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Thank God he was here If he was here, he was okay "Where is he?" And why hadn’t he delivered the notes? Why hadn’t he picked her up this , because…" Brittany bit her botto" She hoped After last night, though, he could have changed his mind She’d been so sure of herself, so stupid Shethe school "Thank you for the notes I owe you Big time"

"No problem And as for payback, if Riley has a brother, you could, I don’t know, introduce ain

"He has two" And both were dealing with curses of their own, she recalled Anyone they were attracted to would think they were ugly Anyone they weren’t attracted to would think they were gorgeous "I’ll see if they’re free"

"Thanks!" A grinning Brittany flounced off

Mary Ann rushed to her locker, threw her bag inside and grabbed her book and binder The halls were now al in less than a ht, and she had to haul butt into the three hundred building

As she barreled around a corner, a door in front of her opened unexpectedly She stumbled as she darted around it--or tried to An ar around her wrist and jerking her into a darkened roo her in with her assailant

Her textbook thuround Crap! She could have used it as a weapon Do so, Mary Ann struck, slauy’s nose, just like Aden had taught her

He howled

She stilled, recognizing that howl Her heart slaainst her ribs "Riley?"

"I think you broke my nose," he said, but he sounded a, however He flipped on the light, chasing the shadoay, and she saw that his expression was etched in violence His eyes were narrowed, lips pulled back, teeth bared Didn’t help that blood poured from his nose

"I’, and she wanted to curse

"Don’t be sorry," he growled "Be proud And I’etic He sounded just as violent as he looked She glanced away, needing a moment to calm, and saw that they were in a supply closet The scent of disinfectant saturated the air Cleaning supplies lined the shelves

Deep breath in, out Finally, her tre eased and her heartbeat slowed "Why are you so upset?" she asked, keeping her eyes away froue over her teeth Someone needed a truth spell, and it wasn’t her "So where were you this ? I waited" And waited Oh, God Did he hear the whine in her voice?

"After the va, I had to escort Aden home As there was a wee bit of opposition from his new subjects, I was afraid someone would follow hi outside hisall night and all aze once again clashed with his "Did they? Try to take him out, I mean?"

"No"

"So he’s well?"

"Well, but tired He still sees the fairy ghost, and that ghost prevented hi were far better than mortally wounded "Where is he now?"

"Here"

"With Victoria," she said with a nod A stateether

"No Victoria didn’t attend today"

"Why? Was she hurt?" And asn’t Riley with her? Usually Riley glued hi her his first priority

Tendrils of jealousy worked through Mary Ann, followed by tendrils of guilt Their relationship shouldn’t bother her They were princess and bodyguard If Victoria were injured, Riley would be punished Perhaps killed

Or s were different now, under Aden’s rule

"Physically, she’s fine," Riley said "Our councilmen want her to stay away from Aden so that he can date other people"

What? "And she’s okay with that?"

Riley’s lips twitched "You’ll have to ask her"

"If Aden’s king, how can the councilmen tell her what to do? He wouldn’t allow it" Would he?

"Aden doesn’t live in our home He’s new and no one knohat toto the councilht now, they support hi to their desires Besides, to deny the the people That unrest would be dangerous for Aden"<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>