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Chapter Fifty-Two

TORIAN

M onday morning started with some eleventh grader falling to his knees before me while I waited for the elevator.

Before I could even open my mouth to tell him off, Keir grabbed the kid and pulled him to his feet, letting everyone around us know that groveling for the sake of groveling was not the same as swearing loyalty to a season, a crown, or even a person.

A few heard that and murmured. I couldn't tell if they approved or not, but in first period, Keir asked me what I was going to do about it.

The answer was easy: ignore them. I was not the savior these people were looking for.

I certainly wouldn't fight with them against Winter.

Fuck that! So, for now, my big plan was simply to walk away before anyone actually got the formal vow all the way out.

As I headed to second period, I could almost feel the eyes tracking me.

My fellow students dipped their heads respectfully, but I hated it.

I wasn't here to be worshipped like some idol.

If I'd wanted that, I would've stayed at my mother's side.

She'd done a damned good job of making sure everyone understood my power.

The strange thing, however, was the way people smiled at us. They didn't cower like I was used to. Gone were the glares I'd gotten since I'd arrived. The jealousy over being pure fae instead of a faeling had shifted to something else I'd never seen before. Something that felt almost good.

In third period, Isla Fisher kept glancing back at me. I knew her from Magical Control last year. She was an enticer, and a surprisingly powerful one considering how much human ancestry she had. The girl's curves proved that.

But I'd never seen her lash out at Winter. In truth, she was the sort of girl who mostly kept to herself and didn't strive to get noticed, but each time her pretty green eyes landed on me, I noticed.

Aspen had found a girlfriend. Hawke and Wilder were happy together.

Rain had picked up Keir, and somehow their relationship just worked.

All of my friends were pairing up, but here I was, alone.

Sure, I might have the strongest friendships I could imagine, but I wanted something.

I longed to have those moments where I could just relax and let someone else take care of it.

The only person who'd let me do that was Rain - and she was my sister's girlfriend.

So while the instructor rambled on about the logistics of trigonometry, I convinced myself this would be ok.

After all, I was a prince. Everyone knew it, so I no longer had to keep my past a secret, right?

And if I made the first move, then didn't it mean she wasn't clawing for power?

That maybe this would be ok? Needless to say, the next time she glanced at me, I made sure to smile back.

Isla's face quickly flushed to a soft pink and she whipped back around to the front. For a moment, I was sure I'd gone too far, but after a bit, she turned again - more subtly this time. When our eyes met, she smiled.

That might not be much, but it felt... good.

Aspen was safe - Rain made sure of it. Our court was getting support from so many people, and the shock of what had to be The Silent's last stand was starting to wear off.

This was ok. I didn't need to be a weapon.

I wasn't required to push everyone away to keep them safe.

And yes, I deserved this. I deserved to have someone giggle foolishly when I gave her attention, maybe to steal a kiss, and who knew where it could go from there?

Maybe there was a place for faelings on the court, and someone would need to help me understand how they fit in.

Bit by bit, I talked myself into the mild flirtation I was doing. I pushed down all the qualms I had, and talked up the ways this could be a good thing. My mental dialogue may have been a bit circular, but that had nothing at all to do with nerves. I didn't get nervous; it wasn't allowed.

Eventually, our teacher released us. I almost chickened out, but Isla dared to glance back one more time.

"Hey," I said, lifting my chin her way. "Tell me I don't have something on my face?"

"What?" she asked, moving a little closer so people could get around her.

"Well, you kept looking at me, so I was starting to get worried." It was a cheesy line, but they'd always worked for me before.

And right on cue, Isla grinned. "No!" she groaned, clutching her tablet against her chest as she moved even closer. "It's stupid, Torian."

"My dashing good looks?" I teased.

She rocked her head back and forth like I wasn't quite right. "I didn't think Summer fae had dark hair. Everyone's been talking about how you're royalty and everything, but it didn't make sense until my suitemate mentioned who your father is, er, was."

"The Winter King," I said, gesturing for her to walk beside me as we left the room.

"Yeah," she mumbled. "Sorry."

"Never knew him," I admitted. "But what about you? Red hair, so that's either from your human parent or a Summer fae."

"Both," she said. "Dad was an artist. Summer, no nobility. Mom's human."

"Was?" I asked, noticing how she referred to her father in the past tense.

She grimaced. "The Hunt."

"Ah." And I reached up for her shoulder. "Sorry. We've been trying to stop them."

"It was when I was a baby," she explained, waving it off. "But I heard you're an asshole. My friends say to stay far, far away."

"Do I seem like an asshole?"

And once again, her cheeks turned pink. "No."

"So maybe this non-asshole can walk you to your next class?" I offered. "You'd have to help me out and tell me where it is, though."

"Um, I have Faeril for fourth. First floor, beside the atrium."

Ok, I was liking this girl more and more. I wasn't sure how I'd explain to the court that I'd picked someone up, but it could wait. For this moment, I was finally feeling like things were going right for me. Maybe they were? Maybe I did have a future?

"You know," I said as I turned her for the stairs, "we could always meet up for dinner and you could show me how well you speak it."

"Yeah?" she asked. "I heard it's going to be a required language."

And that nearly made me miss a step. "Required where?"

