Dragon Fire Academy 1 First Term an RH academy romance - Rachel Jonas Page 0,26

queen for our hive—beauty equaled distraction. Which meant Noelle’s attractiveness was one heck of a hazard. One we couldn’t afford right now.

“Not gonna lie,” Paulo continued, “I’m a sucker for a girl with curves in all the right places, and … hers are definitely in the right places,” he added with a distracted grin, moving his hands over an invisible hourglass-figure. “Timebomb or not … pretty sure I’d hit that if we’d met under different circumstances.”

“Dude … without question,” Rayen agreed, barely giving Paulo a chance to finish speaking.

This further proved my point about her being a major distraction.

“So where are we with this?” I inquired, getting the conversation back on track. “The quicker we resolve it, the quicker we can get back to what’s important.”

Paulo settled against the wall again. “Well, I think it’s safe to say our mission has changed. Protecting her is no longer our concern, but rather protecting those on this island from what she could become.”

Nodding, Rayen and I both agreed.

“So, what do we do about that? I think we all agree that ‘taking her out’ seems a bit extreme,” Paulo spoke up, using air quotes around the phrase. “Although, if it comes down to her or the safety of the island, we’d have to choose the island.”

Again, there was no argument against his logic.

“Then, if not death, what?” Rayen asked.

I peered up at my brothers with the only viable solution. “Removal.”

Paulo’s brow quirked when he grinned. “As in, get her kicked out?”

“As in, whatever it takes,” I clarified. “We’ll watch her, gather enough evidence against her to prove to the Advisors that she’s a threat to the island, and they’ll be forced to act. Until we have the proof we need, we keep close watch, especially since we aren’t sure when she’ll age up,” I insisted. “Chief is clearly aware of what this girl is, but he’s in denial, blinded by the benefits of having her here, versus the dangers. So, for now, we have to assume he’s not our ally in this situation. It’ll be up to us to keep tabs on her at all times, but also keep our priorities intact. It’s imperative our focus remain on the most important things—our island, our people.”

Paulo and Rayen both nodded.

“And I don’t think I need to stress how important it is that we resolve this before the next lottery closes in on us. There’s always a period of unrest that follows, so we must stay focused.”

The others fell silent at mention of the lottery. It was a widely accepted practice on Sanluuk, but most had deemed it little more than a necessary evil, a means of maintaining balance.

“Then, it’s settled,” Rayen concluded. “Operation: ‘Royal Pain’ is officially in place.”

“While I forbid anyone to call it that … yeah,” Paulo snickered, “it’s a go.”

So, it was decided.

I stretched, aware of how badly I needed a shower after the ordeal in town—wrestling with a ten-year-old with the strength of a man twice my size.

“Our mark will need eyes on her every night. Although, I think we should be discreet about it for a while. Don’t need her pitching a fit about being watched twenty-four/seven.”

Both grumbled in frustration. Keeping tabs on Noelle around-the-clock would be an adjustment, but it had to be done.

“So, which of you wants to take the first official night watch?”

“One, two, three. Not it!” Paulo said quickly, smirking.

With a heavy sigh as Rayen stood from the couch, it became clear who’d just drawn the short straw. “Guess that’s my cue,” he grumbled.

We were all filthy and exhausted, but someone had to do the job.

“Sweet dreams, Buttercup,” Paulo called out.

“Blow me, dickwad,” was the only response Rayen thought necessary to give.

The door slammed behind him, and we were down to two. However, with any luck, the latest factor that had us divided—both physically, and in mindset—would be long gone soon.

Then, and only then, could we regain our focus, and deal with the real issues.

The ones that threatened life on this island as we knew it.

Chapter Eight

Noelle

“It’s freakin’ Saturday,” Marcela huffed. “Noelle, your mentors might be hot, but they kind of suck,” she assessed. “I mean, if they’re gonna linger, they could at least do it shirtless. Otherwise, they’re just sucking the fun out of our weekend—one of the few instances where we get to do our own thing.”

“Agreed,” Manuel concurred. “Except for the shirtless part.”

Frustrated, Marcela scooped a handful of water from the fountain, splashing it at her brother. He shot her a warning