Page 62

Chapter Fifty-Six

KEIR

A spen had called us out of class to come help Torian, but I wasn't quite sure what any of us had done to help him.

At lunch, no one wanted to talk about it, keeping the conversation light and easy.

I was good with that. Sometimes we all needed a break from the heavy shit, but when we headed to the gym afterwards, I pulled Hawke aside and got the condensed version.

I knew Torian had been having issues with how he was tied to both thrones, but naming Wilder the heir had really made it all better?

Ok, I had questions. So during our survival course, the two of us came up with a plan.

Hawke would come over to get Torian's help with something, and I'd go check on Wilder.

If either guy wanted to talk, they'd now have options.

One of us should be able to tell if they were putting on a brave face - or leaving something out.

And no, it wasn't a perfect plan, but it was one thing we could do without dragging the girls into this, because I had a feeling that would only make Torian clam up.

As we headed up to our rooms after dinner, Hawke tapped my arm. "Hey, I'm going to hang with Tor for a bit. Willing to chill with Wilder? I don't like him being alone, not after they got into his room."

Wilder grunted as if unimpressed. "Hawke, I told you I added more protections." Then he looked at me and smiled. "But if you wanna hang, Keir, I'm down."

"Oh, baby," I teased, shifting over so I could walk at his side. "Sounds to me like those two need some personal time or something."

"Shit," Torian grumbled.

And beside me, Wilder struggled not to smile.

I caught that, but I was starting to think this plan Hawke and I had concocted might not be our own anymore.

So when those two peeled off to head to Torian's room, I kept going, following Wilder to his.

Around us, the other guys on this side were doing their normal thing, which was typically rather loud.

I saw a few girls glance over, but their eyes tracked Torian and Hawke, not us.

"Guess I'm no longer appealing to the girls," I joked while Wilder unlocked his door.

"Girlfriends have that effect, I hear." He pushed it open and gestured for me to head in. But when he shut the door behind us, he kept going. "And most are too human to understand the mess you call a relationship."

"Eh, I'm good with it." I flopped down on his bed without asking, but I did keep my shoes off it.

Wilder claimed the chair in the room. "Hawke told me you're worried."

"Yeah," I admitted. "Aspen sent a text that sounded like we were having a crisis. I bailed on class, headed up to Torian's room, and then it was all just ok? Wilder, what did I miss?"

"He's no longer in line for the throne."

"And that's it?" I snapped my fingers. "Just like that, things changed and everyone's happy again? Never mind that you're now Aspen's heir. Are you ok with it?"

"I'd prefer it was someone else," he admitted, "but better me than Tor. He's right about that. If he inherits the Winter Crown, everything we've fought for is over. The magic could simply vanish for all we know. And if it doesn't? I think that could be worse."

"Besides that part," I said. "Wilder, you're the heir. Doesn't that mean the threats will fall on you now?"

"No." He waved off my concerns. "You, Hawke, and Rain serve as witnesses to the change in inheritance.

We needed that to make it official, but otherwise?

" He shrugged. "No one needs to know, Keir.

See, that's the thing. The magic always knows.

Plus, Torian isn't worried about the threats.

He's worried about what happens if - and in my opinion it's a slim chance - he fails.

If anything happens to Aspen, our fight would've been over.

Our whole plan to make this shit better?

Gone. But if the crown goes to me, Torian's out of the equation.

Nevaeh is now closer to inheriting than Torian is. "

I nodded, rocking my head as I did my best to digest that information. "I don't get how it works. How can he go from the heir to not even being in line?"

"Aspen to me," he explained, "but then from me, it goes to my bloodline. Cousins, nieces and nephews, and so on. See, I'm not closely related to Torian, but I do have some long, twisted, complicated relation to Aspen - on both sides. More maternal than paternal though, which is what makes it work."

"Royalty is fucked."

He laughed. "More than you know." Then he leaned back, slumping down in the chair a bit. "So, speaking of Torian, what's the deal with you and him?"

"There's not one."

