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Chapter Forty-Nine

KEIR

I had my phone on my desk beside me, my books spread out around me, and a blank piece of paper in front of me. The report on Faerie metal density's effect on edge sharpness should've been easy. Instead, my mind was on Rain.

The smell of her still hung in my sheets. I'd found a few of her long brown hairs mixed up in my pillows. My mind kept jumping back to the way she slept, and how her face looked no different than it did when she was awake. Most people looked innocent or softer when their masks fell.

Rain was just Rain.

Damn, that girl had gotten under my skin in the best way.

I tapped the end of my pen on the desk, glad our professor still allowed handwritten homework.

A phone I could manage, but a laptop made my hands itch.

I could only assume it was the ratio of metal to the covering over it, and with a protective case, my phone had a thicker layer by comparison.

I was also procrastinating. Mostly because I really didn't want to think about how much more effective iron was in this world.

I certainly didn't want to have any more reasons to wrap Rain up in something that burned like fire when I got too close.

Supposedly, we built up a tolerance to the stuff with exposure, but being able to ignore the pain wasn't the same as pure metals not affecting us.

Pulling my book closer, I was trying to force myself to get this done when someone knocked at my door. "Come in, Wilder!" I yelled, taking a wild guess at who would be willing to visit at this hour.

Instead, my door cracked open. "Keir?"

I pushed my chair back and turned. "Liam?" Ok, now I was confused. "What are you doing here?"

"May I come in?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure." I turned my chair a bit, spinning it on one of the back legs so I was facing him. "Everything ok?"

The man stepped in, closed the door behind him, then shoved a hand over his mouth. "Bracken offered to come talk to you, but I wanted to make sure you know this is a request, not an expectation."

And now I was braced for the worst. "What?"

Liam glanced back, his eyes aimed for the bathroom that separated my half from the empty suite on the other side. "How many years did you watch over Fin?"

"Three." Where was he going with this?

Liam pressed his lips together and nodded. "And you have a little over a year left here, right?"

"Give or take," I agreed. "Why?"

"Because it's not fair for the teachers and staff to ask a student to manage another student. There is no expectation for you to do such a thing."

"Yeah, but Fin was a menace," I reminded him. "If I hadn't, someone would've gotten raped."

"And it wouldn't have been your fault," he pointed out.

"Still would've felt like I should've done more." I shook my head. "Nope, I'm happy with this."

So Liam pulled in a deep breath. "What if someone else needed the kind of help your magic seems especially suited for?"

My eyes narrowed. "Liam, if you want to make a deal, then make one. I am not Rain. What do you need, what will I get for it, and who do you think I should babysit?"

"We need someone able to block unimaginable amounts of magic, Ivy Rhodes is willing to offer an eltam sword upon graduation for the effort, and..." He smiled. "It's Torian Hunt."

"Fuck..." I breathed. "That's a sweet deal, but he doesn't need or want my help."

"You're right," Liam agreed. "Torian doesn't want anyone's help - not even ours. But there's one person in the world he will listen to, and after the events of today - "

That made me interrupt him. "What happened today?"

"Rain's biology class thought the Huntsman walked into it." Leaning back against the wall, Liam crossed his arms. "Everyone in the class except the teacher. That includes the person who created the glamour."

"Torian," I realized. "So he's still manifesting?"

"We don't know." The man watched while I checked to be sure I tasted nothing but the truth in his words.

Then he continued, "We do know something is changing.

According to private conversations I've had with my daughter, which I should not use to influence students, it seems you can always block his magic.

Ivy said your reactions are as fast as his, maybe faster.

And Keir? We want Silver Oaks to stay standing. "

"Gonna tell me what makes him so strong?" I asked.

"No."

"Not even a hint?"

Liam chuckled. "Not even a hint. I may not be bound the same way you are, but my word is my word. It's also much safer for my daughter if certain rumors are allowed to die."

"If I do this," I asked, "will other monsters be allowed to attend Silver Oaks?"

"Monster is a slur," Liam informed me. "You can use wildling or sidhe. Faeling or fae. I don't care what distinction you make when separating people, Keir, but I promise you, Torian is no more monstrous than my daughter."

"I want to know more about jevadu."

"No."

That made me look at this man again. "And why not? If you're asking me to keep an eye on this guy all the time - "

Liam just lifted his hand. "Ms. Rhodes and I are hoping you'd be willing to move into the attached suite. To share space with him."

"Even more reason to know what a fucking jevadu can do!

" I shot back. "Look, unlike Bracken, I've never been to Faerie, but I've heard the stories of monsters who could rip a mind apart with fear, then glue it back together with seduction.

They feed on our magic, leaving behind husks. They eat meat!"

"So does Rain."

Yeah, he kinda had me there. Still, I had a better question. "Why is he even here ? "

"Because Torian Hunt is fae. Jevadu are fae. This is a school for the fae, which is why Jack is allowed here as well. Without Jack, Rain is nothing more than a human girl who is immune to magic."

"Yeah, but she's not." I pushed out a laugh. "Joan le Fae didn't have the Crow King with her."

"Joan le Fae lived in a time when girls her age were expected to be wives and mothers.

Rain doesn't. Joan le Fae also had to learn.

She led human armies before she was 'burned' at the stake, allowing her to vanish without leaving behind a mess.

I'd prefer Rain doesn't join the army and head off to the latest war her human nation is invested in.

We don't fight with swords and arrows anymore, Keir.

We use artillery and chemical weapons. Rain is not Joan, and she shouldn't be. "

"True," I relented. "But I'm not living with Torian."

