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Chapter Thirty-Three

KEIR

T he pretty little brat lifted his chin and stood his ground. He tried his hardest to look like something I should be scared of, but I was too pissed. Torian had just sent lightning at me! That wasn't a step too far - it was like a hundred!

"You think you can take me out that easy?" I demanded, grabbing a fistful of his shirt.

He pushed. I ignored it. Hawke snagged my arm, weakly holding me back, but at the same time, Aspen shoved right between me and her brother. That was what made me pause.

"He didn't mean to," she insisted. "I'm sorry. It's my fault!"

"Asp." Torian said it like a command.

I simply rocked my head over to glare at Torian. "Oh, so the tough guy can't even control his power? Well, I have a solution for that."

Torian growled like some feral animal. "You touch me, and - "

Ignoring the entire court, I shoved the boy backwards - because if he was going to act like this, he was merely a boy to me. Not a beautiful, impressive, or intelligent guy. Certainly not a real man, although his fae ass probably had never been exposed to that very human concept.

All I cared about was that he was of a size I could actually move. I shoved, he pushed back, so I shoved harder. All those years of combat training had given me more than merely sexy muscles. They were strong too, and I pushed them to my limit .

"I don't care why you can't control your magic," I informed him through gritted teeth. "If you act like a child, I will make sure you're treated like one!"

"Get your hands off me!" he roared.

But when he reached for me, I switched hands.

Stories said a jevadu could drain with a touch.

So long as I only held his shirt, I should be ok.

Right? I fucking hoped so, but as I forced him back into the bathroom, we scrambled.

He tried to dig in his feet and resist my force. I tried to keep my hands away from his.

Once we reached the threshold, Torian snapped.

Wind slammed into me. Miniature lightning began to spark down towards me, looking more like impressive static than a Summer magic tempest. I pushed a shield around the pair of us, but Aspen didn't care.

She forced her way through it and grabbed her brother's arm.

"Tor, stop! Please?" she begged. "Keir's our friend!"

"I can't!" he groaned, yanking his shoulder away from my clutches. "Just go, Keir!"

Instead, I slung him back, then called all the magic I had.

A glaze of iridescence washed over the bathroom walls, hurrying into Torian's bedroom and the one Hawke had been using as well.

As the color stained the walls, I kept pushing, holding the image of what I wanted as I let the power make it reality.

"You," I growled, allowing my rage to finally show, "will not destroy this school.

Maybe you don't care, but for some of us, it's home!

It's all we fucking have, Torian." I pushed his chest again, making sure he stayed well within the boundary of my shields.

"And so you know, this has nothing to do with rumors.

This?" I pointed at my chest. "I'm fucking pissed because of how you act!

I am not trash to be walked on, do you hear me? "

"You - " he tried.

But I cut him off by yelling louder. " Do you hear me?! "

"Tor, just let it go," Hawke insisted, moving to Torian's side.

"It's ok," Aspen said. "I'm fine. You're fine. We're all ok. Just listen to me, Tor. C'mon. Listen."

"I hear you," he breathed, breaking our gaze to look at his sister.

But she didn't say anything. They simply stared at each other, and yet it seemed to be helping.

That was all I'd wanted, so as soon as the tempest in the room faded to little more than a breeze, and when my shield had encircled everything in this suite, I shook my head in disappointment then turned away in disgust .

"And don't worry about me bothering the court again," I grumbled, snagging my coat before storming into the hall - and slamming the door behind me.

"Fucking fae!" I breathed, wishing I could yell it.

Because while they were dealing with that, I had one last thing to do.

Heading to Hawke's room, I grabbed my things, not caring if it was orderly.

Unfortunately, I had more than I could carry.

Over the last two weeks, I'd ended up moving a lot from my room to Hawke's, and I hadn't even noticed. It had been too easy to do it.

Ok, fine. I'd make two trips.

With my arms full of my clothes, books, and everything else that had been within reach, I headed down the hall to my own room.

Another push of magic unlocked the door, since I couldn't remember where I'd left my key, and I stepped in, dropping everything on the first empty spot I could find: my bed.

Then I just stood, trying to let go of this feeling. I was pissed. Livid, even. That all made sense, but it wasn't what was bothering me. It was the ache deep in my chest. I'd thought those four were my friends! I'd just started to relax, thinking we were finally getting along.

I should've known better, though. They were kids!

I was pretty sure Torian was two years younger than me, so Aspen was as well.

Hawke and Wilder had to be roughly the same age.

Little high school idiots! They were still ruled by popularity contests and bragging rights - because I'd been that way at that age.

And yet it didn't make me feel better. This still hurt .

My whole life, I'd always been the odd one out: too fae for faelings, and too weird for humans.

Rain had been right when she'd said I was drawn to the pure fae, and I hadn't even realized it until then.

But I did recognize how easy it had been to hang out with the court.

To belong.

I sighed again, gathering up my resolve to get the rest of my things before trying to deal with the emotions this room brought - only to have Wilder show up in my open doorway holding an armload of my stuff.

"So I guess I'm evicted, huh?" I asked.

"Nope," he said, offering me a weak smile. "I went to look for you, saw you'd grabbed your shit, so I came to make an offer."

"Mhm?" I didn't trust it.

Wilder leaned until his shoulder met the frame, letting it hold him up. " Well, I'm more than willing to carry this back to Hawke's room. In exchange, I ask that you not notice when my bed isn't empty."

"I can be deaf and blind when I need to," I assured him, "but I'm not going back."

Wilder nodded once. "Then I'm offering to help you put things where they belong - and to stay until that far door in the bathroom doesn't haunt you as much."

