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Chapter Seventy

TORIAN

M y heart was slamming against my ribcage, but I couldn't run. I couldn't tremble. I had to stand here like the perfect example of royalty or this wouldn't work like I wanted. Rain had followed my lead, and now it was done.

Now, those two women were dead, and I'd made that happen.

"Tor?" Hawke whispered.

"We need a moment for this to sink in," I told him.

"For us?" Keir asked. "Because it's sinking, Tor."

"For the people in the atrium," I said, keeping my body perfectly straight and defiant. "Rain, I'm going to need your help with what comes next."

"Always," she promised, looking over to catch my eye.

Brown. A warm shade that reminded me of sunlight dappling trees.

Soft. A gaze that felt like comfort, but in a way that allowed my pulse to slow back to something closer to normal.

On her other side was Keir, his sharp jawline making him look fierce even though I knew he was the gentleness I needed.

And the rustle of Hawke's wings was a reminder of why I was willing to do this.

Something had to change.

We were the one true court. That was the name the students of Silver Oaks had given us, not the one we'd made for ourselves.

We were a mess of magics, seasons, and bloodlines, but we made it work.

Together, we had proven that leadership wasn't something a person was born into.

It was a trait shaped through trials and grit. One honed with kindness and empathy.

And now I needed the rest of the fae to understand exactly what that meant.

"Time to start a rebellion," I said, turning to storm back into the school.

They followed. Pascal and Bran yanked open the doors for us like we were entering a throne room. At the side of the atrium, Beverly and Marlowe, two of the older sentinels, did the same. But even before I entered that magical green space, I could hear a girl wailing.

"You killed my mom! You stupid bitch, you let them kill her!" I knew Harper's voice too well.

"She is the one who called them!" Aspen shot back.

But that wasn't the way to take control. Rain had reminded me of that over and over. Being on the defensive wasn't a winning strategy. If we wanted to actually stop the horrors my mother had put into motion, the only way to do it would be to change the fight.

"Hold my beer," I whispered as I strode forward to jump up on one of the many boulders scattered through this place. Then I roared, "Silence!"

People stopped moving. Most turned to face me. I spotted Poppy Hawthorne standing under the silver oak with both hands plastered over her mouth and her eyes much too big. Fuck. I hadn't thought about her. She didn't deserve this.

The rest obeyed my command, all except Harper Valentina. Her wailing made it easy to spot her over near the windows. She'd fallen to her knees, and a group of jesters were around her, looking like they weren't sure if they should hold her back or offer support.

Then there were the damaged limbs and branches, likely victims of whatever attacks had been thrown around in here while we were holding back the Hunt.

I saw students dressed in damp suits and dresses, huddled behind some of the larger trees.

Others were braced up and looked ready to fight back.

Most of them were, actually, and they stood proudly in a mixture of seasons that didn't seem to matter at all.

They were the last nudge I needed.

"This?" I yelled, gesturing around us. "This is what the division between seasons has caused.

Look around you! Now tell me why Summer is the superior season?

What has Winter done to any of you? But you're willing to kill them for nothing more than the chance of additional magic?

To be stronger? To impress my fucking mother? ! "

"We do the Queen's bidding, boy!" someone snapped.

And others joined in. Parents pushed closer, turning their anger on me, but little did they know I was immune to it. Their rage was nothing compared to the Mad Queen's. Their memories of our once-glorious court were nothing but lies.

So I waved my hand and showed them. I pulled at my power to make sure the glamour was strong, and before even my own eyes, the atrium shifted to the Summer Court. Trees turned to green marble and gold-accented columns. My boulder became the dais for the royal throne.

I made sure they could see the dust clinging to every ledge. I did nothing to hide the grime on the floors. Decay took over, showing what happened to an abandoned court, and around me, even the sounds began to echo, proving this place was too empty to swallow the sound the way it should've.

"This," I said, "is the court I left. This is what Faerie looks like now. This was where my mother raised me among servants - not staff, but servants ! - too terrified to do their jobs. This is what you are all fighting for, and is it worth it?" I glared across the crowd. "Is it?!"

"I am proud of my season!" a woman yelled back.

"Winter never should've resisted our queen!" another screamed at me.

And those two set off the rest. Voices were raised. People refused to actually look at what I was trying to show them. Rain had said the trick was to do something different, but it wasn't working. They weren't changing their minds. If anything, I was making this worse, so I wiped away the glamour.

Then Rain jumped up beside me, shadows spilling off her like ink into water. "No!" she yelled. "You will listen to our prince! Now is the time for you to shut the fuck up and learn something. This is a school. Learning is what we do here."

She didn't snap, but the effect was the same. Her shadows rolled across the atrium, never getting above waist high, yet they secured everyone. Just like it had on the Winter Solstice, Rain's Wild magic held them. It silenced them. It also turned them all toward me.

As the darkness touched someone, a light began to bloom inside them.

Most were dim and green. Some didn't have it, but they looked human to my eyes.

Some white existed, but not nearly enough.

And yet, the change made the people in here pause to look at those beside them. Confusion held their tongues.

In truth, I didn't have a clue what that was supposed to do, but it was ok. I trusted Rain. That was why our court worked. We could all lead. We didn't have to pick who was best or worst because what mattered was the end goal, not how we got there.

So I reached out a hand for my sister. "This," I said, speaking before people got too distracted, "is the Winter Queen.

None of you realize it yet, but Titania's dreams of a single power have already been crushed.

