Page 32 of Rebellious Royals

"Still," Wilder muttered.

Torian tilted his head that way, proving Wilder was right. "So let's say my sister and I work together. It's what we're trying to do. What comes after that? How do we deal with my mother using me to siphon power from Aspen? How do we keep her from taking over the Winter Crown, either by killing Aspen or simply using your system to put her at a disadvantage?"

"No." I sliced a hand through the air to make it clear I was not talking about that. "Your mother is in Faerie. She can't touch Aspen, right?"

"Apparently," Hawke said, "her minions can. I mean, the people coming after her all want to prove their loyalty to the Queen."

"Or make up for a mistake," Torian added. "Butthat'sthe problem, Rain. That's the part you aren't thinking about."

"Oh, she's thinking about it," Keir said. "She's also ahead of you. I'm pretty sure Rain's talking about removing the Mad Queen from the equation first."

But all of this was making me think. "Wait?" I begged, letting my eyes track across the rug as the possibilities spun. "She's there. We're here. She has minions here, but we don't, right?"

"We just have us," Wilder agreed.

Then I looked up, right at Torian. "Why?"

"Because no one was supposed to know who we are."

"Why?" I pressed.

Torian looked over to Aspen as if hoping for a little help. She shook her head and looked at Wilder. He pointed to Hawke, who simply lifted his palms in confusion.

"Because Liam thought it would be safer," Torian finally said, but he didn't sound sure about it.

"And now the secret's out, right?" I checked my friends again. "So why are we still trying to hide a secret that everyone knows? I mean, doesn't this shit today prove it doesn't work?"

"She's right," Keir said. "We're so busy worrying about leaving the right impression that we have no fucking clue what's going on all around us. Being on the defensive isn't a good place to be, strategically."

"The offense is better," Hawke agreed. "I just don't know how we turn this into an offensive thing."

Aspen lifted her hand halfway. "Uh, I don't know about fighting stuff like that."

"Defense," Keir told her, "is protecting yourself. Doesn't only apply to physical combat either. Offense is attacking. Now, when you're on the defense, that means you're completely focused on protecting yourself, not getting hurt - physically, mentally, or emotionally - and just trying to keep up. When you're on the offense, you have the advantage of making your opponent or enemy deflect, block, explain, and deal with the attacks you send their way."

"And it looks stronger to the people watching," I added. "Like with bullies. They'll say shit, the victim has to defend, and they can't deny it or they look like a wuss. They can't agree, because then the attack lands and rumors start. They have to figure out a way to diffuse or deflect the attack."

"Ok, that makes more sense," Aspen assured me. "I've handled bullies, not battles."

"It's all the same," Hawke told her. "Attack, block, evade, counter-attack."

"And," I said, "we're doing nothing but evading and deflecting. You're not the princess. Torian's a dick, and the jesters named the court. Things like that. It works to keep suspicion off us, but why? Seriously, why are we all working so hard to not tell anyone who you are? What's the downside of them finding out?"

"The Mad Queen," Torian said.

"Who is on Faerie!" I reminded him. "She's not here. She can't do anything, and if she can get here, then I think we'll have bigger issues. I mean, I'm assuming she knows what you look like?"

"She does," he admitted. "She doesn't know about Aspen, though."

"But she will," Wilder said. "Aspen accepted the crown. There's no way to hide that or wipe it away. The Mad Queen wants the crown, and the one thing keeping her from it?" He pointed at Aspen. "Which means your mother would try to kill your sister even if you weren't related."

"Fuck!" Torian snarled.

"So own it," I told them.

For a moment, no one responded. They also didn't say anything else. It was as if they were trying to find a reason why that was a silly idea, but no one was talking. I could only assume that meant they didn't have one.

"Keep going," Keir encouraged softly. "Explain the whole idea, Rain."