Page 146 of Rebellious Royals

I ducked to get under the branch. "Keir, I'm not a lady."

"You are," he said, following me in and flicking his hand, lighting up dozens of small iridescent globes hanging in the branches. "The Morrigan is treated as both military and nobility by the courts of the past. With Aspen and Torian admitting to their titles, you have been quite the subject of discussion in some of my classes. My Faeril teacher made it clear you should be addressed as either Morrigan or lady, depending on the situation."

"Or Rain," I said, still looking around at the private little nook he'd created out of nature. "And this?"

"It's beautiful," he said. "In full disclosure, Wilder and Hawke made it happen."

"Torian made my dress."

He reached out for my hand, then eased me down on a dark green blanket placed in the hollow of cedar boughs. "I made the lights."

"I like the lights," I said, folding my legs under me. "I've also never been on a date before. At least, not hanging out when it's actually called that."

He sat beside me, then leaned in to push back a strand of dark hair. "It's a date, Rain. The kind where I want to talk, maybe hold hands, and not end up starving either. So there's food in the basket when you're ready."

Instead, I pushed him back, then shifted so I could lie beside him, looking up at what was basically a natural cathedral hidden from view. I couldn't see the glass ceiling of this place, let alone the rooms beside mine with windows that looked down on us. That meant for the first time in far too long, we were actually alone together.

A heavy sigh fell out at the realization. Keir clearly heard, but instead of asking why, he simply moved his arm to wrap around my side, gently holding me against his chest.

"That bad?" he asked.

I laughed once. "Keir, it's been a lot."

"Mm..." He shrugged under me. "It's also been time for you to get closer to Aspen. It's been time where this completely mundane girl has become a little wild and incredibly strong. Rain, that 'a lot' has given me a chance to make friends, feel important, and realize the hot piece of ass I first saw is so much more than just that impressive ass."

I playfully smacked his chest. "You were not checking out my ass."

"So why did you think I pressed up so close against your back that first day?" he teased.

And he wasn't lying. He couldn't, which meant that was completely the truth, and I liked it more than I wanted to admit. Still, there was a tiny little bit of insecurity left in the back of my mind, and I knew how to banish it.

"I'm not as pretty as Aspen," I told him. "I'm not strong like Hawke, or mysterious like Wilder. I'm not as powerful as Torian either. Never mind that there are dozens of stunning fae girls here. Keir, I'm just a normal, boring, completely human girl who lucked out because I threw Cheerios to a crow as a baby."

"No." He reached up to catch my chin, turning my face so I had to look at him. "You are Rain le Fae, the one who fights for us. Not just for the nobility or the royalty. You're the one who befriended one of the most terrifying monsters the fae know of, and you did it without shame. You learned, you worked for it, and now?" He smiled. "Now you're the kind of woman the sentinels notice, Rain. You're the sort ballads will be written about." He hummed thoughtfully. "And you're gorgeous. Much prettier than Aspen, in my opinion."

So I turned, rolling so my belly was against his chest and I was lying on my bent arms against him. "And you sound all romantic," I pointed out.

He chuckled, glancing away. "Yeah, um... A friend of mine suggested that subtle didn't work with wildlings."

"Hawke," I guessed.

But Keir shook his head. "Wilder. He also told me you and Aspen are doing well, he doesn't think you're overwhelmed about us anymore, and I happen to know you're almost eighteen."

"Yeah, finals week," I admitted, "but does that really matter?"

"It does," he admitted. "Probably not the way you're thinking, but it still does. Rain, I told myself I wouldn't be pushy until you were a true woman who was comfortable with us." And his eyes jumped across my face. "I expected that to take years. I was prepared for many stories about how adorable Aspen is, a few about other guys, and a bit of making out when you let me."

I leaned a little closer. "Uh-huh, so why does it sound like something's changed?"

Moving quickly, he caught my waist and rolled, flipping us both over. I squealed a bit, biting it off before anyone who might be in the atrium could hear, then realized he had me pinned beneath him.

"On Aspen's birthday," he said, his voice turning just a bit deeper as his eyes dropped to my mouth, "I realized my Morrigan can't be pushed around. I figured out that if I held you down, just like this, and you didn't want to be here, you now had the power to not only push me off, but also to make me pay for it."

"But I don't want to," I said, the words coming out breathless.

"Good," he whispered. "Because I had a crush on the girl, but I'm falling for the woman." And then his mouth found mine.

I heard him. Those words made something inside me expand, as if I was filled with helium. This was why people talked about floating on cloud nine, but I didn't tell him that. No, Ikissed him back, tangling my fingers into those golden strands of his hair, holding him to me.