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Chapter Seven

KEIR

H earing Bracken's voice made me look over to see him walking with Rain. When the man gestured for me to come closer, I angled my feet that way, feeling a little hint of anxiety. I wasn't avoiding Rain. I'd merely been polite about the holidays. That was all.

I also knew the Winter Solstice had completely changed her world.

Rain had learned she was the Morrigan, and while she didn't have a clue how big of a deal that was, I did.

Adding in a pair of new dads to go with it?

I had a feeling the last thing she needed to worry about was some guy with a crush on her.

But I'd come out here to get in a workout before the semester started up again.

I was headed towards the gym, and clearly they were coming back from there.

Bracken wanted me to tutor Rain and make sure she was ready for whatever would come at her, so I needed to stay on my game. Now, I felt like I'd been slacking.

However, the world had turned white last week, and I'd taken it as a weak excuse to skip a few practice sessions and be lazy.

Snow had fallen on Christmas Eve, coating the world in powder that was now up to my ankles.

In the moonlight, it turned the grounds beautiful.

That it had arrived just in time for Rain's big Christmas with her dads?

I was pretty sure someone had made a little miracle happen.

My guess was Aspen, and it was her unspoken present to Rain.

I didn't want to think about if it had been someone else.

Torian had already stolen a kiss from her.

Giving her the perfect holiday on top of that?

Yeah, there was no way I could compete with his magic.

Luckily for me, he wouldn't say anything and Rain wouldn't care.

She didn't think of power the same way as the fae.

Yet the air was still crisp and cold. The world had the muffled feeling that came with new snow, and it was still falling randomly here and there.

The campus was so empty, all I could hear was the sound of the flakes landing.

Not even Bracken and Rain's voices wafted through the stillness. Damn, this was beautiful.

Granted, trying to hurry through the drifts to reach Rain wasn't exactly easy. And when Bracken walked away, leaving her there alone? Ok, I stretched my legs a little more, doing a sort of hop-jog through the powder. I was pretty sure I looked stupid. I also didn't care.

There was something amazing about winter.

Technically, it wasn't my season, but I'd never felt overly attached to summer either.

My parents had been followers of the Summer Court, but peasants.

Normal people. Once they'd escaped to Earth, they'd put everything about courts and fae politics behind them, raising me to believe in the world we had now, not royalty from another realm.

I had a feeling that was why I liked all seasons equally.

I made it halfway to Rain when a black streak darted right in front of me, so close I swore I felt feathers on my nose. "Jack!" it cawed.

Yep, I jumped. "Damn it, Jack!"

"Jack!" he said again. "Jack, Jack!" The damned bird circled back, and then did the last thing I would've expected. He landed on my shoulder. "Rain!"

"I'm working on it," I assured him.

"Rain!" he insisted, taking off just to fly back towards her.

Even in the darkness, her bright green coat stood out. Since I'd never seen it before, it had to be new. Probably one of the many presents she'd gotten for Christmas. The leggings weren't ones I'd seen before either, but we typically wore uniforms, so they weren't surprising.

Lifting a puffy green arm, Rain waited until Jack landed on it. Then she moved the crow to her shoulder as if it was habitual. I was almost close enough to talk to her. Just a few more hop-jogs, and I'd be there.

"Hey! What are you doing out here?" I called.

"Hey, Keir," she said when I was finally close enough. "I haven't seen you in a few."

"I've been lazy," I assured her. "And you? Have a good Christmas with your soon-to-be dads? "

"Real dads now," she beamed. "The adoption was made official today."

"It was?" That was fast.

She just shrugged like she was trying to play it off, but her smile gave her away. "Probably magic."

Ok, there was that. Bracken wasn't exactly a weak man, and if he wanted something that much, he'd make it happen. For all I knew, Ivy Rhodes had been involved too. That woman was terrifying with her abilities - in all things.

But what I said was, "Congratulations!" And I really did mean it.

"I just, um..." Her eyes dropped to the snow between us. "Um..." She laughed once, the sound almost nervous. "I just... haven't gotten to really talk to you since the thing."

"The fight."

"Yeah, that. And the whole Morrigan thing," she said. "I kinda thought I was going to get expelled."

