Page 19

Chapter Fourteen

KEIR

M s. Rhodes led Rain away. Looking back, I watched as the pair headed towards our magical training area, which most students called "the Never." Yet while I was pretty sure the headmistress wouldn't punish Rain for a mere accident, I wasn't positive.

"Aspen?" I asked, shifting towards her.

"That is enough !" Ms. Hawthorne snapped. "I don't know what prank the five of you are up to - "

"Pearl..." Liam warned.

"Oh, please!" Ms. Hawthorne shot back. "You know as well as I do that if something happens at this institute, the supposed 'court' is going to be involved."

Torian just shifted his weight and crossed his arms. "Really?"

"And you ," the woman grumbled, "are truly pushing your boundaries!"

Torian's sneer spoke volumes. "And you," he shot back, "are losing it because one student - who just learned she even has magic - made a simple little mistake. That means she needs to be taught , Ms. Hawthorne, not punished."

I had to blink in astonishment. Considering Rain's "mistake" had thrown Torian a good three yards across the atrium, I would've expected him to be pissed about it.

Instead, he was standing up for her? Then again, I was pretty sure I was getting my first chance to see what happened when the court closed ranks .

No one else spoke. Hawke, Wilder, and Aspen all just glared at the group of teachers as if daring them to do something about it. Mr. Greene, Mr. Conners, and Ms. Linden shifted, moving Ms. Hawthorne back in the process.

"The six - er five of you," Mr. Greene said, "need to head up to your rooms."

"My phone's in the atrium," Torian countered. "I gave it to Jeff so he could keep the party going."

"Torian," Liam said, his voice oddly calm, yet insistent, "get your phone back tomorrow. The party is going to wind down soon. You didn't miss much, and we both know that if the court goes back in there, it will cause problems."

"Fucking idiots," Torian grumbled.

Causing Ms. Hawthorne to snap, "Language!"

"Pearl..." Mr. Connors begged. "The situation has been handled. Don't make another."

"That was Wild magic! " Ms. Hawthorne shot back. "The girl is out of control and dangerous! "

"She's not," Bracken said. "Rain's still learning, and her power is still manifesting."

"She needs to be treated like all the other students," Ms. Linden pointed out. "Silver Oaks Institute is here to train these kids - "

"But she's not one of these kids!" Ms. Hawthorne shot back. "She's not fae!"

" She is my daughter !" Bracken yelled, making the woman flinch from his vehemence. "Mine, Pearl. That makes her as eligible for instruction as yours. Do not push me on this. Rain is learning. She is doing her best to learn as fast as she can, and these kids are merely helping her."

"But the magic!" Ms. Hawthorne insisted. "What if your daughter had killed someone tonight? Do you not realize how dangerous a Morrigan is?"

"The," I mumbled.

"What?" Ms. Hawthorne demanded.

But before I could answer, Torian did. "It's the Morrigan, Ms. Hawthorne. Always 'the,' never 'a.' The Wild Throne picks the champion, and ours respect it. She is the Morrigan."

"Rain le Fae," Aspen said softly.

"I don't care what name she uses," Ms. Hawthorne told us.

"What I care about are the hundreds of students who are counting on us - the instructors and staff of this college - to keep them safe while they are here.

That is my responsibility, and all of yours too.

" She glared at the other adults pointedly.

"Go back to your rooms," Liam said, ignoring the woman. "There's no curfew tonight, so I don't care which room..." Then he looked at Aspen. "...but make sure Rain knows where you've gone."

"I'll wait in our suite," Aspen decided. "We'll come over in a bit, Tor?"

"Sounds good."

"All the way around the atrium!" Ms. Hawthorne insisted. "Not through!"

Beside me, Hawke rolled his eyes, but the group of us turned.

Torian was the last, pausing until Aspen nodded at some unspoken thing, and then he jogged to catch up.

Inside the glass-walled garden beside us, people were once again bouncing and celebrating.

A few saw us, but they didn't seem to care that we weren't coming back.

And it stung.

No, I'd never been the most popular guy here, but I also hadn't been an outcast. I liked having people appreciate my presence, so knowing the party was going on just fine without us sucked. Never mind that my New Year's Eve had been cut short - and right when I'd been getting the girl.

