Page 160 of The Prince of Broken Crowns

“Me, too. She’s nice.” Sighing, she rises to her feet. “I think I’m going to go check on her.” She waves and walks off in the direction Isla took off in.

About thirty seconds later, River plops down on the bench. “Was that Lily that I just saw walk off?”

I nod. “She went to check on Isla.”

At the mention of his betrothed’s name, he visibly squirms. “I don’t know why she didn’t answer my messages.”

“Isla?”

“What? No, Lily.”

“Oh.” I fall silent. This conversation is getting slightly uncomfortable. “She was probably distracted by the scene in the parking lot.”

He peers over his shoulder. “What scene?”

“The one where a guy pulled up in a car that looked straight up from northside, and Isla went over there and argued with him for a second,” I say, which only elicits more confusion on his part. “Dude, you were right over there when it happened.”

“I know. I was distracted.” He rubs his lips together, his gaze lowering to the ground.

“What did you find out?” I ask. “Because I can tell something has made you twitchy.”

His gaze sweeps the area. Then he stands up and offers me his hand. “Come with me for a second. I need to talk to you about something.”

I squint against the sunlight as I look up at him. His jaw is taut, and tension is raveled deeply into his muscles. I then take his hand, and he pulls me to my feet then starts toward the parking lot. I don’t ask where we’re going. I assume it’s to his car so we can talk in private. While the alarm has shut off, an announcement hasn’t been made that we can return to the school.

River’s car is parked in the far back corner. In his typical gentleman fashion, he holds the passenger door open for me. The moment I slide into the leather seat, the scent of his cologne wraps around me. It was the same way when he took me out the other night. I don’t know if this will make me sound crazy, but I find the smell of him calming.

“What’s that smile for?” he wonders as he notes my expression while climbing into the car.

What am I supposed to say to that? That I’m having a smell-gasm? Hard pass.

I wipe my expression clean and give a shrug. “I’m not sure what look you’re referring to.”

He looks at me skeptically while shutting the door.

Before he can ask questions, I hurriedly say, “So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

The skepticism from his expression fades. “So, there’s a rumor going around that a hacker has hacked into the system, and that’s why the alarm is going off.”

I rest my arms on the console. “That makes sense, I guess, but what about those loud bangs and that guy in the hoodie we saw in the hallway?”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I think the school might be trying to cover something up, because, apparently, the administration is thinking about closing up for a few days until they can work out”—he makes air quotes—“‘the hacking issue.’”

“Does that not seem like something they’d do?”

“No, not at all. The academy has some of the most high-tech systems in the school, not to mention they have people monitoring it around the clock.”

“What could they be covering up?”

“I’m not sure, but I want to find out. Finn and I know a few people who could maybe give us some insight. Finn actually got this information from one of them.”

I nod, chewing on my lip. While it could be a coincidence that this happened around the same time the society decided to come after me, and I learned I may be from a bloodline that was once hunted, I feel like there’s a connection.

However, I have something else to worry about at the moment.

“If they’re closing down the school for a few days, does that mean everyone just goes home?” I attempt to keep a neutral expression, but I think I fail.

“You can come stay with me,” River promptly offers.

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