That made Aiden a tiny bit relieved. Dylan had mentioned that attacking a warden was instant prison time. Maybe there was some hope of Dylan getting out of this without too much punishment.
Aiden coaxed more details of the story from Dylan, and it sounded pretty bad. If the wardens had it out for Dylan, they sure had some ammo now. And if they wanted to discourage further protests, making an example of Dylan would be a clear statement. Of course, that might make things worse.
If people were already mad enough to protest and throw things at wardens, what would happen if they threw a town hero in prison?
“But they let you out?” Aiden asked. “That’s a good thing, right?”
Dylan shrugged. “I’m out on bail. It’s not like I have anywhere to run, right? And if I do, the wardens have a perfect excuse to kill me.”
They were just words, but it felt like a punch to the gut. “Don’t talk like that.” Especially since they both knew the harsh reality of such a statement.
Some of the anger dropped away, and Dylan just looked lost. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t even know if they’re gonna let me in school on Monday.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Of course Warden Bully was in Dylan’s face the second he stepped into school.
“If it were up to me, you’d be in prison right now.”
“Good thing it’s not.” Under the anger, Dylan was nervous. Anything could happen.
“Go ahead and act smug, but we’ve got quite a case against you. Didn’t I tell you?” The warden held up a finger. “One more screwup, and you’re out of here.”
“Dylan.” Aiden touched his arm. Dylan had almost forgotten he was there.
“I can’t stop you from coming in today, but there’s a PTA meeting tonight. All they need is a majority vote and you’re expelled.”
Word had gone around town over the weekend about an emergency PTA meeting. Dylan was sure Warden Bully had something to do with it, although even after Dylan had become something of a town hero, there were still plenty of people who thought a dragonkin was too dangerous to allow in Shadow Valley. The warden wouldn’t have had a hard time finding allies.
Once again, the villagers were coming for Dylan with their pitchforks and torches.
“And you’ll be there to gloat, of course.”
“We’re gonna be late for class.” Aiden tugged on his coat sleeve.
Why can’t you defend me? Dylan bit the words back. That wasn’t fair. Aiden wasn’t a fighter, and he’d do almost anything to defuse a situation.
And if Dylan had listened to his friend, he wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with.
Dylan turned to head for his locker. “See you later,” he told Warden Bully.
* * *
“Everyone, quiet down!”
Aiden looked up from his lunch and his stomach dropped. Warden Bradley stood in the middle of the lunchroom, arms held up. Oh God. This morning had already been bad enough, what now?
Maybe he was only reminding people of the PTA meeting.
Dylan turned in his chair, body going tense when he saw who it was.
The warden called for silence a few more times, and the noise dropped to a faint murmur. “I’d like to discuss what happened Friday afternoon. Several students left school in the middle of the day to attend a radical meeting that called for the end of the treaty and incited violence against the wardens.”
A faint brush of scales touched the magic-sensing place inside Aiden’s head. “Dylan, no,” he hissed across the table.
Dylan flicked a hand in his direction. Aiden didn’t know if that meant, Yes, I know. Or Be quiet.
On the far side of the room, Aiden spotted Principal Nejem. She didn’t look pleased at all, and her gaze was fixed on Warden Bradley.
“We’re gathering the names of everyone who was present, and rest assured, each and every one of you will get a visit from the wardens.” Warden Bradley looked around the lunchroom as people shifted in their seats, whispering fearfully.
Aiden’s head swam, and he realized he was barely breathing. He forced himself to draw deep, slow breaths. Someone squeezed his leg, and he jumped before he realized it was Tiago. His boyfriend gave him a smile, concerned and encouraging at the same time.
What if someone saw that?
But everyone was watching the warden.
The man walked down the center aisle, glaring at kids as he passed. Some kids looked like they wanted to crawl under the table. How many had been at the protest, and how many were just reacting to the cold anger in his eyes?