But Wilder had warned me, and I'd agreed. That meant I'd accepted the risks as much as the reward of being around Rain and Aspen. But I paused at that, surprised at how my mind had put my friendship with Aspen in there so easily.

Yet once we rounded the corner on the boys' side of the atrium, Hawke couldn't take it. "Fucking bitch," he grumbled.

"Ms. Hawthorne?" I asked, making sure I was keeping up.

He nodded his head slowly. "She has a real hate for Wilder and Aspen. I bet that's why she's going after Rain. I mean, Bracken doesn't really hide his Winter heritage well, and that bitch hates Winter magic."

"Fuck yeah, she does," Wilder agreed. "That woman tried to fail me last year."

Which made me look at him in a whole new way. "How many teachers give you shit, Wilder?"

He scoffed. "Most? Was bad for Aspen last year, but Ms. Rhodes made sure she got the good teachers this year."

Torian just grumbled, clearly not happy, but I was looking at this crew in a whole new way. Calling the elevator made the doors slide open, proving it was already on the ground floor, so we all piled in, yet Torian still said nothing .

"What?" I asked when the doors closed to take us up.

"Don't act like you give a shit about us," he said, turning to face me. "The only reason you're even here is because you want to fuck Rain."

"No," I said, sure he could hear the truth as easily as I could. "I would like to get to know her, but I respect her relationship."

And those words made the entire court fall silent. They knew I knew about Rain and Aspen, though. Didn't they? Yet none of their expressions were either shock or surprise. Instead, I was getting looks of distrust.

Then Wilder said, "Aspen made him part of the court, guys. Lighten up."

"She what?!" Torian demanded just as the elevator reached the fourth floor.

With a sigh, I stepped off, but Torian wasn't about to let this go. He followed, grabbing my arm to spin me around only a few steps later.

"Why the fuck do you want on the court?" he demanded. "And what fucking right do you think you have to be here?"

Lifting both hands, I backed up a step. "That was Jack and Aspen. I had nothing to do with it."

"I already talked to him," Wilder assured Torian. "He's cool with it."

"With. What?" Torian growled.

"With notoriety," Wilder clarified. "Tor, he's not looking to be a cool kid. He's just trying to take care of Rain."

"Bracken asked me to be her backup," I explained.

"I'll be tutoring her in weapons for her detention class and standing with her any time she needs it.

None of that has a damned thing to do with the court, but Jack learned a new word, started using it, and Aspen decided it sounded like a good idea. "

"I was there," Wilder added. "And yeah, that's pretty much how it went."

Torian just continued to glare at me. "Why?" he demanded.

Not wanting to pick yet another fight with this guy, I pulled in a breath and actually thought before answering.

Torian's problem was that he was both powerful and impulsive.

The fool didn't need to bother to think before acting, because his magic always guaranteed him results.

Worse, he wielded that shit like he'd had it for most of his life.

I was more of the wait and see type. Well, for most things.

When helping someone came into play, that was when I stepped up - and Torian was never anywhere to be seen.

He only did things for his own benefit, never anyone else's, but I didn't really blame him for it.

From what I'd seen, most people here just wanted to use him for one reason or another .

"Look," I said, trying my best to de-escalate the tension in this hall, "Rain has made it very clear that I'm just her beard. She and Aspen are cute. I made sure Aspen was ok with me giving Rain that kiss tonight - "

"That's not what I asked," Torian broke in.

"Then what the fuck do you want to know?" I snapped.

The air began to crackle as Torian's anger pulled magic closer. Those green eyes of his were impressive, both in the color and how intensely he glared at me.

"Why," he demanded, "do you want to get involved in our mess? Why does Rain matter to you - and don't you dare try to say it's because you want to be with her. We both know you're not that shallow."

"Nor are you," I countered. "But I like having a friend who actually stops and listens.

I enjoy being around someone who isn't always trying to prove she's better than me, more powerful than me - who doesn't even give a shit about power levels.

I like the way she sees things, and it's as instructive for me as it is for her.

That she's learning the sword faster than I expected? " I lifted a brow.

