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Chapter Forty-Two

KEIR

R ain guided Hawke out without giving a shit what she left behind.

As I turned back towards our table, I saw Torian still sitting there, tapping one fingernail on the surface slowly.

His eyes hung on the jesters, but it was the look on his face that bothered me the most. It was the sort of expression that would give children nightmares.

"Do you think this is funny?" he asked into the stillness Rain and Hawke had left in the cafeteria. "Are you amused now? My friend could've destroyed all of you just like that!" He snapped his fingers.

"Oh, fuck off!" one of the jester guys grumbled.

"Yeah, get over yourself already," Camila told him. "We're not scared, Torian."

"You will be," he said, a slow smile taking over his face.

"Tor," I warned, "let it go."

Instead, he leaned forward, slowly making his way to his feet.

"You think it's funny that the Mad Queen killed thousands of people?

It's a joke ?" Under my feet, I could feel a strange vibration starting, but Torian looked so calm and cool even as his fists clenched at his sides.

"You laugh at the idea of my sister, or Wilder, or Nevaeh - and the entire fucking Winter Court - being killed? !" he finished in a scream.

"Fuck Winter!" someone yelled from the back side of the room.

Camila laughed and pointed at them. "You know it!" she agreed.

"Stop it!" Poppy yelled, pushing Nevaeh before her as she headed for the exit. "Both of you! This doesn't help anyone but the Queen. You're all fools for caring about it." Then her head turned to me. "Do something about this, Keir. Before he does it again!"

"I stripped her for a reason!" Torian yelled after her. "Before she could kill, or did you not know that?" His gaze snapped back to Camila. "And you! You know nothing about peasants and nobility. You've never even seen my world. You - "

I was trying to get to him, but I felt like the ground had turned to water. It was moving beneath my feet just enough to make me feel intoxicated - but I'd drank nothing! Yet when I grabbed at a chair for stability, my eyes landed on Aspen.

Throughout all of this, she'd been silent.

The same girl who always talked her brother down and kept him in line was sitting still, even as the entire cafeteria trembled with the boy's anger.

Her eyes were locked on her brother, her hands clenching each other in her lap so hard her knuckles were white.

That was the only sign of her tension, though. Everything else about her was calm.

"Aspen?" I begged. "Stop him!"

"She is!" Wilder told me. "Fuck, Keir. It's him."

It took me far too long to realize what he was talking about, but the glasses on the table were starting to slosh now. Most weren't full enough, but the ones that were spilled over the rims. Chairs were rattling softly.

"Earthquake!" someone at the back of the room yelled.

There was just one thing wrong with that. Iowa didn't exactly have an earthquake problem. I looked at Wilder again. He looked at me, and without a word we both had the exact same thought: get to Torian.

"Everyone out!" I yelled, even as I stretched my legs to close the distance.

"Tor!" Wilder snapped. "Ground and center."

"Fuck that!" Torian hissed, slinging out his arm.

The ground bucked hard enough to send me to my knees.

Sparks flew into the air and electricity was crackling overhead, but Torian's gesture?

It did nothing. For a single breath after he waved, the entire room stilled completely - only to erupt again with twice the force once he realized his conjuration had failed.

And from the jester's table, Jayden laughed. The fucking asshole was in a few of my classes and lived down the hall from all of us. He was the prick who'd tried to lure Rain away from us, and he was not shy about bragging about how she'd get him a spot on the Queen's court.

I hesitated for a moment, thinking the fucker might just have it coming to him, but the shaking was getting worse, and Torian was now looking at his hands like he didn't recognize them.

"It didn't work," he breathed.

Behind him, Aspen pulled in a deep breath only to push it out slowly.

"Tor!" I said, grabbing both of his shoulders. "Let it go, man. Stop thinking about it."

"That's not how it works!" he snapped.

So Wilder shoved me aside. "The palace is white.

The walls, the halls, and even the massive arches over the windows.

Those fuckers are twenty feet tall." Then he shifted to Faeril, but his words kept going.