Then he fixed his gaze on Dylan. There wasn’t any magic involved, but the air practically crackled between them. “And then we have the ringleader, Mr. Galloway. Quite a speech you made. I almost wish I’d been there myself. You are quite obviously a troublemaker, and the sooner you’re locked away, the safer we’ll all be.”
This was worse than Conner. All that bully could have done was draw Dylan into a fight and get himself hurt. This warden could put Dylan in prison, maybe forever.
Or would they… Could they kill Dylan for this?
Aiden’s heart galloped. No. Dylan’s mom wouldn’t let that happen. Mr. Johnson wouldn’t let that happen.
“Warden Bradley, I’ll remind you to be civil to my students,” Principal Nejem said.
“I’m being quite civil.” He glanced over, barely looking at her. “But things are very wrong in Shadow Valley, and Mr. Galloway is only the start. Look at the company he keeps.” Warden Bradley’s eyes shifted and fixed on Aiden instead. “Mr. Spencer here is a full-blooded fae, and unusual things started happening soon after he arrived. And last year, three people were murdered by fae magic—”
“Hey!” Tiago jumped out of his seat, fists clenched at his sides. Magic radiated off him, not just the fur-and-jungle sensation, but a faint deep-gold glow as well, as if he was a second away from shifting.
Even Dylan turned in surprise, staring at Tiago.
The principal shouted at him, but Warden Bradley ignored her, taking two steps toward their table. “And you.” His words dripped venom. “Santiago Barros. The only person in this room to violate the treaty. You murdered humans and ate them, and yet here you are with no consequence at all.”
The whole room seemed to suck in a breath.
Except for Aiden, who couldn’t manage to get any air into his lungs. Sick fear rolled through him, little black spots dancing in front of his eyes.
Tiago dropped back into his chair so hard Aiden wondered if he’d hurt himself. His eyes were wide and round, staring at the warden in shock.
Then Dylan was on his feet. “You leave him out of this—”
“Warden Bradley!” Principal Nejem’s voice boomed through the lunchroom like thunder. Her eyes glowed red as she stalked down the aisle. “That’s enough.” She grabbed his arm, pulling him around to face her. “You’re here to protect my students, not harass them and make accusations.”
A hall monitor appeared next to her, the same one who had intercepted Conner several times before he and Dylan could get in a fight. The hall monitor’s face was set, challenging the warden without words.
“I am protecting your students.” Warden Bradley shook his arm from her grip. “If you were protecting them, you never would have allowed such radical, dangerous elements into your school.”
“Please leave.”
Oh God. Were they going to fight? Could Aiden make it to the door before they started throwing spells around?
Tiago squeezed his hand and held on. Aiden looked over to see Tiago’s haunted eyes. His worst secret declared in front of the whole school, and he was still comforting Aiden. Aiden squeezed back, too worried about everything else to care if anyone saw them holding hands.
“I’ll be making a full report of this,” Warden Bradley said.
“I don’t care what you do as long as you get out of my school right now.”
They stared at each other for a long moment.
Th
en Warden Bradley straightened his suit and headed for the door. Principal Nejem and the hall monitor followed closely behind.
As soon as they disappeared, the room erupted and Aiden started to shake.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
His worst secret, and now everyone in school knew.
Tiago was numb. Will they throw me out of school? Out of town? Will everyone hate me now?
But Aiden was panicking beside him, and he couldn’t just let his boyfriend suffer. “Aiden, just breathe.” Tiago squeezed his hand again.
“Oh shit. You okay?” Dylan asked.
“I… I’ll be fine.” But Aiden didn’t look fine at all. He’d gone ashy-pale, breath coming in little gasps and heart beating way too fast. His hand in Tiago’s was trembling and sweaty.
“Come on, let’s go to the nurse’s office.” Tiago got up, gently tugging at Aiden. Not only did he want to help Aiden, it would be an excuse to get out of the lunchroom. Tiago couldn’t even look at the other students, afraid he’d see disgust and hatred on their faces.
