Dragon Fire Academy 1 First Term an RH academy romance - Rachel Jonas Page 0,48

like my guardians, the long nights I imagined had nothing to do with all the kids these hives produced.

Actually, the number of kids suddenly made perfect sense.

When I swallowed hard, imagining it, Kai smiled, apparently having noticed the reaction.

“So … each hive shares one mate?” I just needed clarity.

“Yes,” he confirmed, laughing a little as I tried to wrap my mind around it.

“And they’re all … okay with that? Okay with sharing,” I clarified.

“Actually, they’re more than okay with it. It’s just our way, how we’re hardwired,” he explained. “The four of us one day sharing a mate is our version of normal.”

My heart thumped unevenly, trying to imagine it—one woman in the center of a four-man pileup.

The Queens the other hives had chosen were some freakin’ lucky broads.

“These women,” I began, swallowing hard, “do they seek you guys out, or is it more of an arranged-marriage-type deal?”

Kai was thoughtful again. “It’s more of a … when-you-know-you-know-type deal,” he countered.

My brow tensed with curiosity. “So, there’s a sign?”

When Kai nodded and smiled, I drew in a shallow breath. “Sort of,” he answered. “It’s more of a feeling. Our connection with Spirit is strong, and from what the others have told us, it’ll make it undeniably clear when we’ve found her.”

There was a twinge of something that hit me when he said that, something that made the smile I offered feel weak, fake.

Ugh, it was jealousy. All it took was me thinking of the girl who’d come along and steal all their hearts at once, being the center of their world like the women I had just seen in the photos.

“Oh, cool!” I forced out, doing my best to sound a little less salty than I felt on the inside.

Kai gave a casual shrug as the sweeping glance he did of me, from head to toe, nearly made my knees weaken. “I suppose.”

Clearing my throat, I turned back toward the pictures. “Everyone looks like they’re having such a good time,” I forced out. I needed to shift the conversation a bit. Mostly because I nearly asked why he and the others had yet to take a mate. It really was none of my business.

Kai glanced at the pictures when he nodded. “Yeah, we get together as often as we can. When we’re not busy, that is. Actually, the Auroras are putting on a barbecue tomorrow.”

“And we’re not going,” Ori announced when he entered the room carrying a small fan. I watched as he placed it on the nightstand beside the bed before plugging it into the wall. My best guess was that he’d brought it in case I got hot during the night.

“Why not?” Kai seemed confused as he crossed both arms over his chest.

“We need to keep an eye on Noelle,” Ori grumbled with an irritated sigh following his statement. Unlike other times, I wasn’t made to feel like a burden. He just always had this sense of duty about him as their leader. Like, he could never see past his responsibilities, could never see past needing to look out for everyone.

“Why can’t she just come with us?” Kai reasoned. Not gonna lie, it felt nice feeling like he wanted me around.

Ori passed him a stern glance. “Because it’s safer if we just stay close to home. Plus, we can’t take it upon ourselves to invite extra guests,” he added.

“Are you kidding?” Kai asked with a laugh. “With how much we all eat, Kalea always has extra food.”

Another of Ori’s icy gazes shot toward Kai, and this time, he didn’t speak again. There was so much tension, I wanted to leave these two to go at it alone.

“Listen,” I interjected. “I can just go back to the dorm in the morning, so you guys can—”

“Out of the question,” Ori interjected with a commanding tone. “We’re keeping you here for at least the weekend. You can’t be out of our sight.”

I felt oddly turned on when he put his foot down, but I did my best to hold back the smile threatening to break free.

“Got it,” I conceded.

That tension returned, but this time it wasn’t all frustration. On second thought, maybe that wasn’t true, but it was definitely the sexual kind. Luckily, Rayen bounded into the room, keeping things from getting too weird.

Well, keeping me from getting too weird.

“We’re going for a swim,” he announced. “Change and meet us on the dock, Princess.”

I glanced around, and then pointed at myself. “Uh … me?”

“You see any other princesses around here?” The grin