Page 124 of The Prince of Broken Crowns

“Good hell,” I mutter under my breath as River and I approach the exit doors. “I knew there’d be staring, but this is so intense.”

“It’ll get better once we get outside.” He reassures me with a gentle hand squeeze.

I latch on to him, threading our fingers together, which seems even more intimate. I may be holding my breath, and that’s confirmed the instant we step outside and I breathe in the crisp fall air.

“Ah, emptiness,” I state at the sight of the mostly vacant quad.

“Yeah, that was a lot,” River agrees, still grasping my hand as he leads me across the grass, and toward the gate in front of the track, where we always start our running sessions.

My attention roams to the spot of grass in the center of the field where we saw the society running around in cloaks while carrying torches and tormenting some poor pledge.

“You good?” he asks, sketching his thumb along the back of my hand.

I nod, dragging my gaze off the field and to him. “I was just thinking about last night. It was like straight out of a horror movie, and … I just … Are you sure you want to join that? It’s creepy.”

He releases my hand and sets his water bottle down on the grass. “I know what I’m getting into. The society is something I’ve heard about since I was a kid. Because of my name, I should have some power in it, so I can protect myself from having to do things that are …”

“Terrible,” I offer. “Because from everything I’ve heard and seen, it sounds awful. And you’ll be stuck in it, like a cult.”

He’s mildly amused. “It’s not like a cult. I’m not getting brainwashed into their ideologies. I’m joining simply to make sure they leave you alone. Plus, I’ll know what they’re up to, so if they decide to go after, let’s say Lily, I’ll know and can stop it.”

“Finn would already know that since he’s in it.”

“I know, but we’ll be more in the loop with both of us working it.”

He’s reaching, but his mind is set—that much I can tell.

The wind picks up then, blowing strands of his hair away from his forehead. Clouds are rolling in, and thunder is booming in the distance, a warning that a storm is about to come. To add to the eeriness, lightning flashes from the trees …

Wait …

“River,” I murmur under my breath.

“Hmm …” He’s distracted, lost in thought.

“Look over there.” I discreetly nod my head toward where I saw the flash. “Something’s flashing.”

“What?” He looks over to where I nodded at the exact moment a light sharply flashes from the trees. “Crap.” His fingers encompass my arm, and he hurriedly steers me toward the bleachers.

“What’re you doing?” My sneakers kick up dirt as we duck underneath the benches.

“It’s probably the paparazzi,” he mumbles, edginess radiating off him like the lightning dancing across the sky.

The air smells like rain and is buzzing with electricity, a warning of how badly the storm could be.

I gape at him. “On school grounds?”

“It’s been known to happen.” He releases my arm and lowers his head against a metal beam. “Dammit.”

“Is it really that bad that they saw you with me?” I question, my tone biting with irritation.

He bobs his head up and down then lifts his head to look at me. “It’s not because I don’t want to be seen with you. But if they can figure out who you are, they’ll dig into your past.”

“So?” I exasperatedly throw my hands into the air. “What’re they going to do? Plaster all over their headlines that I’m the northside trash that got arrested? I don’t care, but clearly, you do.”

He swiftly shakes his head as he inches toward me. “They’ll do more than that. And if there’s something more to this necklace, they’ll figure it out.”

I fight a sigh. “River, I’m not from royal blood. And even if there was a tiny chance I was, who cares?”

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