Page 5

"Well..." She paused, clearly hitting a block between what she wanted me to think and the true words she could actually speak. "We also had vandalism in the elevator that makes me think some guess who Torian really is."

"And?" I pressed.

"And the Summer Prince would only make the rift worse."

"Even if he's seen supporting Aspen?"

She nodded. "Because it puts a target on Aspen's back and a crown on Torian's head. They won't stop to ask him what he wants. It's likely he won't be willing to say, and that would only make it worse, so the best thing is to avoid the rumors when possible."

"So you want Aspen to hide from the bullies. That's what you mean?"

"It would be safer for her," Ms. Rhodes said.

But I wasn't ok with that. "So, you think people will forget she has Winter magic?

" I lifted a brow. "Or maybe they'll lose interest in these rumors going around?

Some of the faelings can lie, Ms. Rhodes.

They'll embellish them, and anyone who hears it will believe it's true.

When someone like you, who has authority here and can't lie, spreads what you honestly believe but is wrong? It's taken as gospel."

"Well, yes, but - "

"And that just rewards the bullies!" I snapped, cutting her off. "She hides, they win. She can't leave, or they win. Torian will go off the rails, which means they win. Your big plan is to avoid confrontation because it's what, easier?"

"Less dangerous," she clarified. "Rain, Aspen's control has been fragile. She is still struggling to master the power she had, and now that she's claimed the crown, she'll be able to access even more."

"Court!" Jack cawed.

"It seems," I explained for him, "the crown is helping her more than harming. She says her control is holding. Torian isn't - " I snapped my mouth shut and looked up.

Which made her chuckle. "Aspen told me about their mental and magical bond. Not everything about it, but enough to see if I could help. I can't."

I nodded. "Well, I know more than you, but I'm not talking about it unless I have to. I also think asking the court to sit down and shut up is the wrong way to handle this."

She jerked her chin at me. "Why's that?"

I slowly turned my mug of coffee on the table before me. "Jack, help me out here?"

"Jack!" he agreed, which didn't help at all.

So I pulled in a deep breath and tried to lay out this thing I didn't really understand, yet still felt in my bones. "My magic is weird, right?"

"I don't care for that word, but yes."

"And Aspen's a problem because she's not supposed to exist?"

"Correct."

"And Torian's a problem because of his mother?"

"Right," she agreed.

So I kept going. "And Wilder's a duke of Winter .

Keir is using Earth magic. Hawke is a monster, or so people will think.

I'm a freak because of Jack's magic. Ms. Rhodes, we're all the outcasts.

Don't you get it? We're the ones people bully!

Everything about making the court hide who they are, what they can do, and why they're here? It's turned them into targets!"

"I'm aware of that," Ms. Rhodes assured me, "but the staff here - "

"Isn't as strong as them!" I interrupted.

"Look, for my entire life, I tried so hard to play by the rules.

I thought that if I could just get it right, then things would work out, but you know what happened?

I got bounced. Always. Every time. The rules didn't protect me.

The teachers couldn't. The system is made to reward those willing to abuse it and punish those who follow it.

So, maybe you need to sit back and let them figure it out, hm? "

"Figure what out?" she asked.

I turned my cup around again. "What they're ok with." And I finally looked up. "What we're supposed to be doing to fix the mess the Mad Queen made."

"Rain, you're a child. This isn't your mess to fix."

"But that's where you're wrong," I told her.

"I'm the Morrigan. Aspen's the queen. Torian's the prince.

Wilder and Hawke are dukes. Keir's a knight.

We are the ones in the positions that are supposed to make this work.

I know you want to help, and we will ask for it when we need it, but that doesn't change anything. "

"So what do you want me to do?" she asked. "I'm not saying I'll agree. I'm just curious what it is you're hoping for."

I bit my lips together, then looked back at Jack and Shadow. Both of them were still, merely watching me.

"Morrigan," Jack encouraged softly.

So I turned to face Ms. Rhodes again. "We tried the old way and it didn't work. Maybe it's time to let them try something new."

"Something new will cause havoc in this school," she countered.

"And bullies won't?" I asked.

"These aren't bullies, Rain!" she snapped. "They're so much worse than that."

"Says someone who's never been bullied. Trust me, it doesn't matter what you call it.

When someone attacks you, it sucks. Call them bullies, terrorists, extremists, or whatever.

That part doesn't matter. What does is that I'm not going to sit by quietly and let the people I care about suffer because of them. "

"The court?" she asked.

"The fae," I corrected.