He gave me a tired look. "And?"

So I pushed myself up, turning so I was facing him. "Aspen's convinced he's into me. I'm not as sure, but he keeps..." I paused, trying to find the right words. "Doing things."

"Like kissing you?"

"Like that," I agreed. "Looking at me when I come out of the shower. Being a dick the next minute. You know, normal Torian things."

"He's lonely."

I twitched in place because that wasn't what I'd expected Wilder to say. "What?"

"Torian," Wilder clarified. "He had his panic attack - and I don't know what else to call it - because he flirted with some girl who started spouting the same shit as one of those Silent assholes we came up against."

"Ok?" Now I was even more confused. "What does flirting with a girl have to do with me?"

"Lonely," Wilder said again, the corner of his lip curling, proving he was being a prick on purpose. "In his mind, everyone else is pairing up. Too bad for him, pair is the wrong word."

"There's that," I agreed. "Although I think Rain's the only one with a trio."

That raised corner turned into a full-blown smirk. "And you."

"Look." I pulled in a breath, trying to choose my words carefully. "So, I know there's some attraction between us. I also know he's not giving me any signs. Wilder, he's..."

"Hiding his insecurity with bravado?" Wilder offered. "Trying to run through all the possible outcomes in his head to make sure he isn't ruining things before he makes a move? Has been taught not to risk anything if he can't control it completely?"

"Yeah," I grumbled, getting the point. "That."

"This time, Keir, being considerate is doing neither of you any favors." He glanced over at the wall for a moment, then back. "Ok, and I may have skipped over the real issue. Are you into him?"

I rocked my head from side to side. "He's hot. So physically? Yes."

"And the rest?"

"That's where it gets harder," I said. "Torian's... not exactly open. The truth is I'm not sure I really know him that well."

"Only Aspen does."

Which wasn't helping me at all. "Ok, but how can I answer your question without having some clue of who this guy really is?"

"He was born on sheets adorned with golden thread," Wilder said. "He was swaddled in silks. The first view he ever had was of the kingdom he was supposed to rule - and the 'adoring' subjects cheering his name."

"That doesn't sound like Torian," I pointed out.

Wilder chuckled. "So you know him better than you think.

Those sheets were his mother's. The silk was strong enough to strangle him in the crib.

The subjects were threatened to cheer or die - and he knew it.

Every memory he has is laced with the poison of that bitch.

If not her twisting his luxuries to feel more like threats, then it was the abuse she heaped on him for not being inherently perfect at all times.

Dropped his fork? He spent a week in a dungeon.

Didn't get an enchantment right the first time he was shown it? Lashes with the royal scepter."

"So he's made of trauma," I realized.

"Trauma on top of trauma on top of trauma," Wilder agreed.

"And even in the midst of all of that, you know what he did?

He held on to the fleeting glimpses of Aspen's mind.

He lost himself in her, which is why he can't think of anything beyond protecting her.

She is his lifeline, Keir, but so is this.

So is stopping his mother and repairing the mess she made. "

"Saving everyone," I breathed.

But my friend looked at me. "What?"

"All of this," I said, gesturing around us. "Silver Oaks, coming to Earth, and panicking because he was the heir to Aspen's crown. It's all his way of protecting everyone else. Of fighting for the hints of happiness he can see around him."

"Wanting to know it still exists," Wilder whispered as if he'd just realized the same thing I had.

"We're his hope," I said. "You as the Winter heir - "

"Prince," Wilder corrected. "The proper title for me now is Wilder Reed, Prince of Winter and Duke of Avalon."

"Why Avalon?" I asked spontaneously. "Is that to match Hawke?"

"No," he said around a chuckle. "That was my parent's title. Duke and Duchess of Avalon - and yes, they were married. To my knowledge, they also loved each other, and I intend to keep believing that, so please don't try to prove me wrong."

"Not unless I have to," I assured him. "But on the upside, it seems Jack can say prince now."

