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Chapter Ten

KEIR

D amn, Rain looked good. That little blue shirt really showed off her figure, and I was struggling not to gawk at her chest like some asshole.

Aspen looked amazing too, but in a very different way.

While Rain looked like something I wanted to keep close, Aspen had a dangerous vibe, which had always made me keep my distance before.

But she'd just put me in the court? Granted, I very much liked the idea of being Rain's defender, but the court ? I'd spent my entire life trying to break away from the monarchy our people adored so much. To simply give in and use a title like that felt wrong somehow.

"So, why do all of you call it the court?" I asked as we piled into the elevator for our trip down to the first floor.

Aspen laughed once. " We didn't. The jesters did."

"The nickname was supposed to be a threat," Wilder clarified. "Harper tried to make it clear that if we got out of line, she'd call down the real nobility on us." He laughed once, the sound dry and unamused. "Her mommy had power, she always said."

"And that was supposed to be a threat to Torian," Aspen giggled. "The whole 'stick with me and I'll make your life easy' sort of thing."

"Bitch," Rain mumbled.

Yeah, I really didn't want to talk about Harper. She was gone. Hopefully, she wouldn't be coming back. Then again, before her there had been another idiot who'd thought they should be worshiped because of their bloodline. After I graduated, I had a feeling someone else would show up.

In truth, I'd always assumed the court was the same way. They were known as the court, after all! Then again, why couldn't we bend this whole thing to change minds a bit?

On impulse, I said, "So I guess this means you're the court of Earth?"

Aspen's head twitched over to look at me. "Oh, I do like that!"

Wilder just shrugged. "I mean, I could be an Earth duke."

"But are you?" Rain asked, catching that. "A duke, I mean?"

"Uh..." Wilder's mouth flopped a few times. "I..."

"Don't ask that," Aspen warned. "If he confirms, it makes things complicated, and some of us can't talk about it."

"Gotcha," Rain said. "So Duke Wilder, hm? What's the proper title for that anyway?"

"Your Grace," I filled in.

"Well," Rain went on, "if Wilder's a Duke of Earth, then Keir gets to be a knight, right? Like Sir Keir, defender of the Morrigan."

I loved how she was trying to make that stick, but I wasn't about to push for it myself. Instead, I just watched her grinning about the idea, which felt really damned good. When Wilder began to nod, I was honestly surprised.

"That actually works, so you know," Wilder said. "As the Morrigan, you are the equal of the King and Queen, so you can knight him if you choose."

"Oh! Nice!" Aspen squealed just as we reached the ground floor. "Do it, Rain."

"Uh..." She looked at me. "How do I..."

"No," I said calmly, guiding her off the elevator and towards the atrium doors. "We're not doing anything like that in jest."

"So I really could?" Rain asked right as a deep booming began to make the entire building thrum. That was bass echoing in the bones of the school.

"Yes," I assured her, a smile taking over my lips. "And it sounds like Torian has the music going, so go dance with your bestie, hm?"

She glanced at me, her teeth on her lip again with a little smile teasing the corners. "Ok, but you should get me a drink and make sure I don't overdo it, oh mighty defender."

"Yes, ma'am," I agreed, pulling open the door so Rain, Aspen, and even Wilder could make their way in. "Dance, ladies!"

Aspen immediately grabbed Rain's arm and towed her towards the music. Wilder, however, merely paused beside me. For a little too long, he was quiet, but when I turned for the silver oak in the center of this place, his hand snapped out to catch my elbow.

"Hold up?" he asked.

"Ok?" And now I was curious.

He laughed once, his eyes flicking over to where the girls had gone. Once they were out of sight, he turned to face me.

"Aspen wants you with the court, so you're now with the court."

"Uh-huh..." I thought that was obvious.

"So's Torian," he reminded me.

"Yeah..." Still not sure where this was going.

"So are our secrets." And the man lifted his chin slightly, almost like a dare.

"Wilder," I said, "I don't know how to break this to you, but I don't give a shit if you're some duke of a realm I'll never go to. We're here. This is Earth. More than that, this is America, and it's a democracy. If we want to stay, we don't get to keep things like titles and secret governments."

"We're not human."

"We're here ," I countered. "Their world, their rules."

