"Heir, sure," he agreed. "But what happens if Aspen is killed, like you fear? Then I won't bejustthe heir. I'll be a fucking King!"
"And that's the problem with being a prince," I pointed out. "Your entire existence is defined by someone else dying."
He'd just reached for the chair, but my words rocked him. "What?"
So I dipped my head at him, making it clear who I was talking about. "Congratulations on the promotion, Wilder."
"No, I'm a duke."
"You're a prince now," I countered. "Still a duke, and you don't need to tell anyone you're now the Winter Prince, but that doesn't change that it happened."
"I'm..." He couldn't finish the sentence. Only air came out. "No."
I leaned back, using my hands to hold me somewhere between sitting and lying. "I give you my title," I said. "And gladly!"
"But Tor - "
"No." Shaking my head stopped his weak protests. "This is what we were born to do. Your parents sacrificed themselves to make sure you survived - and you did. I'm not going to ask what you had to do to make that happen, and the bit you've told us leaves a lot of gaps. That is all your business. But this? It really is a good thing."
"Yeah, I got that," he said. "I just..." Pressing his lips together, he pulled in a breath.
I could see him trying to pick the right words. I could tell there was something bigger weighing on him. Sadly, too much had been unsaid between all of us. When we'd first come together, our nobility had felt like something to be ashamed of. Now, it was a weapon to be used against us.
The only way to fix it would be for us all to finally talk about it. For us to stop fearing what each other would think, because time and time again, the court had stepped up. Over and over, when I was so sure there was no way to make this work, something had happened to change my mind.
Most of the time, it was Rain.
"We have the Morrigan," I mumbled. "Not them. Not our world. She's here, with us. One of us, Wilder. And while I don't believe in signs, isn't Rain's entire position nothing more than a sign to the fae? So tell me what's bothering you, because if I can't help, it seems Rain will stumble into something that fixes it."
He sat awkwardly, leaning over his knees for a moment before leaning back. Just when I was sure he wouldn't say shit, he proved me wrong.
"Hawke."
"He's a duke."
"I'm a prince."
"And a duke," I reminded him. "Besides, my sister will probably end up having a herd of little brats to inherit after her. Give her a four or five decades and who knows. Maybe Keir will help them out. Your status as the heir to the Winter Crown is only temporary, I'm sure."
"And then?" he asked. "C'mon, Tor. We all keep talking about this shit like we're going to end up back on Faerie, but we're not. The gates are locked, and none of us want to open them. Your mother is there, waiting for that to happen. The moment someone fucks with her seals, you know she's going to unleash years of plans. The sort that not even our Morrigan could stop."
"So what should we do?" I asked. "We can't just throw up our hands and say it's hopeless. The magic doesn't work that way."
"But does it have to work this way?" he asked.
"Which?"
Wilder made a gesture, encompassing everything around us. "Kings, queens, princes and princesses. Clearly Keir's figured out something outside this mess. Fuck, Poppy's magic has turned iridescent too - and people have noticed. Pascal went from nothing to Winter, and while I'm glad to have him, that's not the way things have always gone. Never mind Aspen manipulating the line of succession!"
Oddly, he had a point. I was so relieved Aspen had made him her heir, but only moments ago I'd been ready to have Rain strip all my magic. I'd been in a panic because of what this could do to the balance of power, and yet Wilder was right. Something was already happening to it.
"Is this because of me?" I asked.
"Huh? What?" He looked at me like I'd just changed the subject - or maybe the language.
"Wilder, I'm not supposed to exist," I reminded him. "Never before has one person been in line for both crowns. The Winter Court has always had their nobility and the Summer Court has theirs. Marriages are made between them, sure, but the lower-ranking partner changes courts. The lines have been clear and well-defined - until I was born."
"Then your birth was a good thing," Wilder said. "I don't know if you're the reason, but this? Do you seriously think Pascal would be pleased to never have magic? Do you think Poppy has some loyalty to Summer? And I'm sure there are more. Nevaeh! She's a magical mess. Descended from the Summer Court, but wielding Winter power? How many more are like that? We are surrounded by faelings - people who already don't fit into the mess our parents believed in. So maybe that's why so many are excited about one single court?"
