"But her magic was white today!" Aspen shot back.
"And Poppy's was rainbow," I said, mostly to myself.
"Court!" Jack cawed, flapping his wings to make us look.
"We're trying," Torian told him.
Which made the bird grumble in annoyance.
Then Hawke sucked in a breath. "Shit. Pascal!"
"What about him?" Keir asked.
"I was so sure he was Summer," Hawke explained. "When he let me pull magic, it tasted like sunshine and summer days. I took enough that I'm sure of it. There was no fresh snow or starlight to it - and yes, I would know the difference. I think I've had more than enough opportunities to compare the seasons."
"That's just weird," Keir told him, but it was with a smile.
Hawke grunted. "But my point still stands. Pascal was Summer, but a Legacy. Then, out of nowhere, he suddenly manifests Winter magic?"
And that last piece slammed into place in my mind. I sat up quickly. "No, it wasn't out of nowhere!"
"What do you mean?" Aspen asked.
So I gestured with my hands, rewinding everything. "It started with Pascal, right? The guy's been around since I've comehere. He's been a sentinel, in class with Hawke and Keir for who knows how long before that. Nothing changed, but when the entire court started practicing with those four..." I looked around. "Do you remember?"
"He helped Aspen. Because of that, he got attacked," Torian said.
"And then he made a big deal about how he was loyal to her over you," I told Torian. "Pascal thanked Aspen - because I don't know what other word to use - by making it clear he would fight for her."
"He offered his sword," Keir said. "That's damned close to a knight's vow, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Wilder said, looking over at Torian. "And you rejected the jesters when they tried."
"But right after the attacks," I went on, "what did Poppy do? She told Torian off by swearing her loyalty to Keir, since she doesn't agree with inherited power or something."
"Monarchies in general," Keir said.
Torian set down his fork. "She called you the Steward of Earth."
Keir scoffed. "Because I haven't hidden the fact that I never wanted to claim a season. Usually, when people asked, I said I was here, not there."
"No," Torian said, waving him down, but his eyes were on me. "I think Rain's on to something."
"Because," I continued, "what did Ms. Linden just do? She swore her loyalty to Wilder - Winter - as a way to show her appreciation."
"And through him," Aspen said, "to me." She leaned a bit to see her brother. "Tor, is that even possible?"
He pushed his plate away. "No."
So I pushed it back at him. "Define possible for me? Does 'it's never happened before' mean 'it can never happen in the future?'"
"I don't know," Torian admitted, sounding like the words were pulled from his gritted teeth. "Rain, I've never heard of anyone switching the season of their magic. Not in my lifetime, and not in fae history. I can't even begin to think of a mechanism to cause it, and if it was possible, why wouldn't people like Nevaeh be using the magic of the court they're a part of?"
"Ask Ms. Rhodes," Wilder suggested. "Maybe she's heard of something. If not, she has access to more ways to research it than we do."
"I can do that during my control class," Aspen offered. "But how else could this be possible? And if it's not possible, then what explains away the fact that it's happened?"
"Jack!" my bird said.
