Page 192 of Rebellious Royals

The moment Hawke heard my words, he jerked his hands away from the girl's body. His wings shifted and he pulled himself to his feet with them, continuing to back up. I had to scramble to get to my feet, but his gaze was jumping between me and her.

"No, no, no," he breathed.

I was clutching that pebble in my right hand, feeling the magic almost vibrating against my skin as it shorted out, but I didn't really care. Hawke needed me, and I had a feeling this was about to be very bad. So I hurried to him, catching his hand to keep him from retreating any more.

"Someone get Ms. Rhodes!" Wilder barked.

"Jack!" I begged.

"General!" he cawed, streaking towards the door.

"Open that!" Torian ordered.

I heard the metallic clink of the door being forced open. I somehow knew when Jack was gone, but none of that mattered. Hawke did.

"Put your wings away," I said gently. "I have a feeling that helps, right?"

But he shook his head. "I can't."

"Rain!" Wilder called, walking over. When he was close enough, he said, "Take him up to your room. He can't hide those if he isn't in the right head-space. We'll handle this."

"You have to make it through a door," I told Hawke, turning him to the front of the room. "God, I hope those things aren't fragile."

"They're not," he said even as he pulled them in close.

He also didn't try to resist. I guided him forward, out the door, and to the side. As we headed past the office, making our way around the atrium for the girls'-side elevator, Ms. Rhodes came rushing out with Jack following above and behind her. She took one look at Hawke and stopped hard.

"Rain, hide him," she snapped.

"I'm taking him to my room," I told her. "There's a mess in the cafeteria. Torian will fill you in."

"Fine, but his wings are Wild. I can't hide them, so you have to. Unless you want panic between here and there, you need to make sure no one sees hiswings."

"Morrigan," Jack said as he landed on my shoulder. "Shadow-Morrigan. Duke."

Which I was going to take to mean "wing it." Grabbing for my magic, I whipped some at Hawke, relieved when his wings faded - but didn't vanish - from view. Instead, they were like a transparent version of wings, easy to overlook. It was going to have to do. This wasn't exactly something I'd ever done before, so "hard to see" was going to have to suffice.

Then I grabbed Hawke's hand, towing him forward again even as Ms. Rhodes hurried the other way. Hawke didn't try to resist, but he did cling to my fingers a little too much. When we reached the elevator, I pressed the button to take us up, then shifted my hand, twining my fingers in with his.

"You ok?" I asked him.

He nodded, but it looked more like he was trying to believe that than an honest answer. Considering he couldn't speak a lie, I had a feeling this was the best he could do. Thankfully, the elevator arrived quickly, and no one got on while we traveled up to the fourth floor.

But Hawke didn't give me much to work with. He followed, but he didn't have anything to say. It was almost like he was in a trance until I opened my door, pushed him into my room, then followed him inside.

"Ok," I said, releasing the magic I'd put on his wings. "What do you need me to do, Hawke?"

He stood there in the middle of my room like he didn't know what to do. "Rain? Are you scared of me?"

"No," I swore.

And the man before me finally relaxed. "That's true," he breathed, letting his eyes close.

"I'm scaredforyou," I admitted. "And I'm worried, Hawke. I want to help and I don't know how."

He stretched his wings and lifted both hands to cover his mouth, almost like he was holding in a scream. Turning, he pulled his wings in again, making me realize how incredibly huge those things were. Like this, his feathers were only inches from the floor.

"They all know," he said.

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