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Chapter Fifty-Nine

HAWKE

T or was in a good mood. He hadn't told me why, but when I'd seen him earlier in the day, he said he'd explain it all at lunch. Except for that, my morning had been completely uneventful, so I tried to figure out what would make that guy actually happy.

Wilder had a theory, and it was one I approved of, but I wouldn't set any expectations.

Yet when the pair of us headed into the cafeteria, I couldn't help but scan the room, trying to figure out where Torian might be.

I spotted Keir at the drink counter, talking to Daivon.

Bran, Pascal, and Axel were at their usual table.

I was about to look again when Aspen skipped in, grinning like she knew too much.

"Please tell me that smile's for good things?" I asked.

She giggled. "Because bad shit's going to make me smile?"

"If it happens to bad people, it could," Wilder pointed out.

And her lips curled more, ending up in a grin. "I think I want some dessert today." Then she pushed into the line before us and grabbed a tray.

Sure enough, she got pie to go with her flowers. It was peach, which counted as fruit - or so she said. I chose something nice and safe, we picked up our drinks, and then the three of us headed over to the table just as Keir sat down.

"Do you know what Tor's going to say?" I asked him.

Confusion crossed his face. "He has something to say?"

Aspen giggled.

Thankfully, Torian and Rain - who had started walking together from their fourth period class - didn't take long to join us. The first warning they were coming was Jack's appearance. The crow landed on the table, sliding right into me.

"Duke!" he cawed before dipping his head.

"Sorry, Jack," I said as I eased him back. "Feathers good?"

"Jack!" he assured me, ruffling them to prove it.

"No stealing my bird," Rain teased as she sat down.

Aspen turned to watch her brother claim his seat. "Hawke's going crazy over here."

"Well, do you blame me?" I asked.

"Crazy? Why?" Rain asked, looking at each of us in turn.

So I pointed at Torian. "He's happy. Aspen's giggling. Something happened, and I'm worried it's about to blow up before we know what it even is."

"Happy?" Keir asked, glancing slyly at Torian.

Torian simply popped a slice of orange into his mouth and chewed. "Now I'm struggling not to draw this out."

"Oh, fuck off," I groaned, knowing he would.

But he lifted a hand slightly, letting me know he wasn't into torture today. "I am officially in a relationship. That makes me happy. It's new, it's probably going to be awkward, but I realized something."

"What's that?" Keir asked.

Torian looked at him and smiled so softly, I suddenly was able to put all the pieces together.

Wilder had told me about their talk. Torian had told me about how he didn't want to mess things up for Aspen.

His solution had been to avoid Keir. I'd pointed out how he'd already gone there and nothing bad had happened, but that look? It spoke volumes.

"I don't have to be the prince. I merely have to be a prince, Keir.

Bran and Axel? They like that I'm not being a perfect little royal heir.

They're thrilled that we're throwing a wrench into things with our idea of a single, unified court.

So if all that is true..." He quickly glanced at us, but his eyes returned to Keir.

"There's no reason I can't enjoy having a boyfriend.

There's no need to keep it secret, out of the way, or to worry that my interest in a man will end up as a weapon to use against me. "

"I can hold my own," Keir assured him.

Which was when Rain figured it out. Sucking in a breath, she not only sat straighter, but also slapped both hands over her lips. "Really?!" She was struggling not to squeal in her excitement. "You two?"

Ok, that was fucking adorable. Seeing Tor happy felt good, but Rain's reaction was absolutely perfect.

I had a feeling it was what everyone at our table needed.

She was the one who was supposed to have an issue with this - or Keir, but even though he was Earthborn, he was all fae.

But Rain? For some reason, I'd expected her to be jealous, not thrilled.

"I kinda asked him last night," Keir told her.

Aspen had her hands clasped together and was bouncing in her seat. I flashed her a smile, but something behind her caught my attention. A few tables back, a girl was leaning in like she was pissed. Fucking sidhe drama, probably. I was just about to look away when Jack's head snapped over too.

"Enemy!" he cawed, launching into the air.

And everything felt like it happened at once.

Rain shoved to her feet, spinning to see where Jack was going.

Wilder pushed Aspen's chair back against the wall, putting himself between her and everything.

