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Chapter Eight

KEIR

T he snow melted the next day. That left the grounds covered in mud, which made walking to and from the gym miserable. Luckily, Pascal didn't mind. He didn't have a family and was technically out of the foster system since he was now an adult, so the winter holidays were boring him.

He made a good sparring partner too. The guy had a wicked backhand with a practice stick and he was quick on his feet. As a Legacy, he didn't have any magic to back him up, but he also didn't need it. Pascal had earned his place in the sentinels on merit alone.

On Wednesday, he dragged me to the gym again. The guy had been pushing me more and more over the last month, and as we headed back to the main building for dinner, I rubbed at my shoulder. Beside me, Pascal chuckled.

"Sore?" he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Gonna have to miss the big party tomorrow because you hurt all over?"

"Fuck off," I replied.

He laughed. "Guess Brack's letting you slack off so you don't bust his daughter's balls? Or is he making you work harder so you don't have the spare energy to throw her in bed?"

I glanced over, ignoring most of that. "You do know she doesn't have balls, right? "

"It's a figure of speech, dumbass." He chuckled. "It's just that you never talk about her, but you spend all your time with her."

"I haven't really seen her much since the Solstice," I countered.

"Technically correct," he pointed out, "but I've seen you watching the atrium. C'mon, Keir. What's the deal? They're all saying she's the Morrigan."

"She is."

He stopped, making me do the same. "Ok," he said, glancing around us. "What the fuck are you trying to hide?"

"I cannot and will not answer that."

Pulling in a long, slow, and frustrated breath, he tried again. "What do I need to know to keep my ass in one piece?"

Now that I could actually answer. "Liam and Bracken have just adopted her. I'm pretty sure it was magically assisted. But I can't think of anyone who has the power to do that."

"Ms. Rhodes?" he suggested.

I shrugged. "Possibly, but why?"

Because the why was the important part. Whoever had done that had used a lot of magic in a season only a few had power in. That meant it was a big deal to do it now. Waiting would make more sense, but the implications of not? That was what he needed to be thinking about.

"Bracken?" he suggested next. "Heard he was a noble."

"It's a rumor," I reminded him. A true one, but still a rumor.

Pascal just chewed on the inside of his cheek, thinking hard. "Aspen?"

"She's barely got any control," I countered.

"I'm not sure who did it, and Rain doesn't seem to either know or care.

But Jack is a wildling prince. Nobility, Pas.

Can't rule him out, although I've also heard he gave his magic to Rain.

No matter who made it happen, to me it says one important thing: someone with some serious power is invested in her. "

"Interesting..." He tipped his head, making it clear we could keep walking.

So I fell in beside him, my stomach grumbling with its need for food. "Harper and a lot of the jesters got expelled. According to Bracken, they will not be coming back. Ms. Rhodes wants to make it clear she will not have the school become a hotbed of political bullshit."

"Good."

"And Torian kissed her. That's what started shit on the Solstice." I tried to slip that in casually, but my frustration came out in my tone .

Which made Pascal laugh. "Oh, guess that means it's on now!" Grinning, he jerked his chin at me. "You hear the rumors about him yet?"

"About him stripping Nevaeh's magic?"

He nodded. "And now he's using Winter magic, dude. Supposedly, Nevaeh's got nothing. Not even a hint of a glamour. She's as magicless as I am. So where did it go?"

"Torian?" I guessed.

Pascal nodded. "Yeah, that's what people are saying. Remember how everyone used to joke about him being real nobility and shit?"

"Yeah..." Because anyone with significant power got accused of that. They also denied it, since it was basically a death sentence. The Queen still had loyalists, even on Earth. "And?"

"Keir!" Pascal groaned. "Bracken's definitely powerful enough to be a noble. He can't do that. Torian? The guy's like seventeen. His power is still manifesting! There's no way, not even if he was the Mad Queen's son himself, you know? So what the fuck is he?"

I paused, my feet slowing as I realized what he was saying. "You sure he didn't manifest early like Aspen?"

"She's still manifesting too," he insisted. "Strong fae get their powers earlier, but they also grow longer. Trust me, I kept hoping for a manifestation long enough that I memorized all this shit. Plus, with fewer Winter fae, it means more for the ones that remain, right?"

"Not sure that's how it works," I countered.

