Page 61 of The Lost Elemental

I didn’t want Riven’s words to hurt. He’d proven time and again that he was a callous asshole. Not to everyone. In fact, I’d seen him show kindness to each of the other royals. Kerry thought he hung the moon. But to me? There was nothing but disgust. And I had no idea why.

“Is it because I’m half-human? Does he hate them?” I stared down at my heaping plate of food, as if it would somehow hold all the answers I needed.

The guys around me were quiet.

I forced myself to look up, to study each of them. None of them seemed especially eager to meet my gaze. It was Atlas who finally did. “Riven doesn’t hate you.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” I muttered.

“He doesn’t,” Phoenix insisted.

Kai slid his hand under my fall of hair, massaging my neck. “He has a lot of pressure on him.”

Phoenix nodded. “His dad’s a real piece of work.”

I’d figured out that much in a five-minute meeting with the man. But I knew that couldn’t be all of it. “Just because your father’s awful doesn’t give you an excuse to be the same.”

“You’re right,” Atlas agreed.

Phoenix glared at him. “You know it’s not that simple.”

Atlas met his stare and didn’t look away. “I know he’s been through hell. But that doesn’t mean he gets to treat Aura like dirt.”

A muscle in Phoenix’s jaw ticked, but he nodded.

Been through hell. What did that mean? It was more than just having a less-than-stellar father.

Kai cleared his throat. “So, what’s on our agenda today?”

“I’m going to train Aura,” Phoenix answered as he broke off a piece of croissant and popped it into his mouth.

I arched a brow. “Are you now? I had plans today.”

Kai’s fingers stilled on my neck. “What kind of plans? Are you trying to ditch us, Pip?”

“How could I ditch stage-five stalkers? You probably injected me with a tracking device when I was sleeping.”

Atlas grunted. “Not a bad idea.”

I glared at him.

He just pushed my plate closer to me. “Eat.”

“If you’re not careful, this plate is going to end up on your head.”

Atlas grinned at me. “My reflexes are too quick.”

“One day my payback is coming,” I mumbled and took a bite of my breakfast casserole.

“We’ll all watch our backs,” Phoenix assured me.

“What kind of training are we doing?” Kai asked.

Phoenix lifted a brow. “We?”

Kai’s eyes narrowed on him. “Yes, we. Don’t be a greedy ass when it comes to Aura.”

“We’re going to work on fire.”