"And the problems that come with being friendly with nobility from the Winter Court?" he asked. "Because my magic doesn't exactly make me popular."

And that was when I realized the real issue. He wasn't necessarily worried about respect for his bloodline. It was the discrimination he'd been getting over his magic! Fuck, sometimes I was a damned idiot.

"Look." I pulled a glob of magic into my hand, letting it shine between us.

"Not green. Not white." Because the stuff was an iridescent rainbow of color, all swirling around like an oil slick.

Then I shook it away. "I don't care what color your magic is, but if you think I'm going to hate someone else because theirs is green? No."

"You sure about that?" he pressed.

I nodded slowly. "I refuse to claim any court but Rain's, ok?"

The guy's lips slowly began to curl. "You know Hawke's is silver, right?"

"Dark, though," I pointed out. "More grey, really."

"Not white. Not green." Wilder lifted a brow. "Torian uses green, but it's not his only option. Aspen and I like white. Rain's is black. Now stop and think about that for a second."

I paused, seeing their power in a whole new way. "No pure Summer fae on your court? "

"Exactly," Wilder said softly. "We came together for a reason - because no one else would accept us.

The jesters pushed us into a corner, so we claimed it as our own.

If you want to help those girls, then keep that in mind.

Being in the court isn't a ticket to instant popularity. It's more like notoriety."

"Trust me, I know," I promised. "I also know Aspen is my friend."

"And Rain?" he asked.

I smiled. "She's the Morrigan."

"And?" He wasn't about to let me out of this.

I forced out a laugh. "I know about her and Aspen. I'm the stand-in, Wilder. Just like you. The beard for their happy little romance."

"Bullshit."

"I am," I assured him before taking a step back. "Hopefully, I won't always be just that, but for now I am. I really am their friend, Rain's defender, and not scared of what others think."

Wilder suddenly thrust out his hand, offering his palm. "Then I'll keep Torian in line. As much as I can, anyway."

I took it. "That's not a small offer. I'll find some way to balance it." Then I shook once.

But Wilder chuckled as he let go of my hand. "You still haven't figured it out, Keir. Look around you. There are dozens of faelings making their way in here - "

"Probably will be close to a hundred in here tonight," I agreed. "Maybe more."

"Mhm," he said. "Now count the pure fae."

"The court," I said, proving I knew that.

Wilder just leaned closer. "Why?"

I let my eyes slip closed and groaned at how obvious the answer was. "Rain."

"Yep. The Morrigan shows up and we all start getting nice-nice?" He murmured like it shouldn't be so easy. "You've been at this place a few years now. Torian and Hawke? Almost two. Me and Aspen? One."

"And Rain has been here almost a whole semester." What was his point?

"But we make sense," Wilder countered. "Torian brought Hawke. Aspen's his sister, and I'm the only other pure Winter user. We make sense. Rain? You? Not so much."

"I speak human," I pointed out. "Made it easy to help out the cute new girl. And that 'cute' thing is what you're missing. Aspen noticed it. Trying to tell me you didn't?"

Wilder lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "Believe it or not, I don't let my dick make my decisions. I'm just wondering if you do. Harper. Rain. How many others have you and Torian clashed over?"

"A few," I admitted. "Hawke scares the girls. You have Winter magic. The ones looking for purity and power?" I lifted both hands, palms up. "That leaves me and Torian. Trust me. My ego's taken a few hits for losing out to some high school kid."

"And now you're wanting to hang out with a whole group of them?" He lifted a brow. "C'mon, Keir. Help me help you."

"Oh, now that was smooth," I said, making it clear I'd noticed his attempt at manipulation. "But we're not going to go from barely ever talking to suddenly being besties."

"Ok," he relented. "That's fair."

"So ask what you really want to know."

The man's black eyes slid across my face, judging me and making no attempt to hide it.

"Aspen is the only other person here like me.

I will protect her. She will protect me.

I'm just curious about what happens when you decide that cute little human girl is spending too much time with the ice bitch. "

"Not gonna happen," I assured him. "I may have been born on Earth, but I was raised fae.

Pleasures of the body, the mind, and the heart.

I like the long conversations Rain and I have.