"That's what Ms. Hawthorne said," he assured me. "Last semester, in Concepts of Magical Enhancement, she said it was why we need to still be pushing ourselves, because some of us - " He pointed at himself with both hands. " - might still manifest."

"So maybe Torian manifested Winter power?" I asked.

Pascal scoffed at me just as we reached the back doors to the cafeteria. "Doubtful, but it was the Solstice, so can't rule it out. The real question is how he stripped Nevaeh's magic - and so easily. I mean, I heard - "

The scream of a girl cut him off. Without thinking, the pair of us rushed forward to see a girl face down on the ground. It looked like Nevaeh. A guy stood over her. They weren't the ones screaming, though. No, that was one of the eleventh graders, a girl named Poppy.

"I don't care!" she was screeching at the top of her lungs. "You do not treat a woman like that!"

"Oh fuck off." That voice. Yeah, I knew it well. It belonged to my suitemate, Fin.

"Let. Her. Go!" Poppy demanded.

Slowly, Fin turned to her, and I could now see the smile on his lips. It was cruel. "Beg. Oh, I bet your mother would love to see that."

Because Poppy was Ms. Hawthorne's daughter.

More than half fae, she was strong for her age, but not strong enough.

The moment her eyes met Fin's, he had her.

The girl's shoulders softened, her stance relaxed, and all of her defiance vanished.

It was enough to make me forget about Nevaeh laying sprawled on the floor.

"Fin!" I snapped.

He chuckled. "Beg, little girl," he told Poppy.

And slowly, Poppy sank to her knees before him. I was sure I couldn't be the only one to think her pose was just a little too suggestive. I also knew she was no longer in control of herself.

Fin was an Enticer. His power - and he had far too much of it - was in taking over other people's minds and forcing them to obey his will. When Poppy began to blather about her stupidity at interrupting, I was sure of it.

Beside me, Pascal growled under his breath and stormed forward to shove Fin's shoulder. I was only a step behind. Fin staggered, but that wasn't enough. Poppy was still rambling about her mistakes.

"...Never should've interrupted. You know what you're doing, and she's a Winter bitch. She deserves what she gets."

"Fin..." I warned. "Stop it, or I will."

He tensed up. "Thought you were fucking the crow girl, not the ice princess?"

"Let. Her. Go."

His smile grew a little more and Poppy's voice got louder. "I just wanted you to notice me," she declared. "My mother won't approve -" A hint of blood was visible at the edge of her mouth. "- but you're so hot. I know I'm nothing - "

I didn't give Fin a second chance. Lashing out, I shoved magic through Poppy, severing any connections to her. It was a shield of sorts, shattering the magical bridge between her mind and Fin's. I also knew the moment it snapped.

Poppy lurched forward, bracing her hands against the ground. Fin grunted like he'd been punched in the face. The snap hit both of them, which was why I'd hoped he'd release her, but better a little pain than what he'd been doing to that girl.

"Do not," I growled, taking a step closer to Fin, " ever ," and another, "try that shit in front of me. Am I clear?! "

"Prick!" he snarled.

At the same time, Pascal asked, "What do you need, Keir?"

"Bracken," I said. "We need to talk to him, don't we, Fin?"

The asshole shoved at both my shoulders, forcing me back. "Learn to take a joke, Keir."

"Learn to keep your mind off women!" I roared even as Pascal hurried towards the opposite door from the one we'd come in. "If you - "

"What?" he broke in. "You'll throw me to your new friends? You think because you're hanging out with the court, you're all hot shit now? You think being friends with high schoolers is so fucking cool?"

"You evidently do," I countered, jerking my chin in a dare for him to come at me.

He braced a little more, clearly considering it. "Just admit it. You're jealous because I'm stronger than you. Maybe you're a fucking pureblood, but your magic's shit."

"Good enough to stop you," I pointed out. "And to give you one hell of a headache."

"She's a fucking Winter bitch!" he bellowed.

"And now she's helpless! Harper's not here to shield her.

Aspen doesn't like her. Nevaeh thought she could fuck with all of us, calling herself part of the Summer Court, but she's not!

" He turned and spit at the girl, who was still curled up on the floor but conscious - and luckily, he missed. "She's nothing!"