“No, I don’t need to.”
Tiago thought Aiden was a second away from fainting. “Please?” He leaned close. “I need to get out of here.”
Aiden’s eyes cleared a little and he nodded. Tiago helped him get to his feet, sliding an arm around his waist.
A few kids came over and asked Dylan questions. He fended them off. “You need help?”
“We’ll be fine.” If he needed to, Tiago could pick Aiden up and carry him, though that might upset his boyfriend more. If he faints, I won’t have a choice and he won’t be able to protest.
Aiden leaned on him as they made their way toward the door. More kids came over, but Tiago ignored them. A voice in his head whispered, Murderer, murderer, murderer.
Tiago shut it out and focused on getting Aiden to the nurse’s office. Luckily it wasn’t far. The office assistant looked like she was going to question them, but she took one glance at Aiden and led them to the nurse’s office.
With Tiago’s help, the nurse got Aiden up on the cot and had him put his head between his legs.
Between deep breaths, Aiden said, “Oh God. He told everyone. I can’t believe he did that.”
“Don’t worry about that now.” Tiago’s stomach clenched tight with dread.
But Aiden was a worrier. “Will you get in trouble? Will they try to kick you out of school? Dylan’s in so much trouble, but he didn’t actually break the treaty.”
“Just focus on breathing.” If they threw him out of Shadow Valley, would he be able to see Aiden again?
“I’m so sorry, Tiago. This must be so terrible, but here you are taking care of me. I feel selfish.”
“Aiden, you’re having a panic attack. You can’t help it.” Even though the nurse was watching, Tiago started rubbing Aiden’s back. Aiden felt hot and he stank of fear. Tiago wished they were somewhere he could hold him and kiss him. Somewhere far away from school.
God, he couldn’t possibly go back to class.
When Aiden had calmed a little, the nurse got him a glass of water. Aiden sat at the edge of the cot, sipping carefully. “I’m going to see Mr. Emery. I think you should come with me.” Aiden looked like he expected an argument.
“Okay.” Anything to avoid facing the rest of school. Tiago realized some of the fear scent was coming from him.
“I don’t know if he can really do anything, but talking helps.” Then Aiden’s eyes went wide. “We should check on Dylan. Crap, I hope he hasn’t done something.”
For a moment Tiago actually considered going to look for their friend even though that meant going back into the crowded lunchroom.
Aiden pulled out his phone and sent a text with hands that shook a little. He stared at the screen for a while, waiting for a response.
“Keep drinking,” Tiago said. Staring at the phone wasn’t going to make something appear.
Aiden took a longer sip and set the cup back down on the tray. “Oh, Maggie! She can check on him for me.” His fingers slipped over the buttons, and because he didn’t have a smart phone, it took a while to type the message.
Fortunately, a reply came back in less than a minute. Aiden read it, expression shifting from concern to surprise. “Maggie’s with him. So is Hanna. They’re calming him down.”
* * *
When Hanna saw Tiago help Aiden up and head for the door, she stopped debating. “I’m going to talk to them. Stay here,” she told her pack.
She almost went after Aiden. He was probably having a panic attack, and it made her heart hurt to think of him suffering. But then Dylan turned to the growing cluster of students around him and she saw the anger in his eyes.
“Dylan, it’ll be okay.” She put a hand on his arm, so used to touching her packmates that she didn’t think about it.
He focused on her. “That asshole… I can’t believe him. Picking on me is bad enough, but he made Aiden freak out and Tiago…”
The warden had said Tiago was a murderer. Was that true? And did he really eat humans? Aiden wouldn’t be friends with someone like that… would he? Or did he not know?
The kids nearby asked Dylan questions or congratulated him, but Dylan ignored them, so Hanna did too.
“I know,” she said. “It was awful.” The whole lunchroom smelled of fear. No one in her pack had gone to the protest, but she knew other people who had. How had things gotten so bad so fast?
“Is Aiden okay?” Maggie pushed through the other students.