Those words. He'd hit the nail on the head, and my shoulders slumped. "That obvious, huh?"

"Keir," he said, entering my room so he could dump the things on my desk and close the door for privacy.

"I don't know how to break this to you, but not even Torian could handle it if the situation was reversed.

Fin's dead, and that's a lot to deal with.

Here's the thing." He ducked his head to meet my eyes.

"I'm here offering to make sure you never have to do it alone. "

I scoffed. "Did you miss the memo that your supreme dick of a pal just kicked me off the court?"

Wilder's lips curled, then split into a smile, and a rich, beautiful rumble of a laugh began to bubble out.

"Torian? Yeah, I like how you assume I give a shit what he thinks.

In case you didn't realize it, I'm in the court because Hawke stood up for me and Aspen needed a friend.

Hawke's in the court because someone has to keep Torian in line.

Aspen's there because she's family, but she and Hawke were instant friends.

" He jerked his chin at me. "And she likes you too.

So does Rain, and I'm pretty sure she's not worried about Torian's opinion at all . "

"Yeah, but I was starting to like Hawke's friendship," I countered. "Pretty sure he'll pick his bestie over me."

Wilder murmured as if I wasn't quite right. "I think he'd try to change Torian's mind. Here's the thing: if there's anyone in the world Torian will listen to? It's Aspen and Hawke. And yeah, Hawke thinks of you as a friend. A dear one."

I nodded, letting that all sink in. Still not sure - because shit like this was never simple - I turned to start separating books from clothing.

"You know what sucks the most about this?" I asked after a little too long. "I'm the college student here. You four are just AP kids. You're supposed to be desperate for my attention, and instead you're..."

"Used to being let down by the people we respect?" Wilder offered when I paused for too long. "Or maybe braced for betrayal? Anxious about those we don't know well? Aware the things that bond us together could also be used to tear us far apart and make sure we stay there? "

My hands stilled. "I don't think you're supposed to tell me that."

"Mm, my promise was different than theirs," he said.

"When I arrived here, Ivy made me aware of the problems of my station.

She made me promise not to reveal the secrets of anyone else from Faerie, because the culture on Earth is nothing like the society I knew on Faerie.

In my opinion, that's a good thing, since everyone I knew was hunted like a fucking criminal, and most were executed. "

"I'm sorry," I said as I turned.

Wilder nodded slowly. "Yeah, but it's why I understand the weight of that room.

I get it, Keir. I know what it's like to have a complete stranger suddenly gone, but their bedroll still beside mine.

To have just learned her name. We had a small conversation about what Earth might be like, and then she was simply gone. "

"The Hunt?" I asked.

"No," he said sadly. "The Queen's guard. She was the last of her line. That's all I knew, and now I can't even remember which line. There's so many gone that it doesn't matter anymore. They all just blend together."

"And yet here you are," I said. "A duke offering sympathy to a mere peasant who's never seen our world. Why do you even care? They were your friends first, and I get that."

"But you were my friend next," he countered, "and guys like me don't have many. As for the title? What good does it do? What does it even mean, Keir? I'm an orphan in a strange world, trying to get by. I'm not any different from you, except that you think of this place as home, and I wish I could."

So I offered him my hand. "Then I'm glad to have you, Wilder. Regardless of the color of your magic, the friends you keep, or any titles we will never worry about. I'm glad you made it so I could meet a man I can respect."

He clasped my palm for a moment, but looked away. "Now that is worth facing Torian's wrath." Then he scooped up the things he'd dropped on the desk and carried them to the bed to help sort. "You should also know Hawke's currently handling the mess you left behind."

"Well, you should know the shield in there will fade in color soon, but not power. If Aspen or Torian snap, it should hold their magic in."

Wilder's entire body heaved with surprise. "What?"

"He fucking shot lightning at me!"

"Pretty sure that wasn't intentional."

I shrugged. "Either way, it's the sort of magical accident that could destroy this place. A shield is easier than the wards I had up to keep Fin from mind-controlling some girl."

"Always girls?" he asked.

I nodded. "Guess it's either the human ancestry or the culture, but most of the faelings do have a preference. Maybe not to the exclusion of the other genders, but they tend to lean towards one or the other."

"Interesting..." Wilder said. "So how long can you keep that shield in place?"

"Forever."

Slowly, he picked up a shirt and started folding it, almost unconsciously. "How strong are you, Keir?"

"Not," I replied. "I can block anything I want, but that's about it."

"And heal, and unlock doors, because your key is still on the bedside table in Hawke's room. Oh, and you can wade through Wild magic without even hesitating."

"For Rain."

He turned, pinning me with his dark gaze. "I still flinch from it, but you didn't. I don't care who it's from, I know what that shit can do."

"I don't."

"Keir, the shadows of Wild magic can negate ours. Completely negate, making seasonal magic turn Wild. Since our bodies run on magic, it's no different than removing our air. It can fucking kill us!"

"And it's Rain," I said again. "I trust that she won't harm me with it. And yeah, I hesitated long enough I noticed it was obeying her. That was all I needed to see."

"Mm..." he murmured. "Yeah. Makes sense." Then he huffed out a laugh. "So have you decided if you're staying here or coming back yet?"

"I'm staying," I assured him.

"Yeah, then I am too." He reached over to gently squeeze my shoulder. "Because you're still on the court. See, you made the right friends, and contrary to popular belief, Torian isn't the one who makes the rules."

Those words made the ache in my chest finally dissolve. "Good to know. Very good to know."

"Mhm, it is, isn't it?" And Wilder kept folding.