"The throne is as clear as ice, but colors reflect in it.

Outside, the apple orchards are everywhere, and in the spring, just as our power wanes, the scent of so many blossoms is the sweetest perfume.

" He smiled at the memory, but it was a sad look. "It's not even cold most of the time."

Torian pulled in a breath, then nodded. "What about the gardens?"

"Massive," Wilder told him. "There's got to be a few hundred acres around the palace.

In the middle of winter, it's covered in evergreens and red berries.

Some plants have red leaves at that time of year too.

The Assassins are one, and their thorns turn pale.

At night, the Moon Shines light the decorative paths. "

The trembling was starting to subside. Even better, the cafeteria was mostly empty, but Jayden and Camila had only retreated to the doorway, hovering with a few of their friends.

A group was stuck at the back, most likely waiting for a chance to get out the doors on that side.

And slowly, the rattling of dishes and tables began to fade.

Which was when Camila snorted in amusement. "See, told you he wouldn't level the school. No way a fucking jevadu could be that strong. It's why the wildlings need a champion."

Wilder was still talking in his elegantly woven Faeril. The guy's accent was impeccable, making me realize how lowborn our teacher must be. Sadly, those calming descriptions he was giving weren't enough to drown out Camila's words.

Between one second and the next, Torian turned, his eyes locking on the girl.

"Tor, no!" Aspen screamed.

The purple-white light was nearly blinding. I flinched, my training kicking in, and threw up a shield around all of us. The bolt crashed against the side, sizzling around the surface - but on the inside. As the glare of it faded, I slowly turned back to Torian with my mouth hanging open .

"That would've killed."

"They deserve to die," he said, his voice completely calm.

I could hear the jesters scrambling. The clank of someone hitting the door rang out, along with so many feet, but I didn't dare look away from the guy before me.

His face was beautiful in its stoniness.

His body was relaxed. I couldn't see a single hint of guilt as he stood before me.

It was almost as if he was curious to see what I'd do next.

"Keir?" Aspen asked, moving closer.

"Dispel the magic!" Ms. Rhodes demanded as she stormed into the room. "Who - " She stopped hard.

"Keir?" Aspen asked again. "Please let go of my brother?"

Because I was holding his arm. I'd hoped to keep him from gesturing again, since most of us did that when casting, but Torian hadn't. He'd simply looked, and it had been all he'd needed to send out enough power to destroy everyone who'd just taunted him.

I gently lifted my hand. "Sorry. I was trying to help."

"I," Torian said, "do not need your help."

"No, you need mine," Ms. Rhodes said, her heels clacking on the floor as she closed the distance between us. "Where are Rain and Hawke?"

"They left," Aspen said. "Hawke got triggered so Rain took him away."

"Mhm." She crossed her arms under her breasts, giving Torian a stern look. "I like my school, young man."

"Today, I don't," he told her before turning and walking away, not seeming to care at all that he was ignoring the fucking headmistress of Silver Oaks Institute.

I turned to follow, but Wilder grabbed my arm. "Let him go."

"Aspen?" Ms. Rhodes asked.

"On it," she said, jumping up just to run after her brother.

I had to close my eyes and breathe so I didn't snap someone's head off. "Wilder? Don't you need to do something about him?"

"What does he know?" Ms. Rhodes demanded before Wilder could answer.

"Nothing," Wilder assured her. "They're playing by the rules."

"And you?" she asked.

He actually smiled, all the anger and worry from the drama a moment ago clearly gone. "He knows my rank. Not like I'm hiding it, though."

"That's a bad idea," Ms. Rhodes warned.

Wilder shrugged. "I trust him. Keir's not going to feed me to those fuckers. "

"I am so lost," I admitted.

Ms. Rhodes just lifted a hand. "I need to know what happened so I can sort this mess out." She looked around. "Is the building damaged?"

"Nope," Wilder said. "Aspen was holding him back."

"She fucking sat there!" I hissed.

