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Chapter Sixty-Six

RAIN

C amila was not ok. She was gasping like she couldn't quite catch her breath, so Keir moved to stabilize her.

Torian told him to stop, but Bracken ordered Keir to continue.

Wilder and Hawke had gotten the flames out, but the gym was still smoldering.

Yet as the teachers turned away, yelling at the students to return to their rooms, that exams would be rescheduled and a head count would happen in one hour, a girl stepped forward.

"Torian?" It was Elyssa. "I know I was wrong when I hurt your sister. I thought I was showing my power..." And she gestured around us. "But this? We're supposed to bicker about who is prettier or got the better boyfriend. Not kill each other! "

Then she dropped to her knees, falling down before all of us. "I want to be different, Torian. I want to be on the right side. I'm so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"

From Aspen's side, Nevaeh stood, heading over to stand beside the girl.

"We've all made mistakes, Torian. Even you.

" And then she knelt elegantly, resting only one knee in the grass as she ducked her head.

"And whether you'll take it or not, I vow my loyalty to the One Court.

I hereby swear on the power I inherited through my ancestors and the use of it that I've been granted.

Queen Aspen, Prince Torian, Duke Wilder and Duke Hawke.

.." She paused for a moment. "And to both the Morrigan and her knight, I offer my service in all ways desired or required.

My life, my power, and my loyalty are to the one true court of the fae.

" Then she nudged the girl beside her slightly.

Quickly, Elyssa repeated all of that. The words weren't quite the same, but I was starting to realize the vow of loyalty wasn't required to be. There was clearly a template, and yet it shifted just a bit for each person.

But when Elyssa was done, Nevaeh spoke again.

"The court shall have my loyalty until the end of time, as long as the loyalty of our chosen rulers remains to the fae they have been chosen to serve.

I vow not to a season or a person, but to the leadership that works together for us all.

Will the court promise the same in return? "

Torian moved closer to rest his hand on Nevaeh's head while Elyssa tried to repeat all of that.

When she was done, he nodded at her, but his eyes were on Nevaeh.

Slowly, the rest of the court moved in as well.

Keir helped Aspen up, leaving Camila with one of the sentinels who'd moved in to help.

I stepped in as well, feeling like this was very important.

"None of us are perfect," Torian said, raising his voice so it carried. "Not me, not my sister, and not even our Morrigan. How can we expect any fae to be something we're not? So yes, I will accept both of your oaths, but not only for myself."

"We," Aspen said, glancing at her brother with a knowing look, "are one court, just like we are one people. Your season should be yours - not what your parents or relatives decide for you. Winter, Summer, Earth? It does not matter, because we are one."

Then they both looked at me. For a moment, I panicked, not knowing what I was supposed to do.

All around us, the crowd of people had stopped to watch.

Both Torian and Aspen had spoken like they'd been trained to be heard far away, and I didn't know how to do that.

And yet, I could immediately see the point.

Summer, Winter, and Wild. Those were the types of magic.

I represented one - but I wasn't royalty!

But I had been picked by Jack.

"Faelings, foundlings, changelings, wildlings, or even caradil ," I said, trying to mimic the calm but forceful way they'd pitched their voices, "we all want the same.

We may have different abilities and needs, but does that really matter?

Are we not simply working for safety and happiness in our lives? "

"So let us ignore those lines!" Torian said, taking over again. "It should not be Winter against Summer. Our fight is not about sidhe against wildlings! It's about fairness versus selfishness, and this court will accept all who seek a fair and just existence!"

"For the one true court!" someone called from the side.

I looked over to see one of the sentinels I barely knew with his fist in the air. Then, everyone around us cried out the same, throwing their arms up in some kind of victory. There was cheering and smiles, but it all felt surreal.

My father had almost died today. Our gym was gone, just a smoking husk of it left between the trees behind me. So many hateful and hurtful things had been done, all in the name of a queen who didn't give a shit about any of these people.

And now it was just... over?

