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Chapter Fifty-Seven

TORIAN

W hen Aspen made Wilder the heir to her crown, a weight had lifted from me. The next day, I felt like I could actually focus on my classwork. Half of the million fears spiraling through my mind had been removed. For the first time in my memory, things actually felt good.

So I was laughing with Aspen and Wilder as we headed to Bracken's gym for our evening practice session. Oddly, when I reminded Wilder he was now my equal, the guy's dark skin shifted to a much warmer color. One that had hints of pink in it.

Naturally, Aspen had to say something about it, picking on him the way only she could. In truth, the way Wilder always looked at my sister with such adoration was why I'd let him into the court. He wasn't attracted to her at all, but he still treated her like she'd put the sparkle in snow.

"Careful," I joked as I pulled open the door to the gym. "You keep that up and new rumors will start. Someone will think you've finally tamed the 'ice bitch,' Wilder."

"Shit," he said around a laugh. "Don't you know I like them freaky? Starting to think you do too, Tor."

I glanced away, but I was grinning. A little stupid banter, a few friends, and I was about to test my abilities against Rain again. Or maybe I should spend some time with Hawke so Wilder could see how impressive his lover really was. I didn't know, and surprisingly, I didn't even care.

"Well, look at that!" Pascal called. "Tor, did you get laid or something? I think you look... happy!"

My smile immediately faded, making me aware it had been on my face all day. "And who the hell am I going to fuck, Pascal? The only two women even close to my rank aren't options."

"Oh, because you're so much better than us?" Axel asked, moving closer.

"See, that's the problem with Summer," Daivon said, but the four sentinels were turning to face us, standing beside the benches just inside the door. "It's all about rank, power, and shoving everyone else down as if we're nothing. Fuck that."

"He didn't mean it that way," Axel tried to say.

"But it sounded like that," Daivon pointed out.

"Kinda did," Bran agreed, lifting a brow at me.

"Have you seen the Summer students?" I shot back. "Maybe you missed them attacking students lately? Or have you been deaf to all the slander of anyone with Winter magic?" I gestured to Aspen and Wilder to show what I meant.

"Tor..." Aspen tried.

At the edge of my eye, I saw Wilder clasp her arm, holding her in place.

That allowed me to move closer, facing these four without needing to yell.

Yet the moment I moved out of the little entryway, I could see Keir, Hawke, and Rain on the far side of the room, talking between themselves.

Clearly, they hadn't heard any of this, and I wasn't about to pull them into it.

"So if you think I'm going to stick my dick in any of those girls, you clearly haven't been paying attention," I snarled. "Yes, I think I'm better than them. Right now, I don't trust anyone who claims my season as their own - because none of them have proven I should!"

"Fuck you, Torian," Bran grumbled, turning away like he was done with this.

But Axel grabbed his arm, refusing to let Bran leave even as he jerked his chin at me. "No one, huh? Is that what you think of us, Prince Torian ?" He sneered my name with so much contempt. "We waste an hour every day helping the court, and you think that's what? Nothing more than you deserve?"

"Just like your damned mother," Bran mumbled.

"Too far," Pascal chided. "Guys, I thought we agreed to help Keir and Rain?"

"And our fucking prince!" Bran shot back, thrusting an arm in my direction. "Or maybe your Winter magic made you miss that part, Pas? Because I was going to stay for one session, but when they trusted us enough to admit they're royalty? I thought it fucking meant something."

On the far side of the room, my friends paused, turning toward us. Evidently, they'd heard that. All three of them headed over, but I shook my head, trying to make it clear this was ok. I didn't need backup. If anything, I needed to figure out how I'd fucked up this time.

"What thing?" I asked.

The words came out wrong, though. That sounded like I was pissed when I was honestly curious. I snapped it out like an accusation instead of a question, and Bran didn't give me the chance to fix it.

"I'm Summer!" Bran screamed at me, tapping his chest in the process. "My whole life, I've been told my queen is who fucked everything up. My court is evil. My season is why we had to leave our home. Summer caused the war, attacked innocents, and killed children ! Fucking kids, Torian!"

"I know," I said, the words a breath.

But Bran moved closer. "My whole life, I've had shit for magic, shit for ancestry - my dad was a fucking shoemaker!"