Torian and Keir braced, but that girl I'd seen a second ago?

She grabbed someone, pulling their back to her chest, yanking her victim out of their chair in the process.

"Summer is here!" the girl yelled - and people began moving.

A guy jumped up, rushing for the doors. Rain lashed out, sending shadows at him. Torian flashed green at someone else. Aspen lifted her hand like she was going to snap, but a green explosion over her head - blocked by Wilder - made her yelp and duck for cover.

"The Morrigan!" someone yelled.

And before I knew what was happening, six different students rushed us.

Not as a group, though. No, they came from all directions, and the table between us had just become a problem.

I turned, grabbing a girl's arm as she reached out to throw a conjuration.

Wilder was trying to cover both of Aspen's sides, but she'd learned more than I realized.

But most of them were after Rain. Keir was trying his best, yet we weren't armed.

He blocked, sending shields out in all directions, only to have an enchantment dispel them almost immediately.

That meant we had to stop this, and the first girl?

She was dragging her victim into the center of the cafeteria, screaming something I couldn't hear over the chaos around me.

"Kill Winter!" someone screamed.

"Take the losers too!"

I could only assume they meant us, but their words didn't fit.

Ducking, blocking, and trying to get around this fucking table was harder than it should be.

Worse, Rain didn't know how to watch her own back.

Once, I saw Jack swoop down from above, clawing at someone's face.

Sadly, I didn't have time to stop and watch.

A girl at the table beside us spun into my path, trying to escape the magic being hurled our way. I pushed, needing her to get down, and she fell, nearly tripping me. When I came up, it was just in time to see someone smash a glass against the side of Rain's head.

She dropped.

The shadows dissipated.

Keir and Torian roared, becoming monsters as they tried to get to her, and I wasn't any better. I knew Wilder would keep Aspen safe, but Rain? Where was Rain?!

"Keir, help her!" Torian ordered as he reached for his entire season, shifting all the green into the room even brighter.

"Don't!"

The girl's warning was high enough and loud enough that it cut through the chaos.

The tone made everyone pause to look at her, including me.

There, standing in the middle of two open aisles between all these tables, she held Charlotte, one of the weakest faelings I knew of, in place with a ceramic cooking blade against her throat.

The knife was the big kind. I had no clue what they were used for, but I knew there had to be countless copies in the kitchens.

Charlotte had both of her hands scraping desperately at this girl's arms, trying to either breathe or get free, yet she wasn't struggling enough.

From the way her eyes had gone wide, she was too terrified to do anything but react.

"Let. Her. Go," Torian warned. "Celeste, you do not want to do this. I will destroy you!"

Celeste just smiled. "Fuck you, false prince. You're nothing more than a half-Winter usurper! We've seen you use that season. That means you're one of them!"

That cold look returned to my prince's face, and he flicked two fingers. Air rippled as his attack cut through it, needing no color to mark its path. That? It was not going to be good. The clear attacks rarely were.

But it slammed into a shield, making the entire thing ripple.

And Celeste laughed. "You can't touch me, Torian. We've already figured that out. Only the Morrigan can break this. And oh, look at that! She's out cold!"

"Keir, get her up," I growled.

He didn't bother responding. Since he was kneeling, I could only imagine he was trying to do just that, but Celeste kept going.

"We were silent!" she yelled, looking at everyone in the cafeteria. "We intended to let the weaker season die out on its own, but the man you call your prince had to ruin it all. He's not mine, though!"

"Fuck you, Celeste!" Poppy yelled, slinging something at her.

Just like Torian's conjuration, it crashed against the shield Celeste had made, sending ripples across the surface like water in the wind. But then Celeste did the wrong thing. She turned and looked right at me.

"And you're no duke!" she sneered. "We checked. There's no record of your bloodline. You're nothing more than some mongrel peasant. Your magic isn't even green!"

I felt my eyes constricting as her gaze met mine, then her words sank in. Fear hit first, but it was quickly lost behind the need to get my hands on her. Every muscle in my body relaxed, ready to be used. Ready to strike.

"What do you want?" Torian demanded.

Yet Wilder was whispering to someone behind me. "Go get Ms. Rhodes," he said. "Run if you have to."

"No, they'll get me!" a girl replied, sounding terrified.