"And I asked him to keep calling me a duke," Wilder said. "In truth, I'm not a real prince. I'm a stand-in, and I know it. I'm also perfectly ok with this. I think of it as my duty to the crown - and to the woman wearing it."

"Yeah, but I am not your subject," I pointed out. "How do you think Torian feels about that? Me refusing to follow either of them?"

He made a face and shook his head. "No, that's a good thing to him - or so Hawke says. Keep in mind, some of this I'm relaying from him, because we both think you need to know all of it."

"About Torian?" I asked.

"Mhm," Wilder agreed. "Because you, Keir, date more girls than guys. Trust me, we've noticed."

I just groaned. "Can we please forget Harper ever happened?"

"Gladly," he agreed. "You still date more girls than guys."

"Because while some of those faelings are nice to look at," I said, "they have..."

"Issues?" he offered.

"Masculinity," I decided, picking that word on impulse.

"And it's not about being masculine. It's more how they're trying to manifest it like a new magic.

They're caught between two worlds, struggling to blend them together, and drowning under the expectations of their fae parents, or friends, or all this Summer crap that's been taking over Silver Oaks for years now. "

"Ok, I can see that," he agreed. "Especially with the foundlings. They grew up human, with all those human biases, and then... Surprise! You're part fairy!"

I nearly snorted at his use of the wrong term. "Limp wrists and all, right?"

"Shit," Wilder drawled. "Mine are fine, and I'm definitely a bottom."

Which made me pause. "Fuck."

"I can top if that works better for you," he teased.

I rolled my eyes at him. "No, Wilder. I was thinking about Torian." And I groaned. "No wonder he's weird around me."

"What? Why?"

"Because fucking and getting fucked? Not the same."

Wilder just murmured a little sound that made it clear he understood what I was saying, but didn't quite agree.

Which made a laugh slip out. "C'mon, you know what I'm talking about."

"Yeah, and are you really going to turn down getting him naked if it means you're the one biting the pillow or riding the wild beasty?"

I couldn't help it. My mouth fell open in surprise and one more laugh jumped out. "Wilder!"

"I don't know how to break it to you, but I'm crass with my friends," he assured me. "I count you in that very short list, so get used to it."

"More than happy to," I said quickly. "I actually like this more relaxed version of you. I also understand how you hooked Hawke now."

"Shit," he chuckled. "I told him his wings were sexy. That was all it took."

"They are nice," I admitted. "Shocking, but nice."

"Rain likes them."

I nodded. "Yeah, she does. And yes, you can tell him that. She's just a little overwhelmed right now, and with her and Aspen actually figuring it out? I think she might be open to some hot jevadu seducing her."

"He's not ready," Wilder said. "Well, he wants to be, but he's a little nervous about it. I mean, the fucking Morrigan ? And one who has yet to find the limit of her power? Never mind that he tasted it, and he said she's..."

"What?" I asked, hanging on his too-long pause.

"Keir, Rain is so powerful, he doesn't have words for it. So powerful he can't imagine anything stronger. So powerful..." And he lowered his voice to a whisper. "She could stop Torian with a little more training."

"Shit."

He nodded. "So Hawke's not ready. But Torian?

I think he is. I think he's desperate for someone to notice him for just him .

If it's someone who happens to like him despite his title, not because of it?

Someone who has proven over and over again that he's powerful enough that Torian might actually be able to lean on him? "

"Or on both of us," I said. "Me and Rain, Wilder. You know she's there for him. Not as a lover, no, but as a friend?"

"He needs both right now." Wilder paused to lick his lips. "I am not trying to tell you that you have to do this. I'm just saying that if you want to..."

"Then I should," I finished for him.

"And stop being the nice guy." He lifted a brow.

"Tor's not one, and he won't understand.

With him, blunt works. Say it out loud so he can taste the truth.

Don't hint, do not be subtle, and whatever you do, if you're interested in him at all.

.." He glanced down at the floor and smiled.

"Take a risk, Keir. Not a physical one, but the emotional kind, because we both know you suck at that. "

I nodded. "Busted."