"Yeah, you said. But was it worth it?"

"Ended up that way," she assured me. "It's just, um, you're ok, right? Nothing bad? No punishment for helping me?"

"None," I assured her. "I also got a very amazing tutoring position. Bracken asked me to help train one of his star pupils. New kid, seems to be picking things up quickly, and has a ton of potential. Maybe you've seen her around? She has this crow that follows her everywhere."

"Me?"

"Is there another girl with a crow I missed?" I grinned, because that was the closest I could get to sarcasm.

Lying was out. Saying words that were untrue was torture.

Snark, on the other hand, I could use. Growing up around humans, I'd learned to accept that how things were done in my home was not necessarily true for the rest of the world.

Little things, like people thanking me, or big things, like making deals.

Humans saw it all differently, and since we were living in their world, we needed to play by their rules.

Which put me in the perfect position to help Rain figure out the fae she was surrounded by.

Then again, now that she had Bracken as a father, she wouldn't need my help as much.

Since he was with Liam, Bracken had clearly come to terms with humans and their strange habits.

The problem was I didn't want her to turn to him.

I wanted her to talk to me . I wanted her to lean on me. I wanted her to befriend me, enjoy being around me, and maybe even kiss me again. I also wouldn't push. I respected this girl enough to have patience, because right now, she had to be overwhelmed.

"So," I said, filling in the pause that was starting to stretch on, "since Bracken bailed, you wanna sit? There's a bench over here." I gestured to the one Bracken often used when making us track his cat.

"Sure," she agreed, letting me guide her that way.

Which was when Jack took off. He didn't even offer a caw first. The bird just exploded in a rush of frozen air and black wings, disappearing into the sky. For a moment I paused, watching the direction he'd flown.

"And he's gone," I said, trying to make a joke of it.

"Probably going to check on the other crows," Rain explained. "He does that every time we're out here. I guess it's a thing? Like checking up on his subjects or something?"

"No clue," I admitted, gesturing to the bench we were aiming for. "I missed out on wildlings, you know. Born here. I mean, I know about the Crow King and all, but Jack's the first one I've actually met."

"Huh." She walked with me until we reached the very snow-covered bench. "That's going to melt right into my pants, huh?"

"Your new coat isn't long enough to prevent it?" I teased.

Right on cue, she held out her arms and turned. "Like it? Liam said my other one sucked, and since I'll be walking back an hour later than last semester, I need a good one."

While she talked, I swiped the snow from the bench, doing my best to clear it off so she could sit beside me. Yeah, I also looked. When she twirled, I couldn't help but appreciate the amazing curves of her body. Fae girls didn't look like that - not even in puffy coats.

Our kind were long and lean. Even us guys. Sure, we had muscles, but we tended to look more like martial artists or athletes than bodybuilders. Our women? They were like Aspen. Tall was common; lean was expected. Curves? Round asses and obvious breasts? Not so much.

"So what else did you get for Christmas?" I asked, wanting to keep her beside me as long as possible.

"Gift cards galore. Liam took me to use those earlier today.

I got clothes and more clothes. My dads gave me so much, I can't even remember everything.

" She claimed the left side of the bench, tipping her head for me to sit too.

"It's kinda weird, though. Most years, my foster parents only got me necessities, you know?

But Bracken and Liam? They went all-out.

Then, today, Liam bought me even more stuff! "

"Because they're excited to finally be dads. At least Bracken is."

"He said that?"

I nodded. "He bragged, Rain. Flat-out bragged to me.

I mean, when you started in his class, he said he thought you had potential.

When you almost took me out with that practice stick?

He warned me you'd be my only competition next year.

" I glanced over. "Considering all the sentinels are in those classes? That says a lot."

"But I kinda suck."

I murmured, showing I heard her but didn't agree. "You don't know anything. You also don't pretend you do. You don't let arrogance get in your way. Most importantly, you want to learn."

"Yeah, I kinda do." Letting out a sigh, she leaned back. "But I'm going to have a detention class. Eighth period, Keir!"

"Mhm. I also know they'll lighten your load somewhere else. It's how Ms. Rhodes works."

"She's gonna make me learn magic too."

That made me lift a brow. "Really?"

"Good or bad?" she asked.