Ms. Rhodes cleared her throat, making me realize my language, but she didn't give me the chance to apologize. "And it seems you're not watching your words around him."

"Nope," Wilder said. "I mean, the whole school's talking about Tor being a jevadu. He says he's cool with it, but I think his definition of that word is different from mine. Aspen's doing better, but Hawke's pretty much the only thing holding Tor in."

"I see." She lifted a hand just to tap at her mouth. "Someone was screaming about lightning."

"Yeah..." Wilder murmured. "Um, he was in a mood."

I couldn't take it anymore. "Why does Bracken think he's going to shatter? How the fuck did the jesters hear that?"

"The gym," Wilder explained. "He told Hawke to stick close because he was worried it might happen. Not that it would."

"And Hawke can stop him?" I asked.

Wilder scoffed. "That's complicated."

"Uh-huh."

"Please do not ask," Ms. Rhodes told me. "Sadly, in order to control Faerie politics here on Earth, I have to limit the news from the other side. The reasons why have more to do with parents than students - usually."

"Yeah, well, students are involved now," I pointed out. "The jesters just attacked Nevaeh. Poppy Hawthorne blocked for her, mostly."

"And they were trying to get Tor going," Wilder added. "I just don't know why they think he won't retaliate!"

"Because he doesn't!" I huffed. "I mean, can he even do it again?"

"Do what?" Ms. Rhodes asked.

"Strip power," I clarified. "That's what started the whole thing. The jesters were giving Torian a hard time for being a jevadu, Nevaeh told them to stop, and so they turned on her. She said he could do it, but he didn't."

Wilder licked his lips, glanced at Ms. Rhodes, then shrugged before saying, "He doesn't want to upset Aspen."

"Wilder..." she warned.

"What?" he asked. "It's true, and he's right.

She's got enough going on right now. She doesn't need his problems too.

And Keir's not an idiot. Jack's the one who made him a member of the court, but I'm good with it.

He's not against Winter, Ms. Rhodes. Nor Summer.

He's just somewhere in the middle, and you know what?

He promised to keep Rain safe or die trying. "

"To who?" she asked me.

I shrugged, trying to play it off. "Bracken."

"I'm going to wring that fae fool's neck," the woman grumbled. "This is the second time - "

"For Rain," Wilder broke in. "Yeah, Aspen told me about the promise to stand up to bullies Rain made, so it's thirdhand, but he keeps doing thing for Rain. According to Hawke, Rain's fathers are not only proud of her, but already attached."

"And bragging about it," I added. "Not that she's the Morrigan, but that's she's theirs."

Ms. Rhodes hummed in thought. "Yes, that does sound like him." Then she sighed. "Boys, I'm going to need to assign punishment to the group of you. Wilder, let Torian know I will talk to him in our late class. Keir? You will spend one week in detention in the gym."

"I'm already..."

But her smile made my words trail off. "Then it seems it won't bother you too much. I wouldn't point that out to your newest enemies, though."

Then the woman turned, marching away just as elegantly as she'd marched in. Yet the moment she reached the door, she paused.

"What happened to the lightning?"

"That was Keir," Wilder told her. "He shielded it in with us. I think the phrase is 'quick on the draw'?"

"It's not," she told him, "but I get your meaning. Time to go, boys. I need to get some help to make sure this place isn't about to fall down, and I'm not canceling classes for this."

I stood there as the door closed behind her, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. Beside me, Wilder chuckled softly.

"The histories didn't do her justice, you know." He reached up to pat my shoulder. "C'mon, Keir. Let's find our friends, because I have a feeling the rest of the day is going to be just as much fun."

"I fucking hope not," I told him, but I followed.

Right now, my head was spinning. I didn't know what had happened. I was pretty sure no one did but Torian, and yet everyone seemed to be acting like this was no big deal. At least Wilder was trying to give me some hints, although they weren't exactly much to go on!

But the one thing that stood out the most? Ms. Rhodes hadn't even flinched when Wilder said they were calling Torian a jevadu. It was almost as if she'd known it already.