"Nope," Torian said. "I think I want to watch this."
"Oh,youdo?" Dawn asked, marching toward him. Then her gaze snapped over to Aspen. "You little Winter bitch. Do you think you can cause problems for my Iolanthe? If this was a school for our season only, then none of this would be happening. And you, boy." She glared at Torian again, even as Ms. Hawthorne tried to steer her away. "Howdareyou betray your season like this!"
"My season?" Torian asked.
"No!" Aspen said, waving him down even as she stepped forward. "Iolanthe is your daughter?"
"If you think you can come at her, girl," Dawn tried, "then I will - "
"Enough!" Ms. Rhodes bellowed, silencing not only us and this woman, but everyone outside the cafeteria. "Rain, take your friends and get in line."
"Not until Keir makes it here," Hawke said.
That made Dawn's face curl into yet another sneer. "Oh, you let your students talk to you like that? Now remind me why I should be paying a fortune in tuition to a school that apparently has no control over the students? I could teach Iolanthe better than this at home, and she certainly wouldn't be indangerwhile I do it."
This woman's ranting had drawn attention - and a lot of it. Too many people were looking at us now. Some were giggling, yet others looked mortified. No one was speaking up, but I could see a few heads pushing through the quickly-gathering crowd.
Ms. Rhodes must've seen it too, because she reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Torian, please?"
"No," he said again, but this time he looked over at Dawn. "Tell her who I am, Ms. Rhodes."
"That will not help any of us," Ms. Rhodes countered.
But Ms. Hawthorne couldn't help herself. "Dawn, you don't understand. This is Torian Hunt, he's - "
"A child!" Dawn interrupted. "Ivy, I made it very clear what I expected. I want my daughter to be raised with manners that would not shame her at court. I expect her to be well-versed on our world so that when the gates open again - "
"They won't open," Aspen said.
The glare Dawn gave her? It was the kind only Torian could match. "Silence!" she snapped.
"Oh, you did not!" Keir said, pushing in between this woman and Ms. Rhodes as he finally reached us. "Ms. Rhodes, do you need this woman escorted off the premises?"
"Ido," Torian said.
"Kids…" another teacher tried to soothe as she moved toward us.
But Aspen was already moving forward. "I find it amusing,Dawn,that you're so worried about court manners when you squeal at us like a banshee. You interrupt like a goblin. You make demands like you're royalty, but you don't even recognize when you stand before a queen!"
Dawn scoffed. "Titania is still in Faerie."
"Dawn..." Pearl hissed, trying to stop the woman.
But before my eyes, Aspen seemed to grow a little bigger. Everything about her brightened just a bit. I wasn't sure if that was merely the set of her shoulders or some magic, but the effect was impossible to miss.
"I am the Winter Queen!" Aspen roared. "The manners of a court are to suitme,notyou,peasant. And how dare you speak to me or my mentors with such a lack of respect."
"Titania would have the skin removed from your bones for such a thing," Torian drawled much too casually. "Ask me how I know."
"He's Titania's son," Ms. Hawthorne whispered. "They've been protecting students like your daughter. Please, Dawn. Don't make this worse than it already is."
Stunned, Dawn looked at Ms. Hawthorne. Their eyes locked, and for a little too long, silence hung between all of us, but neither Torian nor Aspen were backing down. Overhead, Jack was still circling, clearly ready to attack if necessary, but I had a feeling this woman was little more than a fae who'd become spoiled and pampered by her eternal youth and beauty,thinking she could act this way anywhere. Sadly, that power was worthless at Silver Oaks, where everyone else also had it.
"I didn't realize," Dawn finally breathed. Then she looked over at Ms. Rhodes. "I heard what happened to Iolanthe, and I came straight away."
But the other teacher reached over for Aspen's shoulder. That was when I recognized her as Ms. Linden, Aspen's biology teacher.
"Aspen, I think this will calm down sooner if the court lets the dean handle it," she whispered, tilting her head back toward the cafeteria.