I enjoy the ones I have with Aspen." Bracing my feet, I leaned back and crossed my arms over my chest. "So if you're worried about me trying to break them up, you can quit. "

"Say it," he demanded.

"I have no intention of getting between Aspen and Rain - in any way. Not even that one. My goal is to be included in their friendship, and hopefully that will become something more with me and Rain. I'm actually hoping Aspen will give me a hand with it."

Wilder hummed thoughtfully. "Ok, good answer. And when shit gets weird because you went from being one of the cool guys to a social outcast?"

"I was never a cool guy," I assured him.

"Wilder, I'm a nerd. Ok, more like a jock, but not the cool kind.

I like hitting people with sticks. I think snow is beautiful.

I love spring, summer, and even autumn. Now here's the bit that's going to blow your mind.

" I had to struggle not to smirk. "My power isn't waning right now, but both my parents were Summer peasants. "

That made the guy do a double take. "What?"

"Mhm," I said, knowing he'd heard me. "My fucked-up, defensive-only magic? It doesn't seem to give a shit about seasons - or courts."

"I actually didn't know that," he admitted.

"Which puts me well into the realm of outcasts, and is why the magic chasers like Torian so much.

His Summer magic is blatant and powerful.

Mine isn't even really Summer magic." I rocked my head in a type of shrug.

"So, it means I am one of the social outcasts already.

The more people get to know me, the more they realize I'm kinda shit at being a pure fae. "

"Yeah, that's a good point," Wilder conceded.

"How about Hawke?" I asked. "Does his wane? Because it's the closest to mine I've ever seen."

"Hawke doesn't talk about his magic," Wilder assured me. "Trust me, do not ask. It's not a safe subject."

"Gotcha." But I tipped my head towards the large tree in the center of the atrium. "So, you gonna keep grilling me, or can I at least buy you a drink?"

Finally, Wilder let out a laugh. "Yep, I'm a cheap date." He turned, slapping my shoulder as the pair of us headed towards the silver oak. "We also need to get something for the girls. These were my first friends, you know."

"Aspen?" I asked, making sure we were still on the same page.

"Yep, and Hawke." He jerked his chin at someone, then lifted two fingers. "He made Torian be nice. Made. Once Hawke accepted me, Torian backed down. When Aspen got here, she was so excited to meet someone else like her, and Torian decided I might not be so bad after all."

"How'd Hawke end up sharing a room with you instead of Torian?" I asked.

Wilder scoffed. "Teachers were worried they were too close."

"Mm, and yet Torian's never been seen with a guy." I paused as a sophomore carried over a pair of glasses filled with syrup from the tree.

"Nectar, Wilder?" he asked. "And you?"

"Gladly!" I said as I took a cup, aware he didn't seem to know my name - but did know Wilder's.

"Welcome to the court," Wilder told me, lifting his cup up like a toast. "May you never need to use that defender title."

"And succeed if I do, regardless of who I'm defending," I agreed just as the song changed to something with a much faster tempo. "Male or female, because I'll stand with Rain's friends."

Wilder tapped his glass against mine. "I like you, Keir. I hope those girls do drag you into a bed. Just remember to keep your dick out of the pale one."

"I may joke about it," I assured him, "but I really do get what 'lesbian' means. I'm liking the whole friend thing, though."

"Thought you were friends with Fin," he countered.

I gave him a scathing look. "I'd rather share a room with Harper, but someone has to watch that dumbass."

Wilder just smiled. "I see. Well, next time you need to ward some doors, lemme know. Hawke and I will help."

"Because Aspen invited me into the court?" I asked. "Or just because you're good guys?"

Wilder turned to look over at the mob of people dancing. "Because it is nice to have friends. We don't exactly make them easily."

"You could."

He just shook his head. "It's not worth the effort. Most friends want answers."

So I leaned in, close to his ear. "I prefer actions. They say more about a person."

Slowly, he turned, meeting my gaze. "Good, then just know that if you hurt Rain, I will let Hawke rip your balls off."

"Not Aspen?"

"She'll cut 'em off herself."

So I nodded. "Good to know. Seems Rain doesn't need me to protect her after all."

"Oh, but she does," he said. "She really does, Keir. Or at least she will. Just don't fuck it up when it happens."

"That's a vow I've already made."