Page 64 of The Hunt of Night

“No.” I go unheard. My hands clench at my sides, the desire to stomp my foot like a child taking hold of me as tension grapples inside of my chest.

“I’ll slip Addi back to the fae building,” Kryll offers, continuing to ignore my protest, and I reach my limit.

“Can you all stop talking over me!” I snap, eyes wide with unleashed irritation.

Raiden tuts, sighing down at me with a pointed look. “No, because if we give you a chance to speak, you’re going to say some bullshit, and we’re already handling the situation,” he states, like that makes total sense.

“Ican handle it,” I grind out, certain I’m going to explode. But a hand cups my face, drawing my attention to its owner, Kryll.

“You can handle yourself and your shit all alone, Princess, we know, but give us a chance, yeah? We all know that you’re not the one they should be calling on. They’ve never called on you when you have actually been in a duel on campus. This is some twisted bullshit, a trap, and we can’t risk you walking in there if we can avoid it.”

I blink up at him, lost for words, and somewhere deep inside, it’s because there’s a part of me that agrees with what he’s saying.

Fuck.

“Besides,” Brody hollers, shouldering his way through Cassian and Raiden to stand side by side with Kryll. “Do you really want to go to Bozzelli with eau de sex clinging to you?” he asks with a quirk of his brow, and my nose crinkles in distaste.

“It’s only going to delay the inevitable.” I meet each of their stares, seeing the same knowledge in their eyes, but Cassian still shakes his head.

“It won’t. I’ll make sure of it,” he promises, leaning in to kiss the corner of my mouth with a delicate touch before he steps back, heading for the door.

“Oh, are those on offer?” Brody asks, swooping in for a kiss too. His lips are gone just as quickly as they plant against mine, leaving me to gape at him in surprise.

With my lips parted, Raiden takes his chance, leaning in to rake his teeth over my bottom lip. “Delicious,” he breathes,his hooded eyes peering into my soul as he takes a step back, swiping his tongue along his lips as he goes.

And just like that, they’re gone.

The sound of the door closing solidifies it, leaving me with Kryll. I stare up at him, my jaw moving, but no words come out as I stare around the room in disbelief.

“What the fuck just happened?”

“I missed out, apparently,” he murmurs, looking down at me with need burning bright in his eyes. Turning to face him properly, I shake my head, still in a state of confusion.

“Why would I leave you out?”

His grin spreads across his face as he leans in close so we’re nose to nose. “Oh, thanks,” he mutters before clinching the moment and pressing his lips to mine.

Fuck.

Gasping, my fingers fist his t-shirt as I get lost in his touch.

“Fuck, Princess,” he rasps, taking a sudden step back as he swipes a hand down his face. “Let’s get you out of here before they come looking,” he adds, pointing at the door behind him.

I press at my temples again, willing myself to focus, but it seems futile surrounded by these men.

“If you know they’re going to come looking for me, why am I not just going to Bozzelli now to cut the bullshit?” I ask, following him out of Cassian’s room on wobbly legs.

“I know this may come as a shock to you, Princess, but we fucking care about what happens to you, especially where Bozzelli is concerned.”

My chest aches at his words, the feeling foreign in my limbs as I stare at him. Is this what Nora always feels like when I railroad her into doing what I say so I can protect her? Damn. I don’t think I like it, but I understand the motive behind it.

As we step outside, the surrounding areas are still quiet since everyone else remains in class, and I sigh. “If they’re going tocome looking for me, they’re going to head to my room first, right?”

My gut twists, feeling as though I’m running from a situation no matter how much I tell myself I’m not. If Cassian wants his moment to shine, he can have it. It will only prove me right in the long run, and then we won’t end up in this situation again. Today is a lesson, this moment is proving to me that handing the reins over to someone else doesn’t deflect attention away from me. All it will show them is that they can’t step in whenever they think they’re needed and magically fix everything.

My discomfort eases at my thoughts as Kryll purses his lips. “Possibly, but they could also be watching for you in class,” he offers, and I nod in agreement.

“Maybe we could just go for a walk?”

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