Page 88 of Rebellious Royals

She made a face and rocked her head from side to side. "That's not the word I'd use. He thinks heneedsto die, but he also hates it."

"So how do we fix this?" I asked, looking between her and Keir.

"We can't," Aspen said. "Rain, he's in a horrible position. As my younger brother, he's the natural heir to my throne - and I don't want to have a child! Not now!"

"No," I assured her, waving that away. "I didn't mean replace him."

But Keir was giving her a strange look. "I wouldn't think you'd want to have kids. I mean, that involves a man."

Aspen rolled her eyes. "Keir, I've lived on Earth long enough to know about fertility clinics and sperm donors. I don't have tofucksomeone to get a child. And who knows, maybe in a century or two I'll want one. Maybe not, but I certainly don't want to try it now!"

"No," he agreed. "That would make all of this worse, but somehow we need to make Torian realize he's important."

"He knows that," Aspen said. "The problem is he feelstooimportant. Well, more like the necessary tool everyone is going to abuse."

"Tool?" I asked, catching Aspen's choice of words.

"He called himself a weapon before," Keir pointed out. "He made it clear that if he inherits the Winter Crown, it will fuck up everything."

I nodded, remembering that conversation with Ms. Rhodes, but wasn't it just one more reason to fight? If I was in his position, I'd want revenge, not death!

"So what do we do?" I asked.

"There's nothing we can do," Aspen said.

"Fuck that," I grumbled, shoving to my feet. "No, Torian shouldn't have to deal with this on his own."

"Rain, I've been trying," Keir said.

I shook my head, making it clear I wasn't blaming him. "I don't mean like that, and this shouldn't all be on you either. This is something weallhave to help with. The entire court has to make it clear we can't do this without him."

"He knows that," Aspen said. "That's the whole problem, Rain."

And she would know. She was in Torian's head half the time - or maybe more. I wasn't sure how their connection was doing now, but it still existed. That meant Aspen had the inside scoop on Torian's thoughts. So if she wasn't worried, then why was I?

Because I could still remember clutching a teddy bear as my entire life crumbled around me. I knew the pain of seeing my mother led away in handcuffs. I knew what it was like to experience loss, but so did everyone here. The difference was they'd learned it was inevitable, while I'd been lucky enough to think of it as a rare moment of tragedy.

"I need to talk to him," I decided, glancing down at my pajamas.

"It won't help," she warned.

I grumbled under my breath. "I still have to try, Asp. I just… I need to do this, ok?"

"Ok," she relented, "but if we all gang up on him, he'll only ignore us."

So Keir jerked his chin at Aspen. "I mean, I could escort you to breakfast while Rain talks to my suitemate."

"Court!" Jack agreed.

"And you can come with us," Aspen offered. "I'll let you eat bread!"

"Queen!" Jack cawed.

Which made me pause to look at him. "Ok, that's a very good word, Jack." And a new one.

He slung his beak up and down. "Queen, Knight, Morrigan, Jack!"

"And your Morrigan needs to talk to a prince," I said. "Do you want to eat with Aspen or come with me?"

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