"Hey," I barked, nudging him hard enough to get his attention back on me. "Not a good look, Fin. If the only way for you to feel powerful is to use your magic to control those weaker than you, then who's the sad one, hm?"

His eyes jumped to mine. Immediately, I slammed a shield into place, blocking his magic, but I could still feel him trying. It pissed me off. I also didn't want him to know that, so I forced a smile to my lips.

"Push harder if you can," I dared him. "Prove you can best me, Fin."

"You fucking - "

"Hey!" The sound of Bracken's voice cut through the entire cafeteria. "Fin! Office. Now !"

Fin glared a second longer, and I felt his power hammering my shield - and then he gave up. Letting out a sigh, the man knew he was beat. Then, and only then, did I step over, giving him a clear path to leave.

"Fuck you, Winter groupie," he grumbled as he walked past me.

I scoffed, but said nothing else. The guy was an asshole. I didn't actually care if he liked me or not, but I was getting really tired of babysitting his ass. Yet the moment Bracken hauled Fin through the doors, the entire cafeteria began to buzz with whispers.

I just knelt down to check on the girls. "You ok, Poppy? Nevaeh?" I asked.

"What happened?" Nevaeh asked.

"Fin," Poppy mumbled. "He enticed you."

"Sorry about the head," I told Poppy.

She just waved that off. "It worked, and spewing lies hurt much worse. I'm ok." Although she still hadn't sat back up. Her hands were pressed hard against the floor, and she was panting. "I'm ok," she said again, and this time it sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

"Hey..." I soothed, reaching over to help her lean back on her heels. "I can ease that, if you'd like?"

"Please?"

So I pressed my fingertips to her brow and healed. It wasn't an ability I was good at, but it should be enough. When the girl sighed and softened, I knew she was feeling it.

"You ok?" I asked Nevaeh even as I let go of Poppy.

"I don't know what happened," she admitted. "I don't hurt, but I also don't remember!"

"He made you act like a servant," Poppy told her. "Get his meal, bow, and shit like that. I told him to stop, but I couldn't break his magic."

Nevaeh pushed her lips together hard, but I could still see the lower one quivering. "I used to have good shields."

"Will it come back?" I asked.

That was enough to push her over the edge. In an instant, Nevaeh's eyes welled with tears and one spilled over. "I don't know," she blubbered.

"Oh, Nevaeh!" Poppy breathed, leaning in to hug the other girl.

"Winter bitch!" someone a few tables over sneered loudly enough to be heard.

"Fuck you!" Poppy shot back. "I don't care what court she's from. We're all fae here."

"Summer fae!" someone else countered.

"Don't," I told her. "It won't help."

Poppy just huffed in annoyance. "It's fucking stupid! Everyone acts like Winter magic is so evil, but what are they? This is bullying! Straight-up bullying, and it's not ok!"

"No," I agreed, "it's not. But I thought you were Summer? "

"I," she informed me, "do not judge people on the color of their magic. That's one thing growing up on Earth taught me."

"Then look out for her?" I asked, tipping my head to Nevaeh. "Her friends are gone."

Poppy's eyes met mine for a little too long, holding them. "Nevaeh?" she asked, refusing to break our gaze. "You can eat with me, ok?"

"Our debt is even," I mouthed.

She nodded, then pushed to her feet. "They think the Morrigan's arrival is a sign they're right. It's only going to get worse. So, tell your girlfriend - "

"Not my girlfriend," I informed her.

"Tell Rain le Fae," she corrected, "there's a war brewing. They think she's going to be their martyr."

"She's not."

"You sure about that?"

All I could do was shake my head. "No, but I also know Rain. She's here to fix things, not make them worse."

"Then fix the damned courts! " she snapped.

"I'd rather we just get rid of them." I rocked back on my heels, then stood. "Fuck the courts. Fuck Faerie and their Mad Queen. We came here , Poppy. And here, they don't do royalty."

"Says the man who clearly isn't noble," Nevaeh grumbled.

"I also refuse to claim either one," I told her.

"I am fae. I was born here . Well, guess what?

We're all here now. Maybe it's time to give up the shit that made our parents run for their lives, hm?

Maybe, just maybe, none of it fucking matters anymore.

We're here , Nevaeh. Not there, and not in any fucking courts.

We're all here, trying to figure out how to survive an iron world.

I think we've got bigger problems than kings and queens. "