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Chapter Forty-Five

RAIN

S adly, that acceptance did come with a downside.

Thursday evening, a girl knocked on Aspen's door, asking if she could get some help with a conjuration.

The court was all lounging in my room at the time, so she got a little more help than she expected, but it didn't take long before others in the lounge grew brave enough to ask their own questions.

And so, the nobility offered to do a little tutoring over the weekend.

Anyone, from any class, any year, and for any reason could have some personal training if they needed it.

The big plan was to spend all day Saturday in the girls' lounge, guiding students in how to use their abilities the way Aspen and Torian had been trained - but without the torture.

Not that they said that part out loud, but Aspen told Torian he'd be nice at least three times in my presence.

Sadly, I couldn't help with that. Surprisingly, neither could Keir.

Hawke could fake it, which would only help keep his cover as a "normal sidhe," so he wanted to go.

At first, I'd thought about getting ahead on my own studies, but as we walked home from the gym Friday afternoon, Keir moved to my side.

"So, I hear you might be free on Saturday," he said with a little smirk.

"Sounds like," I agreed.

He glanced away and chuckled. "Um, can I maybe take you and Jack to the atrium for a picnic dinner?"

"Do it," Torian told me, somehow making it sound like an order.

"She doesn't need your help," Aspen fake-whispered.

"Do it," Wilder said next, but his eyes were on Keir.

"I'm trying," Keir assured him.

And now I was laughing. "I'm doing it!" I assured all of them.

Which made Pascal look back. "Kinky!" he teased, earning himself a middle finger from me and a grunt from Keir.

My only request was that instead of waiting until dinner, we had lunch in the atrium. That way, we could sit around as long as we wanted without watching the clock and worrying about curfew. Needless to say, Keir agreed easily.

So the moment I woke up on Saturday - which was closer to noon than morning - I began rummaging through my wardrobe for the perfect outfit. I wanted to be cute for this. After all, Keir was making a whole picnic for us! But did that mean I should wear a dress or jeans?

Ok, so the dining hall was making the food, and I had no clue how he was getting it there, but he'd said date, and that made this feel bigger and heavier than it should've.

My hair was twisted up in a claw clip, and I was still in my crow jammies when Aspen peeked her head in to let me know she was heading out with Torian and the rest of the court.

"You're not even ready?" she gasped the moment she saw me.

"I don't know what to wear!" I whimpered. "Aspen, I've never had a real date before."

But the sound of Torian scoffing made it clear he'd heard. "It's not a date when you're still at school, Rain." Then he pushed around Aspen and stepped into my room.

Slowly, his eyes ran across my body. When he reached my crow-covered pajama pants, I saw one corner of his mouth lift ever-so-slightly, then it was gone. And yet, when his spring-green eyes made their way back up to mine, there was a glint in them I wasn't used to: a playful one.

"Bippity boppity boo," he said more blandly than I thought possible before flipping his first two fingers at me. "Now, don't forget that your prince takes care of you."

It sounded impressive as fuck, but Aspen's little giggle proved he was full of shit.

With a groan, I turned away, intending to make yet another pass through what counted as my closet - and stopped hard.

There, lying on my bed, was the perfect dress for this.

It was a soft grey color with delicate crows embroidered all over it, and long.

If I had to describe it, I'd have to say this was the sort of dress a woman wore when sitting on a wooden swing - which made sense in my head, at any rate.

"Tor?" I asked, turning around just to find him and Aspen disappearing through her side of the bathroom.

Yet the sound of his name made him glance back. "This doesn't repay our debt," he told me. "But it's a start."

"There's no debt," I countered.

He shrugged. "I disagree. I'm also enjoying myself. You deserve nice things, Rain le Fae."

And then he was gone, but the dress was still there, daring me to try it on.

After closing my door, I definitely did, and the fit was magically perfect.

Somehow, this thing made my cleavage look amazing, hugged my waist like I was wearing a corset, and yet felt like I was still in my jammies.

Plus, it was long enough I could sit on the ground without showing the wrong thing.

"Ready, Jack?" I asked once I was as good as I was going to get.

"Knight!" he cawed, swooping across the room to land on my wrist. "Rain-Knight." And he nodded emphatically.

Well, I was going to take that as encouragement. It was a little weird heading to the elevator on my own. Aspen wasn't worried, having pointed out that Shadow's alerts still worked, but we'd been pairing up for a while now, making sure no one in the court was isolated unless necessary.

Even more weird, when I made it down to the atrium - on a Saturday - there was only one guy waiting inside.

Keir, wearing a mouth-watering pair of dark jeans and a slightly-too-tight t-shirt, leaned against the massive silver oak in the middle.

His arms were crossed over his chest. His legs had been kicked out before him and crossed at the ankles.

His violet-blue eyes slid slowly down my body.

"Now that," he said, pushing away from the tree to close the distance between us, "might be the most beautiful dress I've seen in my life."

"Court!" Jack cawed before taking off, heading into the trees to stretch his wings a bit.

Both Keir and I watched him, turning to see where he'd disappear to this time. When he ducked into the branches of a weeping willow, I turned back, only to find Keir smiling at me softly. It was definitely a good look on him.

"So you like the crows on my dress?" I asked, trying hard to pretend that was a naive question.

Which made him laugh. "I can hear that, Rain. And no, I like that dress because of the woman inside it." Then he offered his arm. "I've already set up a nice little spot back here, though. It's entirely possible I had some help too."

I let him lead me through the massive garden built into the middle of our school, all the way to the back. Just before we reached the giant glass panels that looked out on the grounds, Keir turned a bit, then lifted the branch of a cedar tree.

"Your dining hall, my lady."

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, I kissed him back, tangling my fingers into those golden strands of his hair, holding him to me.

Because he was right about one thing, I had grown up.

I'd found myself here, in a school of magical and impossible things.

I had a family now, and the kind of friends who wouldn't just forget me when we all moved on.

I'd grown up so much, and that made me realize this feeling Keir gave me? It wasn't just a crush.

This was more, and that was ok. We had time. I didn't need to race to the end of this because I was magical now. I could enjoy every single second of this journey - so I kissed him again.