"There's nothing wr-"

He didn't let me finish. "I have always been ashamed to be Summer! Fuck, I think most of us are. Some of us twisted that into 'reclaiming our season,' which is how we ended up with the Children of the Exodus in the first place!"

"I don't think they're the same as The Silent," Rain said.

I lifted a hand, begging her to not get in the middle of this. She glanced at Keir, but he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Hawke was looking behind me, likely checking on Aspen and Wilder, but we were fine. If Bran wanted to scream a bit, he'd earned the right, in my opinion.

"I don't care what they call themselves," Axel said, joining the discussion. "Bran's right. Before spring break, it was all about who was stronger in magic. Well, guess what? I'm not strong, but I wanted to do something , so I joined the sentinels."

"Same," Bran agreed. "I wanted to prove we weren't all bad. I wanted to feel like I could be proud of my season, but instead we get this?"

"What 'this?'" I asked.

Axel huffed in frustration. "You seriously don't know?"

I looked between him and Bran, then over to Daivon. "I have been more worried about not being discovered than anything else, worried my mother would find me."

"Fucking royalty," Daivon muttered under his breath.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Royalty sucks. We're trying to fix that, or have we been too subtle?"

Daivon turned to Bran. "Why do we even need a king?"

"I'm not a king," I hurried to say.

"No, you're not," Bran agreed, taking over. "You're my prince, Torian. Mine. Aspen? She's nice. Hell, we all agree on that. Wilder? He's a fucking badass. Hawke? Well, he's awesome, but he never tries to be a duke. He's always following you around like some damned servant, and he's more than that!"

"And in the halls, people are standing up for Winter now," Axel said.

"Shit, I've heard a few say they wish they'd been born to that season.

People actually want Aspen as their queen, and she lets them!

She fights for her people! She gives them something to be proud of, even if it's not as easy as going unnoticed. "

"I heard a lot want to swear their fealty," Pascal said. "I mean, the jesters tried, and that put it in people's heads. Then that whole thing with Ms. Linden? Her magic changing like that, right in front of everyone?"

"That's what I mean!" Bran said. "Torian, you're good at punishing those who hurt Aspen's people, but you know what you suck at? Standing up for your own - because we're not all bad!"

"Some of us have been trying to show you that," Axel said.

And now my head was whipping back and forth, trying to watch all of them at the same time. "Ok, so what do you want?" I asked, mostly because I didn't know what else to say.

"See?" Bran huffed, tossing his arms up. "Our leadership is all shit!"

"Hey, hey, hey," Daivon said. "Torian's still a person. And you know what? I bet he didn't ask for this either."

"He didn't," Hawke said.

"No, let him finish," I begged.

Because I'd never thought about things like this.

Bran was right. I'd been so focused on stopping my mother, saving Aspen, and getting this right that I'd never bothered to think about anyone else in my season, but I did have subjects.

There were fae beneath me in the seasonal hierarchy.

More than that, fae power was like a pyramid, but the more power we had, the more responsibility we got to go with it.

"Some of us are actually loyal to you, Torian," Axel said. "I mean, why do you think we're out here every day? Because we need to learn how to use a sword?"

"I... Uh..." I stared blankly for a moment before dropping my head in shame. "I thought you were trying to get special favors."

"It's what he knows," Aspen said, moving to my side. "Guys, my brother was raised by the Mad Queen. He's had, what, a year and a half of seeing normal people?"

"No shit?" Bran asked.

I nodded. "I was trapped. The Mad Queen may have kept me in a gilded prison, raising me to rule, yet I escaped. I came here because I didn't like what was there, but I've never seen anything else. I didn't get to watch the news, see movies, or any of that."

"He only learned what not to do," Keir said, offering me a reassuring nod.

"And yes," I admitted. "I was sure you four had some bigger plans. You wanted to find our weaknesses or something. I even wondered if you might be a part of this mess."

Bran stepped closer, right into my face.

"I'm not." And he lifted a brow. "Am I lying, Torian?

We both know you can hear the truth. Well, how's this?

I hate the fuckers who are hurting my friends.

I despise the idea of one season being the 'right' one, and I will fight to protect any fae, no matter how weak, which season, or anything else. " His words rang completely true.

"Shit," Axel said, "Bracken's been training us to work with the Morrigan, Torian. The fucking Morrigan! You know, fighting for the people - of either season."

"Against the Hunt," I pointed out.

