn't you gate?" Her eyes moved to Aspen next. "My curfew enchantments are not happy."

Torian pointed at Bracken. "Backup. I was in the hall, but if the door hadn't opened when it did, I was going to."

"We ran," Aspen said. "Our alert enchantments went off and woke us up. Rain took off, so I followed. Belly and leg, so them." She pointed at me and Wilder to prove who she meant.

That earned those two a confused look. "What enchantments?" Ms. Rhodes asked.

"Morrigan!" Jack cawed, proving he was here too. "Shadow!"

Ms. Rhodes just sighed. "I see." Then she sighed again. "Keir? Rain? Would you two help Bracken take these three down to my office?"

"And us?" Torian asked.

"You will make sure your sister gets back inside her room in one piece," Ms. Rhodes told him. "Wilder? Hawke? Clean this mess up."

"He's a jevadu!" the man Bracken was holding cried out. "He ate Buck!"

"He did not," Ms. Rhodes told him before I could respond. "Get them downstairs before we wake the entire hall."

Rain grabbed the arm of the guy she'd been assigned and heaved him up. Clearly, he was not completely unconscious, but he was dazed enough to stagger. Likely he was lost in a glamour. That was probably Wilder's doing, but I wasn't about to say anything.