"And she has a girlfriend," he shot back.

"Mhm," I agreed. "Doesn't seem to be stopping you though, is it?"

"That's my fucking sister!" he roared.

Hawke clasped my shoulder and pulled me back. "Tor, Keir's not wrong. He's taken the hits for her, and Jack respects him."

And for some odd reason, that seemed to be what Torian needed to hear. The air lightened, that crackle fading out as quickly as it had arrived. Unfortunately, this guy wasn't going to simply let this go, though.

"Fine," he huffed. "If this is so aboveboard, then just tell me what it is you see in Rain, hm?"

"You go first," I suggested.

"No."

There was no discussion about it, and he didn't even try to make up an excuse. I'd expected him to say he'd asked first, but that wasn't Torian's style, it seemed. His flat-out refusal left no room for discussion, so I pushed out a single laugh.

"Oh, so I have to tell you but you don't have to tell me?" I shook my head. "Not how it works."

"Look," Wilder tried, "Aspen and Rain are good. He's not pushing between them -"

"Because you're fucking someone else?" Torian broke in. "Who this time, Keir? Your suitemate? "

"Fin's a dick," I assured him. "I'm only sharing space with him as a favor to Bracken."

"And Bracken approves of Keir," Hawke added. "That says a lot, Tor."

"You're just pissed because she kissed him," Wilder added. "But he asked Aspen. You heard him say it."

"And he's fae enough to know how to lie!" Torian snapped. "When did he ask, how did he know she was ok with it? Sure, maybe he asked so softly she didn't hear, so that made it ok? How the fuck do I know, and he's not saying shit!"

"What the fuck is your problem?" I shot back.

The guy shoved forward, right into my face. "Aspen is my sister. I will destroy this world to keep her safe. Rain? She's something Aspen cares a lot about. This isn't about me or you, Keir. It's about what it means to have the Morrigan here, now, and dating my sister! "

"Who," Hawke added, gently easing Torian back, "barely has control of her own massive amount of power."

"Ah." And now things were starting to make a lot more sense. "So you're worried Rain's going to drag Aspen into something, hm?"

"Leave Aspen out of this," Torian warned.

"You brought her up," I pointed out. "And let me assure you that I see your sister as my friend. Listen to that again, Torian. Not an acquaintance. Not a fellow student. She is my friend, and while I don't know her well, I've realized she's a very amazing girl who I respect ."

"Oh." Suddenly, Torian's anger dissipated. It was almost like the guy deflated before me.

"Yes, I know she has no interest in men," I assured him, "but that doesn't mean I can't be a little protective of her, right? In case you missed it, I am with most of my friends."

Torian simply dropped his head, then nodded without looking up. "Ok," he said, sounding defeated. "I hear you." Pulling in a deep breath, he finally lifted his gaze. "I just found her, Keir. I don't want anything to happen to her. Not now. Not after being apart for so long."

"I know," I assured him. "Trust me, everyone knows that coming at Aspen requires going through you first. Here's the thing. I'll be right there beside you."

"Unless he has to pick Aspen or Rain," Hawke muttered.

I wanted to groan, but instead I lifted one shoulder in a half-assed shrug. "There's truth to that."

"So you'd pick Rain first?" Torian asked.

"I would," I said. "And I think she'd pick Aspen, so that kinda works out about the same way, wouldn't you think?"

He hummed thoughtfully, then tipped his head in something like agreement. "Yeah, that's a good point. Just promise me one thing?"

I twitched, not expecting a fae to use that word. Promises were strong things with our kind.

"What's that?"

"Promise me that you mean my sister no harm."

And that was easy for me to do, so I said, "I swear that at this time, I mean Aspen no harm, and if that changes, I will let you know if at all possible."

Torian's tongue darted out to lick his much-too-pretty lips, then he nodded subtly, almost like he wasn't aware he was doing it. Rather, I got the impression he was coming to terms with something internally. But after humming again, he offered up his hand.

"Deal," he said. "I'll accept you into the court, but if you ever hurt her…"

The rush of power sealing our agreement was intense enough that he didn't even need to finish the thought. If I broke that deal, it would probably kill me. Fuck, how strong was this kid, anyway?