Page 20 of Wild Fury (Fallen Royals 6)

“Some secrets are meant to be kept—”

“All I’m saying is, we’re about to receive the incoming freshmen, and the parties always get more secretive—”

“Charlotte,” Miranda warns. Her gaze flicks to me. “You’ll ruin the fun for her.”

She stiffens and rises suddenly, striding away from us.

“I…” I don’t know why I feel the need to apologize, when none of that made sense to me. But it’s tugged at my curiosity. I do love secrets… “Is she okay?”

“She’ll be fine.” She smiles. “Are you excited to start at LBU?”

Am I? “It doesn’t feel real,” I admit. “Everything was a whirlwind.”

Up until Theo whisked me away, I thought my life for the next two to three years would be unbearably boring. Certainly because my parents offered no assistance on getting into a good college. I kept my grades up at Lion’s Head, the private high school I attended in Beacon Hill, and the school paper kept me sane.

Plus, it brought me into close proximity with Theo.

“What are you going to major in?”

I’m sure my expression is less than excited. “No idea.”

She laughs, unbothered by my indecision. “You’ll figure it out.”

Am I even enrolled in classes? I should look into that.

She motions for me to follow her. Some boys are setting up a bonfire, squirting the chopped pieces of wood with gasoline. They’ve stacked broken pallets on top of each other for the base, creating a tent shape.

“Bash isn’t a bad guy,” Miranda says suddenly. “He’s just… a wild child.”

“Oh?”

“It earns him a reputation. Half the guys on the football team have a rep.” She snorts. “It’s best to stay away from them entirely, unless you’re looking for a quick hookup. One and done sort of thing. They have rules about it, even.”

Theo’s on the team. I open my mouth to ask about him, then slam my lips closed. Giving away all my secrets—what had she just told Charlotte? That some secrets are better kept.

It makes me wonder if he has a reputation, and what sort of perception they have of him. I know how I think of him, but someone new? A whole school full of strangers? Maybe they think he’s something he’s not.

Maybe I’m the one whose idea of him is wrong.

Sebastian catches my eye across the unlit bonfire and grins. I shift on my feet, frowning back at him. His grin widens at my expression. But then his attention turns to the matchbook in his hands.

“Who’s ready?” he calls.

A cheer goes up around us.

He lights a match and tosses it onto the wood. There’s a split second of suspension in the air, and then the whole thing goes up in a tower of flames. Heat drives us all back, and I imagine a body under the pallets.

Miranda pulls me away, laughing. “You okay?”

I tear my gaze away from the flames. I need to stop thinking about the DeSantis man. And burning. And other unsavory things.

“All good,” I say.

“You have a fire trauma or something?” She squints at me. “Maybe your childhood house burned down, or—”

I jerk away from her. “My childhood trauma has nothing to do with fire.”

Just cracked-open skulls and too much blood.

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