“Panic attack.” Dylan’s anger seemed to rise again, his eyes narrowing and body tightening. “Tiago took him to the nurse. If that guy wasn’t a warden, I’d kick his ass.”
“Do it anyway. He deserves it!” one of the kids shouted.
A faint scent of smoke started to roll off Dylan.
“Maybe we should sit down,” Hanna suggested, still holding his arm and sending calming energy. She’d tried this on Conner before with mixed results, but this time she wasn’t submitting. It was more like the way she calmed her packmates when they were afraid.
Dylan ran his free hand through his hair. “God, I wish I could do something. I can’t just let him get away with this.”
“I think sitting is a good idea.” Maggie pulled out a chair.
“Why don’t we talk about it?” Hanna tugged his arm, guiding him to turn around and move toward his seat.
He glanced between her and Maggie, shaking his head although he didn’t resist. “Trying to keep me from doing something else stupid?”
Maggie gave him a bright smile. “That’s what friends are for.”
Dylan sat, and Hanna took the chair next to him. “Running off after a warden isn’t going to solve anything,” she said.
“Kicking his ass would make me feel better.” Dylan glared at his half-eaten meal.
“And it would get you in more trouble.” Hanna looked at his handsome face, drawn into a familiar scowl. She still liked him, and right now she wanted to wrap her arms around him and kiss him until the anger died down.
“You’re already on thin ice. Don’t make things worse,” Maggie said. “You have to convince enough people at the PTA meeting tonight that you aren’t a danger to the school.”
Dylan shoved his tray aside, putting his arms on the table and resting his head on them. “They’re gonna kick me out, aren’t they?”
Oh no. Now she wanted to kiss him even more. But if she started she might not stop, might go back to dating him, and she was worried she’d backslide into being a girlfriend. Hanna lost herself when she was in a relationship.
“You don’t know that for sure,” she said. “Most of the pack will vote for you to stay, if not all of them. I can get my packmates to convince their parents to vote for you too.”
“You have allies, Dylan.” Maggie patted his shoulder. “My parents, Aiden’s parents.”
“It won’t be enough.”
A cat meowed. “Oh, someone’s texting me.” Maggie pulled out her phone. “Aiden’s worried
about you. I’ll tell him you’re okay.”
“Is he okay?”
Sigh. He was so cute when he worried about Aiden. Get ahold of yourself, Hanna scolded.
“I’m sure he’s doing better, but I’ll ask.” Maggie tapped out a quick message. Her phone meowed again. “He says he’s fine. He’s going to talk to Mr. Emery.”
Dylan let out a breath. “He’s always getting hurt for something I did.”
“Don’t blame yourself.” Hanna rubbed his arm. She couldn’t help it.
He glanced at her and she glimpsed a deep sadness she’d seen a few times before. Dylan was hiding something. “You have no idea.”
He hadn’t opened up to her when they were dating, and she doubted he would tell her now. “We’re still friends, Dylan. I’m here if you need me.” Friendship should be safe enough.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Tiago walked up the salt-covered sidewalk and turned to wave good-bye to Dylan and Aiden. Dylan looked grim, and Tiago knew he had to at least try to help him. Tiago opened the front door, not knowing what he would face from his guardian. Did she know yet? Would she toss him out or hand him over to the wardens?
But she had to already know what he’d done. The wardens had appointed her, and she treated him with a wariness she tried to hide. Or at least she had at first. She’d gotten nicer over the past two years, even hugged him a few times.
Would that change now that the whole school knew what he’d done?
Rosalind sat waiting for him in the living room, her silver hair pulled back into its usual braid. “Come and sit down, Tiago.”
His heart sank, and every step felt heavy as he moved to the far side of the couch.
“I got a call from the wardens today.”
He stared at the floor. “So you know.”
She shifted closer, resting a hand on his leg. “I’ve always known what your parents made you do.”
Zen and the Art of Major Magical Control Page 13