Page 39 of Rebellious Royals

"I am not sticking my nose in that," Keir mumbled.

I just gestured at him like he'd proven my point. "See? The chances of us pissing someone off are too high to just trust that we'll see it coming. We need some kind of protections! You and Aspen most of all, but Wilder too. The rest of us just because we'll become collateral damage."

"She has a point," Keir said.

Torian laughed once. "I know. I do, but I'm not used to having someone putting me on the list of people who should be protected."

So I leaned over the table toward him. "You're the Summer Prince, Torian. Cool. That kicks ass, I'm sure. But more than that, you're my friend, Aspen's brother, and that means I hate the idea of anyone trying to fuck with you. Not because of what you are, but simply because I haven't had many friends in my life. I moved too much. Deal with it."

The corner of his mouth curled higher, and Torian lifted those spring-green eyes of his to meet mine. "I'm dealing. This is me doing my best."

"Good."

"And worn protections still won't work," Keir said. "The bracelets might be good to have on hand anyway, but Ms. Rhodes has a point. So what other options do we have?"

"The one we've been training you in," Ms. Rhodes said with a sly smile. "The court knows how to counter a conjuration. You have the ability to detect enchantments. Your skills are a good mix of abilities that can handle most situations, so what you need to do is trust each other. I know that's harder for some of you than others." She glanced at Torian.

"I'm learning," he mumbled.

"You are," she agreed. "Making sure Aspen has a reason to actually fight back? That proves it. So trust that Jack is just as much a member of your court as the other wildlings, Torian. Work together. I think those are the best protections you have, but I'll offer this as well. I will support the court's decisions. I will back you up, run interference, or anything else you need - so put your own protection aboveallelse."

"Yeah," Torian said. "We can do that."

"So let's let Rain get back to her lesson and go think about all the ways we can stay a step ahead," Keir said as he pushed to his feet.

"Invent a few while you're at it," Ms. Rhodes called after them. "Earth magic might offer advantages we don't know about."

"True," Torian said. "I'll meet you at the top of the stairs, Rain." Then he turned to the wall. "Shadow." And he dipped his head before walking out like the arrogant prince he actually was.

When the door closed behind him and Keir, Ms. Rhodes finally slid the cocoa-coffee mixture toward me and leaned back. When she let out a heavy sigh, it was as if she was finally allowing herself to wind down.

"I was worried about you kids, you know," she said. "My job here is to protect you - all of you - but this? I can't stop someone I can't identify. I can't protect these royals without causing more problems and creating resentment. I..." She lifted her cup, but paused before taking a drink. "Rain le Fae, I am officially giving you authorization to break any rule you need to in order to protect the members of the court. I'd prefer you don't, but I also know you were worried about being expelled last semester. This? It's me making it clear you won't even be punished."

Whoa. Ok, that was not at all what I'd expected, and it actually made me more worried.

"Because of the graffiti?" I asked.

"Because the attacks on Aspen are getting more serious," she explained. "Because the Hunt has been called here, and we all know Aspen's retaliation won't keep them away forever. Because Torian's right. This situation with the crowns is a lot more serious than most people know. If Aspen is killed, that means Torian will inherit the throne. If not him, then Wilder. And if all three of them are gone?" She lifted her hands, palm up. "There's no one else."

"It doesn't just keep going down to the next Winter user?" I asked.

"Oh, it could," she said. "Sadly, none of them have the magical potential to harness the power of the crown. Whoever is killing off Winter users would find them easy to dispose of. Aspen and Wilder are the last Winter nobility I know of. The rest were killed by the Mad Queen."

"Even here?" I asked.

She nodded. "And worse than that, I'm sure Torian watched. That boy has never known anything but violence. Survival is his greatest talent. He has seen more cruelty and bloodshed than most veterans of this world's wars, and he's only barely old enough to be considered an adult by human standards."

"When would a fae consider him an adult?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Around fifty," she said. "So yes, your fae father is still basically a teenager to me."

"But I bet the same is true for whoever is trying to attack us," I pointed out. "They're kids. Students here. That means they're going to be as stupid as we are."

"Or so we hope." Finally, she took a drink. "My fear is there are adults involved in this. I've gotten enough phone calls from parents to know they're aware of the rumors."

"Which aren't rumors."

"No," she agreed, "but so far, they haven't been verified. I'm not only talking about the royalty. I'm also talking about you killing a hunter. Never mind that the Huntsman is speaking. The frequency of the Hunt's visits to us, the loss of students… All of that concerns parents who may only ever have one child in a very, very long life."

---