Page 60 of Rebellious Royals

"No, no, no, no..." I whispered, trying to put my wings away quickly, but the tingling euphoria of Rain's power and my own shame made it hard.

Then Rain's head snapped over to land on Pascal. "He is not a monster. He's myfriend!"

"I will gut you," Wilder said, the cold of his season leaking into his voice.

Pascal merely held up his hands as if gesturing that he wasn't a threat. "I left my keys. That's all."

"Fuck!" I said, out loud this time. "Now that's out."

"I promise you, Hawke," Pascal said as he slowly made his way closer, carefully watching Wilder, "that I will not share your secrets without your permission, ok?"

"Why?" I demanded as I felt the ripple of his vow.

"Put them away!" Wilder snapped.

"I can't!"

"What do I do?" Rain asked me as everything seemed to be happening at once.

"I need a minute."

"He's not full," Wilder said.

And Pascal paused. "Oh, shit. The court's in danger, and you just burned alotof magic in here today."

"Take more," Rain said, thrusting an arm at me. "I've got plenty."

"You're the reason..." I gestured back. "Rain, I can't just feed from you. It's too much."

"Wildlings aren't meant to feed on wildlings," Pascal said as he offered his arm. "I have magic, though. I mean, in theory. I can't really do anything, but you're welcome to it since it's not doing me any good."

Wilder tensed up as he shifted to block Pascal again. "Why?"

"Because I grew up thinking I was human," Pascal told him. "I don't give a shit about Winter, or Summer, or Wild. I'm with Rain on this. All of it's pretty fucking amazing, and yeah, I have some habits of the fae, but I'm a fucking faeling. A foundling!" And his eyes moved to land on me. "And Hawke's my friend too."

So I lifted a hand. "I won't hurt you," I said. "It's just a pinch."

Wilder shifted. "Babe, you sure?"

"Rain hits like a fucking troll," I told him. "I'm more worried about burning myself out with her than being empty, and if Pascal's right..."

"Take all you need," Pascal said as he clasped my wrist.

"Both hands," Wilder told him. "It's faster."

Pascal immediately offered his other. Unfortunately, everyone was looking at me. I closed my wings as tightly as I could, aware they were a hard thing to hide, but I needed the power. I couldn't risk being too low, and he already knew.

So I pushed. My thumbs stabbed into him, and I didn't care if I was gentle. I wasn't trying to impress him. I'd already made a fool of myself, so I just wanted this done. I was ready for my shame to be over, and there, running inside this man, was the magic I needed.

It was warm like sunshine and flowed naturally. Refusing to look at him, I pulled, feeling my senses balance out again. With my talons still buried in his forearms, I managed to get enough control to put my fucking wings away, but I kept drawing. After all, he'd said he had no need of it, and I definitely did.

There was a conversion that happened when I fed. The magical ratio wasn't a one-to-one thing. I could take a tenth of his power and end up filled to the brim. At least that was how it worked with Torian and Wilder - but it took a moment. It was also intimate. Not that there was anything sexual about drainingsomeone's power, but being forced to stand so close while a part of my body was inside theirs? Intimate was the best word I had.

When my reserves were finally filled, I lifted my thumbs so I could press the pads over the punctures. "It might bleed for a bit."

"I'm fine," Pascal told me. "How are you, Hawke? Did I have enough magic to help?"

I chuckled once, unable to ignore the irony. "Yeah, and better than Rain. She's like kissing lava."

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