But it actually worked! When we got our test results the next Tuesday, both of us had earned a B! I'd even gotten a B+, and it may have been the best grade I'd ever received in math. Even better, people had started smiling at us.
That went on for a few days. Initially, I thought it might be just me, right up until Aspen sat down at lunch and asked what was going on. Sure, many of the people willing to wave or offer a greeting were courtiers. I recognized their faces, but in truth, I didn't know them very well. The odd thing was that Aspen was getting smiles from random strangers.
The next day, we figured out why. At lunch, I was telling my friends how I'd taken Jack to the atrium to stretch his wings last night and had tripped over a plant, landing face-first in a cluster of Elysian Burst plants. The bubbles had come out of them so hard and so fast I'd thought I must've farted, right up until one landed on the back of my head and popped.
Jack was rattling in amusement beside me, and then his head whipped over. "Courtier!" he muttered.
We all looked just in time to see a larger faeling shove at a lean guy. I couldn't hear what they were saying, not at first,but when the smaller guy staggered back, half a dozen students stood and moved in - from various different tables.
It didn't look like they were friends. I couldn't rule it out, but some were sitting with Poppy, some with Pascal, and most of the rest were just at other tables in the middle of the room. But the girl who pushed in between the muscular faeling and the leaner guy?
Mira.
"It doesn't matter what season his magic is!" she yelled, her voice making the dining hall fall silent. "Haven't you heard? There's only one court here. The Summer Prince and the Winter Queen rule side by side with the Morrigan. That means we'reallequals, whether you like it or not!"
"Oh, betraying your own kind?" the big guy asked.
"Fuck kinds," Nevaeh told him. "You want to tell me how you're going to define me? Am I Summer because my fae parent was, or Winter because I inherited the wrong half of Mom's magic? Or maybe these royals have the right of it."
"And I'm sick of the bullshit," the lean guy said. "I didn't ask to be Winter. Fuck, I don't even know my parents! But you know what? I don't care." And he stood a little taller. "I support the court. Not the Winter Court or the Summer Court. I supportourcourt!"
"Whoa," Keir breathed.
On the table, Jack was nodding his head proudly, but he didn't call out any of his words, interrupting them. Even more surprising was that the group dissolved after a few more seconds without a single punch or conjuration thrown. Instead, the students just went back to what they'd been doing before, offering smiles to the others who'd stood to help.
Winter, Summer, and even Legacies had been in there. Clearly, something was happening, but this wasn't something we were doing. At least not intentionally. I'd still take it.
"Court," Jack said, nodding his beak at Aspen first, then Torian. "Court!"
"Who knew that would be something people actually wanted," Hawke said.
I chuckled once. "You know, integration always works better when people have to live side by side. I think studying together, living together, and fighting off the Hunt together is turning out to work in our favor."
"I could do without the Hunt for a while," Torian grumbled.
And around the table, the entire court nodded, but Jack had to get the last word. "Court!" he said again. "Courtiers, court." Then he hopped over to peck at a roll on Hawke's plate.
"Yep," Hawke said, offering it to the bird. "I think you've earned it, Jack. This? Yeah, I'm ok with people actually approving of what we do for once."
Chapter Forty-Five
RAIN
Sadly, that acceptance did come with a downside. Thursday evening, a girl knocked on Aspen's door, asking if she could get some help with a conjuration. The court was all lounging in my room at the time, so she got a little more help than she expected, but it didn't take long before others in the lounge grew brave enough to ask their own questions.
And so, the nobility offered to do a little tutoring over the weekend. Anyone, from any class, any year, and for any reason could have some personal training if they needed it. The big plan was to spend all day Saturday in the girls' lounge, guiding students in how to use their abilities the way Aspen and Torian had been trained - but without the torture. Not that they said that part out loud, but Aspen told Torian he'd be nice at least three times in my presence.
Sadly, I couldn't help with that. Surprisingly, neither could Keir. Hawke could fake it, which would only help keep his cover as a "normal sidhe," so he wanted to go. At first, I'd thought about getting ahead on my own studies, but as we walked home from the gym Friday afternoon, Keir moved to my side.
"So, I hear you might be free on Saturday," he said with a little smirk.
"Sounds like," I agreed.
He glanced away and chuckled. "Um, can I maybe take you and Jack to the atrium for a picnic dinner?"
"Do it," Torian told me, somehow making it sound like an order.
"She doesn't need your help," Aspen fake-whispered.