"In the Summer Court," she said. "My suitemate told me you'll make sure there's a place for faelings there - on Faerie, I mean."

Considering I'd just had that thought, her saying almost the same thing surprised me.

Granted, it also made sense. Of course faelings would be curious about where they fit in.

The Silent's attacks on Winter had made discussions of courts, sides, and everything else move to the front of everyone's minds.

"I happen to think there should be a place for everyone," I told her. "I'm just not sure it's on Faerie."

"But..." She paused at the bottom of the stairs, stepping back so we weren't in the middle of traffic. "Torian, you're here. Isn't that a sign?"

Something in my chest twisted. "A sign for what?" I asked.

"That we'll finally get the magic we're supposed to have," she said. "Our parents bred with humans for a reason. Aren't we supposed to be repopulating Faerie after the destruction Winter has caused there?"

No. Those things? I'd heard that line of thinking before. That was the same crap the girl who'd attacked Pascal had said! It was bullshit, but the kind that came from only one place.

I snapped my hand out, grabbing her bicep. "Who told you that?"

"My suitemate!" she insisted. "Her father was a baron. She said he got stuck here when the gates closed. He was supposed to be finding traitors for the Queen, but - "

Shaking her once to stop that bullshit, I shoved into her face. "And you think I am going to help the Mad Queen ?"

I almost let her go then. Every muscle in my body wanted to walk away as the disappointment slammed into me hard. For weeks now, we'd been doing everything we could to make it clear I was no longer my mother's puppet, but this girl, she believed that crap?

"Who's your suitemate?" I demanded instead.

And Isla lifted her chin defiantly. "I'm not telling you that."

"No?" I asked, yanking her back into the flow of people, through the stairwell doors, and into the main hall.

"Then you can tell someone else. I thought you were different.

I almost convinced myself you weren't like every other sniveling Summer-blinded faeling here.

I was sure the reason you'd never been a bitch was because you were kind, not tricked into waiting for something I will make sure never, ever happens. "

"I don't know what you're talking about," she gasped as I led her forward.

My grip on her was too hard, and I knew it. Likely, I was bruising her, but she wasn't pulling back yet. As long as I kept going, kept walking, this mess would end up working out for us, but how had I been so fucking stupid?

Because I was lonely. Because I wanted to be loved too. Because I was fucking jealous of how easy it was for everyone else to find someone who could accept them the way they were, but none of those things were an option for me.

I was Prince Torian, the heir to the Mad Queen's throne, and the weapon created to destroy fae magic. I was the mistake, the problem no one would deal with. I was the downfall of fae society, and maybe even Faerie itself, and the court's optimism had almost convinced me otherwise.

"There is one court on Earth," I told her. "One. The Winter Queen, Summer Prince, and Morrigan all share power. No longer will we hate others because of magic - or a lack of it." Then I pulled her close against my side. "And your suitemate is on the wrong side."

Finally, she pulled. "Where are we going?!"

But it was too late. Jerking her to the side, I yanked open one of the glass doors and shoved her through it, following only to block her escape. Isla's head snapped from side to side, but the commotion made the office staff look over.

"Torian?" the administrative assistant asked.

"Tell Ms. Rhodes this one knows something," I growled. "She thinks I'm working for my mother."

And the assistant's eyes slid over to Isla. "Is this true?"

"I don't know what he's talking about!" Isla snapped, turning to glare at me.

But the woman, I thought her name was Rose, flinched hard. "Oh, that's definitely a lie." She was already making her way around the desk.

"If she doesn't speak, I will compel her," I said, half expecting Isla to try to push around me and run into the rest of the school.

Instead, she glared at me. "You asshole!" she hissed, and it hurt more than it should've.

But Rose chuckled, gesturing to the side where Ms. Rhodes' door was closed. "This way, young lady. And I do have some power myself, Torian. We've got this."

I nodded to show I'd heard, but waited until Rose actually had a grip on Isla.

Then I spun, making my way back into the hall.

My feet turned the way they knew, carrying me on autopilot.

Yes, I probably should've told Ms. Rhodes what Isla had said.

I would definitely check in with her later, but right now, I just really needed to walk.

For a brief moment, I'd thought things were different.

For a second, I'd convinced myself everything was going to be ok.

I'd lied - to me! I wasn't ever going to be allowed to find happiness.

No, I'd have to watch everyone around me figure it out, but as long as I was caught in the middle of a war between seasons, I was the one and only thing that could bring it all crashing down.

I had to go. I needed out. Even the air around me felt heavy and oppressive. I had to do something, and as I turned into my biology class on autopilot, my eye landed on the solution.

"Rain," I snapped. "Come with me."

Her head whipped up and she looked at me for one long moment. I wasn't sure what she saw, but for once, she didn't try to push back. No, Rain just grabbed her things - and quickly - then headed toward me. Jack fluttered over to land on her shoulder.

"Torian?" she whispered. "What's wrong?"

"I need your help," I breathed.

That was all she needed. Catching my wrist, Rain pulled me toward the door. "When the teacher gets here, tell her we had something come up," she told the class. But the moment we were in the hall, she let go, allowing me to take over again.

"Where are we going, Tor?"

I didn't know. I hadn't thought this out, so I picked the one place I knew was safe right now. "My room."

And when I turned that way, Rain le Fae followed like the Morrigan she was.