Page 80 of Shattered & Returned

“We’re already at war,” Ravencrux retorted. “This time your petkidnapped one of mine, which nullifies any territorial claim.”

“Kidnapped?” Kingsley’s shark-like smile slid toward me. “It’s always the girl, isn’t it?”

I held my breath. The girl?

The air thickened with unspoken history. These men weren’t just rivals—they were players in a deadly match where redheads wound up as corpses.

I schooled my face into wide-eyed innocence, my damp dress clinging pitifully. Better they see a scared girl than the claws sharpening beneath my skin.

“Bloom Aurelius transfers to my tower tonight,” Kingsley announced.

My heart skipped an icy beat. He knew my name.

Despite my issue with Nero Ravencrux, my gut feeling screamed I was safer in his tower. The malice rolling off Kingsley made my skin crawl. If I was placed in his tower and he came for me, there’d be nothing standing between us.

“Fuck off, Kingsley.” Ravencrux’s voice was lethally soft. “You don’t touch her. You don’tevenlook at her.” His glare sliced toward Sebastian. “That goes for you too, fucker.”

Sebastian scoffed. “She isn’t your property, Ravencrux.” But he took a step back anyway.

Kingsley’s jaw flexed like a steel trap. “Then she answers to Stardust. Neutral ground.”

“Not happening.” Ravencrux bared his teeth in something too sharp to be a smile. “Finders keepers. Now go fuck yourself sideways, Kingsley.”

Finders keepers? He’d dragged me here kicking and screaming!

“Then I insist Miss Aurelius faces punishment,” Kingsley said, cold satisfaction dripping from each word.

“Carl, drop it,” Sebastian cut in.

Kingsley whirled on him, pallid face flushing with outrage. “It’s Professor Kingsley to you!”

Sebastian rolled his shoulders, deliberately relaxed. “Don’t be a dick.”

“What did you say?” Kingsley growled, and a muscle ticked in Sebastian’s jaw.

“Fine,” Sebastian ground out through clenched teeth. “Let it slide this time, please, Professor Kingsley.”

“Request denied!” Kingsley spat. “You know what’s at stake this cycle. For once, try thinking with something besides your cock!”

Sebastian’s face darkened to thundercloud purple, his hands curling into fists as something primal stirred behind his eyes.

Kingsley ticked off each violation on his fingers like a judge pronouncing a sentence. “Bloom Aurelius broke curfew, infiltrated a restricted club as a first-year, and got intoxicated. Punishment is non-negotiable.”

“But I didn’t know—” I began, my tongue still thick with liquor.

“Ignorance isn’t an excuse.” His delight turned my stomach.

My liquid courage burned hotter. “I wasn’t the only rule-breaker here.”

“No.” Kingsley spread his arms in menacing delight. “But you’re the only offender still standing in this room. Congratulations, Miss Aurelius, you’ve just become this semester’s cautionary tale.”

Ravencrux stepped between us, the shadows around him twisting violently. “Miss Aurelius is under my house’s protection. She’smineto discipline.”

The possessive growl sent conflicting heat through me.

“Then prove it.” Kingsley’s lips curled into something cruel. “Demonstrate your authority.”

“I don’t need to fucking prove anything to you,” Ravencrux snarled, his eyes locked on the other professor radiating pure hatred.

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