Did that mean I should've broken someone's vow after the first attack? Had I been weak, trying too hard to be a "good guy" and making things worse in the process? The problem was I didn't know, and there was no way at all to be sure.

But when the cheering began to fade a bit, a group of students pushed forward. I recognized these as our courtiers. As a group, they knelt before Torian and Aspen. One boy spoke the words, allowing the others to repeat after him.

I counted maybe twenty students offering up their loyalty. Even better, I didn't have to say anything this time. Torian spoke. Aspen said just enough to count, but she kept coughing in between from the smoke she'd inhaled.

When they were done, more came forward, then more after that. When it became obvious the crowd was all waiting their turn, Bracken pushed to his feet and whistled sharply enough to make everything stop.

"If you would like to swear an oath of loyalty to the court," he called out, "then kneel where you are and repeat after me!"

Then he broke it down line by line. The sound of so many people speaking was impressive. The words were all lost in the jumble, but I could still make them out in a way. It sorta reminded me of when everyone sang the national anthem at a sporting event, but it was working.

"And now," Bracken said when Torian accepted them, "go back to your rooms. More information will be sent." He paused to cough into his elbow, making me hurry to his side.

"Zez?" I whispered.

He smiled at me, but finished telling the students, "Expect your final exam schedule to be updated before the end of the day - so study!"

"He needs to rest," Keir said.

"Camila needs to be seen by the nurse," Bracken insisted.

"Then I'll take her," Keir told him. "Rain, you get him to his apartment. Tell your dad, because he's probably frantic."

"Or helping in the office," Bracken said around another cough.

"If he is, I'll send him," Keir offered before turning away. "Pascal! Daivon! Help me!"

"Arm over my shoulder, Zez," I ordered, hooking him around the waist. "Asp?"

"I'm good," she called back.

"Go!" Wilder said. "I'll handle the rest here."

"Rain-Dad!" Jack called, giving me just enough time to lift my arm so I could catch him.

"How's your leg, Zez?" I asked as I allowed him to pick the pace.

He was moving faster than I expected. "Keir does good work," he assured me. "It aches, but that's the iron. I'll be fine by tomorrow."

We slowed as we reached the mass of people trying to make it through the bottleneck of the exterior doors.

A few smiled over at us. Someone tapped the person before them.

That made others look over, and before I knew it, a group was holding the doors to let me help Bracken inside, making a path for us.

"I'm not saying the T-word," I mumbled as I turned him for the elevators on the boys' side. "I want to, but I'm not going to do it."

"That's kind," Bracken told someone, showing me how it was done. Then he smiled down at me. "And most faelings don't hate it as much as we do. It's why Keir lets you get away with it."

"The whole court now," I admitted.

The elevator dinged and opened up. People began to move into it, but a few gestured to let us know we could fit. I managed to get Bracken inside and turned around, but there was no way I'd reach the buttons.

"Fourth floor," Bracken said.

"It's not right, you know," said the guy who tapped all four of the buttons. "Those idiots couldn't even follow their own propaganda. They were supposed to be going after Winter, but they attacked you, Bracken?"

"Half Winter," Bracken said. "Half Summer, too. I also adopted the Morrigan, so the way I see it, that means I get to claim a bit of Wild as well." He chuckled. "And we barely got you in time, Rain. Sadly, I'm going to bet you'll have exams on your birthday now because of this."

He meant on Friday. Twelfth graders were supposed to be done with all of our tests on Thursday, but this? It would push us back a day at least.

"Will we still get a graduation?" I asked, aware too many people were listening in.

"We'll make sure of it," Bracken said. "I think Silver Oaks needs it more this year than ever before."

The ride up was slow due to the elevator stopping on each and every floor. People shuffled off. None got on, yet by the time we made it up to Bracken's floor, my zez looked like he was wilting a bit.

"Hurts now?" I asked.

"Kid, it's hurt the whole time," he admitted. "I'm just too proud to show it." And he turned for the door, but stopped hard. "Dammit. My keys were in my desk."

