Page 121 of Moon Kissed

“What?!” Badr exploded. “What the fuck is going on?! What are you saying!?”

“In fact.” I raised my voice over his noise. “Mr. Tahan is returning to the capital right now to begin the process of turning my will into law.” I beamed at the red-faced councilman. “Right, Cygnus?”

Clearing his throat, he straightened to his full height, tried for a smile, and nodded.

“No! This doesn’t make any sense. You wouldn’t do this!” Badr grabbed his father and shook him—hard. “She killed Castor! Did everyone forget that but me? You should be arresting her and throwing her in a hole, not handing her a castle! Wake the fuck up, man! She’s crazy. She—”

Cygnus punched Badr in the face, blowing him off his feet.

I gasped—smile wiping off my face as I clapped my hand over my mouth, gaping at Cygnus in shock. I didn’t expect that. Not in a million did I expect, or want, that.

“Gods, you’re a bastard,” I hissed, knowing Cygnus would hear me loud and clear.

I didn’t need words to translate the look he gave me in return.

Badr shoved up, roughly wiping blood across his chin. He growled—wolf eyes glowing burnished gold.

Stepping over him, Cygnus left through the gates—not even bothering with a glance back.

Thick, awkward silence hung heavy in the air. No one knew what to do or say now, least of all me.

“That was unpleasant,” I forced out, sucking in a deep breath. “Actually, every day has been unpleasant since term began. How about this? Let’s start over. Fresh start.”

“What does that mean?” Tracy asked slowly.

“A party. Tonight.” Enthusiasm crept into my voice as the idea took me. “A party for everyone. Omega, beta, alpha, and epsilon. No fighting, no feuds, no drama. We’ll just get drunk, dance, hook up, and have a good time. Consider that mandatory.” I fluttered my hand at someone in the crowd. “My second-in-command will handle all the details. I’m thinking a royal theme.”

Nia stepped out of the crowd and fell in at my side. “Oooh, royals, I love it, Daze.” Her smile passed over the astonished crowd. “I’ll take care of everything.”

“Excellent. Now, back to class, everyone.”

Confused murmurings and resigned whispers filtered past my ears asmynew subjects slowly but surely returned inside. Edric went last, his hands slipping through my fingers.

“Go easy.”

It didn’t occur to me to do anything else as I watched Badr slowly peel himself off the ground. Sitting up, he draped his arms across his knees, hanging his head.

My lips parted. “Badr—”

“Fuck off.”

“You lost this fight,” I said, not unkindly. “As bad as that feels right now, one day... you’ll be glad you did.”

I had my foot over the threshold when I heard—

“I can’t lose a fight that’s not over.”

Chapter Ten

After my short chat with Badr, I skipped class, trudged up to my new room, and passed out on the bed. My head ached something fierce after blowing up the bond with Paxton. The only thing I wanted to do was hide from the pain in dreamland.

Hours later, I woke up... feeling a thousand times worse.

I groaned, clutching my head. My forehead pounded, my sinuses were stuffed with cotton, my eyes ached like someone drove a spike through them. It took Herculean effort to drag myself out of bed and into the shower. I couldn’t lie around all night. I had a party to get to, and I was the guest of honor.

Edric looked up when I came out. “About time,” he drawled. “I was going to leave without you.”

“Not very chivalrous.” I eyed his drop-dead, sinfully gorgeous Prince Charming costume, and the suitcase it came out of. “Why do you look like you’re unpacking?”

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