The strange thing, however, was the way people smiled at us. They didn't cower like I was used to. Gone were the glares I'd gotten since I'd arrived. The jealousy over being pure fae instead of a faeling had shifted to something else I'd never seen before. Something that felt almost good.
In third period, Isla Fisher kept glancing back at me. I knew her from Magical Control last year. She was an enticer, and a surprisingly powerful one considering how much human ancestry she had. The girl's curves proved that.
But I'd never seen her lash out at Winter. In truth, she was the sort of girl who mostly kept to herself and didn't strive to get noticed, but each time her pretty green eyes landed on me, I noticed.
Aspen had found a girlfriend. Hawke and Wilder were happy together. Rain had picked up Keir, and somehow their relationship just worked. All of my friends were pairing up, but here I was, alone. Sure, I might have the strongest friendships I could imagine, but I wanted something. I longed to have those moments where I could just relax and let someone else take care of it.
The only person who'd let me do that was Rain - and she was my sister's girlfriend.
So while the instructor rambled on about the logistics of trigonometry, I convinced myself this would be ok. After all, I was a prince. Everyone knew it, so I no longer had to keep my past a secret, right? And if I made the first move, then didn't it mean she wasn't clawing for power? That maybe this would be ok? Needless to say, the next time she glanced at me, I made sure to smile back.
Isla's face quickly flushed to a soft pink and she whipped back around to the front. For a moment, I was sure I'd gone too far, but after a bit, she turned again - more subtly this time. When our eyes met, she smiled.
That might not be much, but it felt... good. Aspen was safe - Rain made sure of it. Our court was getting support from so many people, and the shock of what had to be The Silent's last stand was starting to wear off. This was ok. I didn't need to be a weapon. I wasn't required to push everyone away to keep them safe. And yes, I deserved this. I deserved to have someone giggle foolishly when I gave her attention, maybe to steal a kiss, and who knew where it could go from there? Maybe there was a place for faelings on the court, and someone would need to help me understand how they fit in.
Bit by bit, I talked myself into the mild flirtation I was doing. I pushed down all the qualms I had, and talked up the ways this could be a good thing. My mental dialogue may have been a bit circular, but that had nothing at all to do with nerves. I didn't get nervous; it wasn't allowed.
Eventually, our teacher released us. I almost chickened out, but Isla dared to glance back one more time.
"Hey," I said, lifting my chin her way. "Tell me I don't have something on my face?"
"What?" she asked, moving a little closer so people could get around her.
"Well, you kept looking at me, so I was starting to get worried." It was a cheesy line, but they'd always worked for me before.
And right on cue, Isla grinned. "No!" she groaned, clutching her tablet against her chest as she moved even closer. "It's stupid, Torian."
"My dashing good looks?" I teased.
She rocked her head back and forth like I wasn't quite right. "I didn't think Summer fae had dark hair. Everyone's been talking about how you're royalty and everything, but it didn't make sense until my suitemate mentioned who your father is, er, was."
"The Winter King," I said, gesturing for her to walk beside me as we left the room.
"Yeah," she mumbled. "Sorry."
"Never knew him," I admitted. "But what about you? Red hair, so that's either from your human parent or a Summer fae."
"Both," she said. "Dad was an artist. Summer, no nobility. Mom's human."
"Was?" I asked, noticing how she referred to her father in the past tense.
She grimaced. "The Hunt."
"Ah." And I reached up for her shoulder. "Sorry. We've been trying to stop them."
"It was when I was a baby," she explained, waving it off. "But I heard you're an asshole. My friends say to stay far, far away."
"Do I seem like an asshole?"
And once again, her cheeks turned pink. "No."
"So maybe this non-asshole can walk you to your next class?" I offered. "You'd have to help me out and tell me where it is, though."
"Um, I have Faeril for fourth. First floor, beside the atrium."
Ok, I was liking this girl more and more. I wasn't sure how I'd explain to the court that I'd picked someone up, but it could wait. For this moment, I was finally feeling like things were going right for me. Maybe they were? Maybe I did have a future?
"You know," I said as I turned her for the stairs, "we could always meet up for dinner and you could show me how well you speak it."