"Against threats," Axel corrected. "And sure, the Hunt has been the biggest one, but clearly it's not the only one. I didn't ask to be Summer, but you know what? I'm also not ashamed of it. I happen to like my season. I just want to finally be able to be proud of it too."

"How?" I asked.

"Accept them," Pascal said. "Torian, having my queen recognize me? That feels good. I mean, isn't it the least you can do? Find those from Summer who you can be sure aren't trying to sabotage your one court idea and lift them up."

"I'd swear to you," Bran said almost shyly.

"Same," Axel agreed.

"Yeah," Daivon said. "I mean, I'm not big on courts, but - "

"Knight!" Jack cawed, sailing across the open room to land hard on Daivon's shoulder. "Knight!" he said again before looking over at Bran. "Prince." Then Axel. "Prince." But he had to twist his head to see Daivon while on his shoulder. "Knight!"

"Daivon?" Rain asked. "Would you rather follow me and Keir more than Torian or Aspen?"

"Wait, what?" Keir asked.

So Rain gestured at him. "Like with Poppy. You know, picking their season."

But Daivon looked back at me almost nervously. "Um..."

"It's nothing more than an honest question," I assured him. "There's no right or wrong answer, and it's certainly not something I'd judge you for. Trust me, I know what it feels like to wish you had another option."

"Yeah," Daivon said. "I kinda like the whole idea of celebrating that I'm from here. I mean, I also like the 'one court' thing too, so I dunno."

"All you have to do is kneel," I told him.

"And us?" Bran asked. "I mean, Pascal's already made a big deal to Aspen, but what about me and Axel, Torian?"

And I knew he was right. I did, yet it felt so odd to have someone want to show their respect for me.

But these guys had proven themselves. Over and over, they'd stepped up - even before Aspen and I had been revealed as royalty.

They were the heroes here, and we were just the ones getting the glory for it.

"I would be honored to take oaths from you two," I told them, hoping they could hear the truth in that.

"Kneel," Hawke told them. "I think that since we're changing everything up, we might as well make group loyalty vows a thing too. So, face the leader of your choice and repeat after me."

Three of the four sentinels knelt. Pascal stepped back, but he was smiling. Aspen and Wilder moved to my side while Keir and Rain shifted over so Daivon was clearly facing them.

"Pick your leader," Hawke said, his mouth curling sideways, "and say either Your Highness, Torian Hunt, Prince of Summer, Heir to the Summer Crown, and representative of our season on Earth - or Sir Keir Delaney, Defender of the Morrigan, and the Steward of Earth." And he nodded.

The guys repeated that, picking which one of us they wanted to swear loyalty to, and Hawke kept going.

"I offer you my service, in all ways I can provide.

My life, my power, and my loyalty are yours until the end of time, as long as your loyalty remains true to the season or crown you serve as a part of the balance of all magic: Winter, Summer, and Wild.

May my loyalty never be tested, but among the balance of the court, I swear to follow you first in all things. "

I heard what Hawke said. I noticed the subtle changes to the standard oath of fealty all nobles were required to give the Mad Queen.

I also liked it enough I found myself smiling again.

Not a cold one or a cruel one. This time, the curl of my mouth was torn between relief and happiness as all three men repeated Hawke's words - and two of them had their heads bowed to me.

"Rise, sentinels," I said formally.

"Please rise," Keir muttered right after, clearly following my lead.

"And I am pleased to accept all of your vows for the one court. May you always have the bravery to keep me in line and prevent me from making the same missteps as those who came before."

"For the one true court," Bran corrected, looking up at me as he pushed to his feet. "It's nice to finally feel like I'm appreciated, my liege."

"Not calling you 'liege," Daivon whispered to Keir.

"Fuck, no," Keir agreed. "I'm just a damned knight. And speaking of that, how about we make our prince sweat a bit?"

Bran stepped forward and offered me his hand. "I respect you, Torian. That doesn't mean I'll always like you or agree with you."

"Which is why I realized you were right," I told him. "And that maybe being a good guy isn't something I should see as a cause for distrust. It seems your kind do exist."

"Oh, we do," Pascal said, heading toward the mats. "We also had a damned good teacher beat it into us." He jerked his chin toward the back corner of the room.

I looked over to see Bracken leaning against the door to his office. Clearly, he'd witnessed all of that. From the look on his face, he approved.