"That's a fair answer," he said, turning for the door. "I'll make sure Aspen knows she'll need to spend more time with him again."

"What?!"

A devious little smirk touched Liam's lips.

"Someone has to make sure he doesn't break, because he is, Keir.

Torian's control was perfect last semester.

Now it's as unsteady as Aspen's. I'm not sure if she can help keep him from snapping, but after you, she's the best option we have.

Since they're siblings, it's less complicated when they share a room. "

All I could do was shake my head in both awe and annoyance. "You're a fucking asshole, Liam, you know that?"

His response was just to smile.

So I sighed. "Ok, fine! We both know that if Aspen abandons Rain again, it will cause a whole new problem.

Probably a very 'dark' one. Rain will think she's getting cut out, Aspen doesn't know how to share her time wisely, and we'll have three insanely powerful people trying to pull this place apart. "

"Which is why I asked you first," Liam said. "But like I said, it's not - "

"You've been living with us too long," I grumbled. "But fine. I'll do this on one condition."

"Name it first," Liam said.

"If I share a suite with Torian, I will not be punished for the mistakes he makes, the rules he breaks, or the complications that come from me limiting his magical effects, including physical ones."

Liam's eyes narrowed and lost focus as he ran through my list. "You think you're going to end up punching him, huh?"

"He'll punch me," I corrected. "I just want to be able to punch back. "

"Done," Liam said.

I nodded. "When do I move?"

"Oh, now sounds like a good time." Reaching into his pocket, Liam pulled out a key. "You can have both rooms until the end of the week. We would prefer you sleep in there."

All I could do was chuckle at the way this man had led me into a deal I did not want. "I'm still blaming Bracken for this, so you know. He taught you to deal like a fae, and I think I might be outclassed."

"No, you deal like a human, which is why you have Rain's back. She needs someone who can understand her. Bracken needed someone who could understand him. We adapt, Keir. It's what happens when you care about someone enough. It's also why Bracken felt so strongly about Rain. He adapted too."

"Lemme guess, you want me to help Torian adapt now?"

"It would be nice, but I'll settle for making sure he can find his control again. Something broke it, and he won't say what. I'm not sure he even knows, but he needs to."

"He almost saw his sister get dragged off by the Hunt!" I huffed, because that should've been obvious.

Liam just shook his head. "It's something else."

"Or you're wrong."

"Or that," he admitted, "but you should trust me on this.

Something happened, Torian isn't talking about it, and Rain doesn't know.

Since it seems you're now a part of the court, I think you should use that.

Find out why Torian can't focus anymore, because if his magic gets out of hand, we're all screwed, Keir. That includes Rain."

"I'm keeping that suite shielded, then."

Liam smiled. "Which is exactly why I asked you. Ms. Rhodes says you have free access to the Oak."

Closing my eyes, I let out a groan. Yeah, they'd backed me into a corner, knowing exactly the buttons to push to get me to do this, but as Liam opened my door and made to leave, I stopped him.

"I want that eltam sword before I graduate. Not ownership of it, but the use. I need to use it when I'm practicing with Rain."

"Deal," Liam said. "But if Silver Oaks falls, the sword will go with it."

"I'm better than that."

He thrust out his lower lip and nodded once. "I know. It's why Bracken didn't ask. He knew you'd convince him this was a bad idea." Then he glanced at my desk. "I'll also have your homework assignments delayed due to the room change."

"I don't want her in steel."

"Steel won't change anything," he pointed out. "What she needs are shadows. Learn how to power her up, Keir, because if Aspen and Torian can't, someone must. That someone is you, and it's not a defensive conjuration."

"Yeah," I breathed as he closed the door and left, but I wasn't sure I could.

My power had always been defensive. I could shield, deflect, and dodge. I'd learned how to heal, unlock, and assist in other ways, but no matter how hard I tried, I could not attack with my power. Not even when I needed to.

And yet, my abilities were stronger than so many of the faelings who served on the sentinels.

They could glamour, enchant, and other things, yet still had to learn combat skills to push back the Hunt.

Was it really any different for me? I couldn't conjure in the expected way.

Technically, the shields I excelled at counted, which was what categorized my abilities at this institute.

But I had a feeling Torian could teach me more.

I also hated even thinking that! The guy was too young to know half of what he could already do. His skills were impressive, but it wasn't surprising to me at all that he'd pushed too far, too fast. Now he was paying the price for it.

Yet if I could get him to help me learn, then maybe I could figure out his problem in the process. If nothing else, it was worth trying, because Liam was right. Rain needed me to know more. I needed to learn more. I also really needed to start packing.

I'd barely stood up when another knock sounded on my door. "What, Liam?" I grumbled, crossing the space to snatch the thing open.

On the other side was Wilder with an armload of unfolded boxes. "Liam said you deserve help."

"Huh?"

"Yeah," he muttered, coming into my room. "Not needed. He said you deserved help, then handed me these. Do I want to know?"

All I could do was shake my head. I'd been outplayed so badly. Oddly, it made me respect Rain's dad even more.

"I'm moving," I told Wilder.

He gave me a suspicious look. "Where?"

"Second door on the right. "

"And straight on till morning?" Wilder asked.

"No!" I laughed, a little impressed that he'd quoted Peter Pan so easily. "I've just been reassigned to share a suite with Torian. Seems someone needs to shield his room."

Wilder stood there for a little too long, nothing but his eyes moving when they blinked. I swore the man was playing out a million possible scenarios, but in the end, he only had one thing to say.

"Let's do this."