The Touch Reader (#1 of the Elemental Originals Series)

Chapter Nineteen

I sat quietly by his bed, more tired than I had ever been. It's been two days since what happened, and I had not slept at all during those forty-eight hours.

In reality, it was probably longer than that, but I lost count and honestly just wanted to stay awake until Jayden woke up.

After Temperance and I successfully managed to get him to the infirmary, I was confronted by a very worried Headmaster who wanted to know exactly what had happened.

Honestly, I was more than happy to have such an awesome Headmaster. I mean, I knew everyone made mistakes, but he made an extra effort to know both sides of the story even if there were fifty people on one side and only one on the other.

So when he asked me, I was terrified because Jayden's heartbeat had stopped for a few moments before it started again. I just touched him and let him see my memories.

Merging with the Headmaster's mind was . . . Weird. It was dark and careful, like even twitching an arm the wrong way would send him into some sort of coma.

By the end of it, he had been so still that it genuinely frightened me. I could see his stormy gaze through his mask and I could see the silent fury inside of it.

He had looked at me and dropped to his knees, bowing. I had flinched in shock and quickly asked him what he was doing.

His response had been that he wanted to roar the fury of his dragon for that male doing what he did. He said he felt responsible because I was one of his students, and I was his responsibility.

He had also said that only a true Queen would have been able to refrain to kill him where he stood. Not even a King would have such restraint.

Those cryptic words haunted me after he left, saying that he had to make sure he could be there to argue on my behalf. Regardless that he had assaulted me, Jayden had still attacked a member of the Royal Family. To anyone else's eyes, Jayden was just a jealous student who nearly killed an innocent Prince.

I understood. I did, but that didn't mean I had to like it.

Right afterward, Flamma and Leo had come and told me how grateful they were that I was okay. Flamma had been crying as she hugged me tightly, begging for forgiveness that she wasn't there.

I had told her that it was okay, that nothing really bad happened and she couldn't have known what was happening because I didn't tell her the bad feeling I got. But by the look in her eyes, I knew she wasn't just apologizing for that.

Leo had simply hugged me tightly, trembling as he held me. He didn't say anything, but I understood.

Once that was done and over with, Saeva, David, and Nicole came asking me what happened because rumors were flying everywhere that a Triple-Element-Rider was in the infirmary because they nearly killed a Prince for almost raping another Triple-Element-Rider.

Funniest thing? It wasn't even my sister or Leo or the Headmaster, or even the Princess.

It was the Royal Guards.

People thought that kids gossiped? Adults were so much worse.

Word rapidly got around from the Royal Guards, to the servants, to the tailors, to the cooks, and the list went on and on until every single person and creature in this palace thought they knew what happened.

I told my friends the truth, and they were relieved that the people saying I was the one who put the Prince in the infirmary because the Prince was secretly gay and couldn't take it anymore and tried to rape Jayden was completely false.