Deviant King (Royal Elite #1) by Rina Kent

During the lunch break, RES’s entire student body gathers here. If something happens in this place, it’ll be engraved in everyone’s memories.

It’ll be posted on social media.

It’ll be the talk of the entire school.

Last week, Silver spilt juice on a freshman — she spills beverages a lot — and it became the talk of the week. The incident reached me even though I don’t eat here.

“Relax.” Xander’s cool voice wrenches me from my thoughts. His face is all grins and smiles.

Easy for him to say. He’s a popular star and the son of a minister.

Attention is his middle name. Hell, he might even thrive on it.

I can end all this now, but my need for revenge simmers beneath the surface like an untamed animal.

This time, I’ll be the one who inflicts pain.

Whoa. That’s a scary thought.

I’m not that person. I don’t need to inflict pain. All I need is justice.

Yes. Justice.

With a deep breath, Xander and I walk into the cafeteria. Chatter and utensils clicking fills the air. Some students laugh at one another, others are in heated conversations, and a few loners sit in the back.

My heartbeat increases with every step I take. Beads of sweat cover my temples and a tremor shoots through my limbs.

Once we’re in the centre of the cafeteria, the chit chat withers away and almost everyone’s attention zeroes in on us.

Some jab their friends while others murmur in hushed tones.

Being in the limelight stiffens my shoulder blades.

My heart flips when I make out where Xander is guiding me.

The centre table.

The football team’s table.

The table at which Aiden sits. He’s nodding at something Cole says while nonchalantly moving his fork around his half-full plate.

He’s wearing the team’s blue jacket with the school’s logo. The first few buttons of his shirt are undone, hinting at his tanned skin and hard muscles.

Ronan is half-sitting on his chair, speaking enthusiastically while the rest of the team snickers. All except for Aiden who’s watching with a poker face.

Cole’s laugh falls as he notices us.

His eyes stray from me to Xander and then straight to Aiden. He doesn’t need to alert him, though.

As if having a sixth sense, Aiden pauses picking at his food and lifts his head. His smoky gaze falls on me, and for a second, he appears to be taken aback as if he doesn’t know what I’m doing here.

Then his eyes dart to where I’m clutching Xander by the arm. It’s at a time like this that I wish Aiden had an expressive face.

His poker mask is strapped tight around his features as he drops his fork with a clank and stands.

He calmly, too calmly, wipes his mouth with a napkin before setting it down.

My heart nearly leaps out of my throat as he stalks towards us with sure, confident steps.

I want to believe that Aiden wouldn’t humiliate me in public now that I’m with Xander, but I can’t put anything past him.

The smirk on Xander’s face isn’t helping. “He’s pissed off.”

“How do you know that?” I whisper back.

He appears completely detached to me.

“The twitch in his left eye.” Xander grins. “He can control anything but that.”

Xander removes my arm from his but just so he’d wrap it around my shoulder.

He smells of sandalwood.

That’s the last thought I have before Aiden slams his fist in Xander’s face.





Chapter Seventeen





I stare in stunned silence as Xander’s body jerks back and slams against a table.

A few girls shriek. Other students gasp.

I’m in the shocked category.

My back hits the edge of a table and I grip the hard wood for balance.

Aiden has never been the violent type. He said it the other day, didn’t he? That he’d rather play smarter, not stronger.

So why is he punching his best friend?

Before Xander can recover, Aiden lunges at him with a slamming punch.

It’s the first time I see him this way.

Violent.

Animalistic.

Out of control.

It’s like a different Aiden altogether.

Xander releases mocking laughter before he shoves Aiden and jabs a punch at his face. Blood explodes from Aiden’s lower lip.

I swallow. Should I interfere? Do something? Say something?

But it’s not like they’re fighting because of me — although I might have played a part.

Aside from the sound of punches, the cafeteria is completely silent. None of the other students utters a word. Hell, I doubt they’re able to breathe properly. It’s understandable.

Aiden and Xander have been close for as long as anyone remembers. No one would’ve imagined that they’d turn against each other.

This fight might as well be the event of the year.

Cole and Ronan are the first — and the only ones — who dare to approach them.

Cole tries to grip Aiden, but he’s like a bull. He shoves him away and lunges back at Xander. At the captain’s sign, the rest of the football team joins. It takes a few of them to stop Aiden and Xander from killing one another.

Two teachers and Coach Larson quicken their pace inside, followed by… Kim.

She called the teachers?

Coach appears pissed off as he orders the football team to drag Aiden and Xander to a disciplinary office.