My sister has claimed her throne. Not mine, but hers!

She is the elder. She is the rightful ruler, and she has named her heir - and it is not me. "

The darkness had reached the four glass walls of the atrium now. Teachers, students, parents, and more were all glowing softly as the Wild magic swirled around their feet. I saw humans whipping their heads around, clearly terrified by the power we were using here today, but that would only help.

Then I saw Shadow.

It blended into the Wild magic, and yet it was still there.

Like a slightly blacker silhouette, it wove between the bodies, reaching over to caress the light around each person it passed.

The thing didn't seem to be hurting them.

If anything, it was more like it was tasting them, sampling them somehow.

Green was everywhere. There was so much of it, but I also saw white.

Ms. Rhodes' light shone like a beacon, making her hard to look at.

Bracken was wrapped in a swirl of both colors, much brighter than I'd expected.

Some students glowed impressively. Most were like a soft ambiance, but there was just so much green, and it made me sick.

"You were supposed to be loyal to me!" I screamed.

"Some to my sister, but look around. Look at how little Winter there is in here, and yet you still want to abuse them?

Will nothing make you happy? Are you all truly so cruel that you will kill and pillage and destroy until there is nothing fae left in either this world or ours? "

I slashed my hand through the air. "I am done with it. I revoke your power. I refuse those of you who care for nothing but rank, titles, and power. This is our world now! We, the next generation of the fae, will not follow your hate with more of it!"

And all those lights went out.

The moment my arm was all the way down, the atrium went dark. Beside me, Rain flinched and Aspen gasped. I squeezed my sister's hand in reassurance, but I hadn't expected that either. Yet just as a worried hum began to swell, my sister raised her voice.

"We will come together regardless of magic," Aspen called out, standing a little taller.

"And the same is true for Winter as Summer.

If you want revenge? You are not mine. If you desire death and carnage?

You do not deserve our magic. Let Earth give you what power it has, because you are not recognized by this court.

By the only royalty we have here! By us, the leadership you got because you were all too weak to fight for anyone but yourselves! "

And the people around us began to slowly regain their light.

I was struggling not to whip my head from side to side in surprise, yet I still saw it happening.

Poppy's glow was a swirl of all the colors of the rainbow.

Bracken stayed both green and white. Pascal kept growing brighter until he looked like a spotlight, and over there was Rose, the administrative assistant, shining in a green so true it was nearly neon.

But some stayed dark. Many were muddy mixes of colors. I didn't know what it meant, but as my eyes jumped around, I saw Shadow again. Where it had been a dark silhouette, able to blend in with all the Wild magic in here a moment ago, now it was more, well, it.

The eyes were bright. One was white. The other was green. Its smile reflected all the colors I could imagine, but instead of a mere curved arc, I could now see what had to be teeth. Sharp, childish, crazy-looking teeth the color of Earth magic.

And that was when Rain stepped forward. "This is not Faerie!

" she told the crowd. "This? It's our world now.

That means you play by our rules. We are the ones with the power now, and we're not going to do it your way!

Those who have stood with us - either the court or just your fellow fae - will be rewarded.

The rest of you?" She turned, lifting her arm as Jack shot out of the air.

"Shadow!" Jack cawed.

And Rain turned back to the crowd. "I am Rain le Fae, the Morrigan of the One True Court.

The balance will be restored. Winter, Summer, and Wild all belong.

I don't care which of those you pick, but know that until you learn how to be loyal to all, we will offer you none.

This is not Titania's world. This is not her fight.

" She paused to look back at both me and Aspen. "It's ours."

The lights around everyone continued to change.

At first, I thought they were all growing brighter, but that was only because I was looking at the people I knew.

To the side, those were becoming dim, barely even visible.

Over there, the verdant green was blanching, allowing a swirl of other colors to mix with it.

So many of those glows were changing to a myriad of colors.

No, a rainbow of them. When I saw white begin to shine at the side, I turned my head, fighting a smile when I saw students shifting from green to white.

"You have all been judged!" I yelled.

But before I could finish my thought, the lights simply went out.

Across the atrium, people whimpered as the Wild magic began to dissipate, but the atrium felt different.

No, it smelled different. This wasn't the scent of sickly-sweet flowers.

It was more like Earth after a storm. The petrichor was rich and pervasive, but beautiful in its own way.

There were hints of crisp cold and singed heat among it, but they all combined to make a perfectly natural whole.

"I have no magic!" someone screamed.

"You have nothing," Rain said, "unless we give it to you."

I grabbed her shoulder, letting her know she'd done enough. Sometimes, making the point didn't require saying too much. Sometimes, the best points were made with short, simple words.

"You have all been judged," I called out. "Let us hope you've been found worthy. If not, fix that, because things are changing."

And I would make sure they continued to do so. For the first time in my life, I didn't feel like I was making this worse. No, with these women standing on either side of me, I finally realized exactly what it was I was supposed to do.

I would fix this.

Not just magic or hate. No, I was the one who knew how to lead.

I had to teach the rest of my court. I was the one cruel enough to make the hard decisions so Rain and Aspen wouldn't need to.

I was the one the Hunt listened to, the one whose name made people stop and listen, and the one who could change it all for the better.

And my friends needed me.

Even in the midst of all the confusion and shock taking over the people around me, that one thing felt so good. I wasn't in the way anymore. I wasn't a danger to good people - only bad. I might be a monster, but some of the best people were.

Most importantly, I finally had a reason to not only keep fighting, but also to live.