Their Hidden Princess (Zora) novel Chapter 38

**Where Sleeping Rivers Dream We Follow Trails Toward Tomorrow by Evan Milesa Cade**

I was just about to step out of class, lost in a light-hearted conversation with Loren, when an unexpected hand landed gently on my elbow. Instinctively, I spun around, my eyes wide and my hands raised, ready to defend myself. To my surprise, it was Thorne standing there, his hands lifted in a gesture of peace, a look of cautious amusement on his face.

“Gods above,” he muttered, exhaling sharply as he dropped his hands. “Are you always so quick to attack people?”

“Well, considering that everyone at this damned school seems to be gunning for me, yes,” I replied, lowering my hands but maintaining a wary stance. I signaled to Loren to continue without me, and though she frowned, she complied and stepped out of the classroom. I turned my full attention back to the wolf standing before me.

“What do you want, Thorne?” I asked, my voice steady but my heart racing.

“You know my name,” he said softly, his gaze piercing through me. “How do you know it?”

I froze, caught off guard. He had no idea that I had spent time in the same castle as him, that I was aware of his identity while he remained oblivious to mine.

“You’re always hanging out with Maximus and Kairos,” I replied hastily, trying to sound nonchalant. “A friend of my enemy is my enemy too, or something like that.”

Thorne smirked, his bleach-blonde hair neatly braided away from his face, though a couple of rebellious strands fell elegantly across his forehead. His dark eyebrows contrasted sharply with his bright hair, creating a striking look that was almost comical. Below them, his canary-yellow eyes sparkled with mischief—deep but not quite as rich as Kairos’s, and certainly not the ethereal white gold of Valentin’s. I found myself wondering if there was some connection between eye color and social standing.

Mental note for later, I thought, pushing the thought aside.

*You have pens and paper,* my wolf chimed in, her tone teasing. *I am not your secretary.*

Once again, I chose to ignore her; she was becoming increasingly irritating. I shifted my focus back to Thorne, who had adjusted his backpack higher on his shoulder, blinking at me as if I had just drifted off into another world.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, gesturing vaguely to my head. “Wolf, ya know.”

Thorne nodded, his expression shifting to one of understanding. “It’s tough to quiet them down at first,” he said, his voice steady. “But if you use the same techniques to dull your hearing, you can at least make their noise a bit more manageable.”

I nodded, surprised by his willingness to help. Why was he doing this? Wasn’t he supposed to despise me like Maximus and Kairos? Or had their feelings shifted somehow?

*They certainly feel something,* my wolf mused, but I chose to ignore her once more. I needed to focus on shutting her out.

“Thanks,” I muttered to Thorne, my voice barely above a whisper. “But was that really all you wanted to tell me?”

“No,” he replied, shifting his weight awkwardly from one foot to the other. The Professor had retreated to his office, leaving us as the only two souls in the classroom.

“I have a new assignment,” Thorne said, his tone suddenly serious. “I don’t know if you’re aware, but I’m one of the Queen’s Knights. My duty is to protect individuals of interest.”

“Oh,” I said, the implications of his words sinking in. I could already feel a sense of dread creeping up my spine.

“Yeah, so,” Thorne continued, rubbing the back of his neck as if to relieve tension. “The Queen has decided to assign me to protect you for reasons I don’t fully understand. So, I’ll be following you to and from classes for the rest of the semester.”

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