I flicked a glob of shadows at the lock. "I got this."

"Rain," Jack bragged softly.

"Yep," Bracken agreed. "That's our girl, Jack. I think we got a good one."

"Dad-Jack-Rain!" the bird agreed, nodding as big as he could.

I managed to help Bracken inside and all the way to the couch. There, he sort of dropped into it sideways, but he wasn't exactly a little guy! While he got himself positioned, I hurried to the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge for the one thing I knew would be there: a beer.

"Ok, this should help you relax," I said just as the door opened.

"Brack!" Liam called, rushing into view. "Keir said you'd be - " He stopped to huff in relief. "Oh, thank fuck."

"Your daughter," Bracken said with a playfully accusatory tone, "risked her life to save me. I am trying my hardest to figure out how I can yell at her for that, but it's a little difficult to do when I'm whole, healthy, and sitting on my own couch."

"Baby," Liam breathed, leaning in so he could kiss Bracken hard. "I love you so much, but you're a damned fool if you think I'm going to yell at Rain for this. You are her father , Brack. Of course she'll risk everything for you."

"I..." Embarrassment was taking over. "Jack made me realize you were inside, and Aspen made a shield to keep the heat away. She was in there too, but she couldn't get close because of the iron - "

"What iron?" Liam demanded.

"It was Ms. Hawthorne," Bracken said, pulling Liam down on the couch beside him, then lifting his hand to accept the beer I was still holding. "She was the one corrupting kids and vowing them to silence."

"I knew her ties to the Survivors of the Exodus couldn't be good!" Liam hissed.

"The what?" I asked.

"The parents of those kids," Liam said. "Tag and I have been trying to find anything to prove it, but they cover their tracks too well."

"Magic," Bracken pointed out. "And Ivy really wanted her to be innocent. She was one of the first teachers here, but Rain stopped it. She stepped up, and I don't think anyone will forget this."

"But did I kill Camila?" I asked.

"Maybe," Bracken said, tapping Liam so he'd move over and make space for me between them.

"If you did, it's not your fault, though.

That's how war works, Rain. No different than that hunter you killed.

Death is a reality, and they chose their side.

You chose the side of all, and that makes you a hero. "

"I didn't mean to hurt her," I admitted. "Not really. I was just so sick of the bullshit."

"I think we all are," Liam assured me. "And you did the right thing, Rain."

"You weren't there."

"No," he agreed, "but I heard enough on my way here. I can also see that Bracken is fine, and in my book, that means you did the right thing. I don't care if anyone else agrees. This? Saving him? It's what I want you to do."

"He's not a big fan of those heroes who put 'right' over 'good,'" Bracken fake-whispered.

"I'm not even worried about good," Liam admitted. "If I was, I'd spend a lot less time lying to foster parents and manipulating the system to get these kids here. No, sometimes the wrong thing does end up the right one, and you fae should understand that better than anyone else."

"Yeah..." Bracken said. "But babe? Rain's presents were out there."

"I don't need presents," I assured them.

"The graduation one, you do," Liam told me. "But we'll deal with it. It's an easy fix, Brack."

And now I was curious, but that was a good thing.

It meant I wasn't worried about my dads anymore.

I still felt like too much had happened, but this was going to be ok.

My fathers were on my side, my friends were safe, and The Silent had been stopped, right?

I only wished winning felt more like winning when it happened.

"You know what sucks the most about this?" I asked, looking over at Liam. "I was in the middle of my math test, and I was actually doing well. Now I'm going to have to do it all over again!" Then I looked at Bracken. "But I think you're worth it, Zez."

"Thanks, kiddo," Bracken said. "And I mean that. Thank you, Rain le Fae, for saving my life."

I had to lean forward, reaching for the remote before my eyes did anything stupid. "Thanks for fixing mine, dads. I think that was definitely a fair trade."

"More for us than you," Liam said softly.