"Because they don't have to be something they aren't," I realized.
"So who they are and what they are can finally match," Wilder corrected. "So an accident of birth doesn't make them better or worse than their peers. So the position of parents they likely never got to know won't determine their future!"
"But it's not that easy," I said.
"It should be."
And Rain's comment about holding her beer whispered in the back of my mind. "Maybe I'm crazy..." I started.
Wilder chuckled at that. "Proven. You lost your shit out of the blue, Tor. I think that counts."
"It wasn't out of the blue," I mumbled. "It's The Silent. And all of this, from our teachers to the ones trying to fuck us up, they're all so sure it has to be this way. It's how it's always been done, we have to uphold things that came before us, and all that bullshit, right?"
"Mhm," Wilder said. "Trust me, I feel that pressure too."
"But who outranks us?"
His eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
"I'm the fucking Summer Prince. Aspen's the Winter Queen. You're now the Winter Prince. Hawke's a Summer Duke. Keir's... What did Poppy call him?"
"Steward of Earth," he supplied.
I nodded. "And Rain's the Morrigan. Jack's the Crow Prince. Shadow!" I groaned. "That thing is part Rain, part sentient, and confusing as hell, but it's helping. But there's no one here who can make rules for us. Ms. Rhodes has made it clear we outrank her. She hasn't tried to sway us one way or another, right?"
"Yeah?" He shook his head quickly. "And?"
"And we make the rules," I told him. "Us, Wilder. The court. Not the two courts. We're all working together, and that's breaking enough rules. Rain keeps telling me fighting back isn't about doing their thing better. I don't have to push back or rush forward. I can change direction completely. My mother expectsone thing to happen, but if we simply stop playing her game? If we say fuck it, and rewrite all the rules, what then?"
"Which rules?" he asked.
And I felt a smile taking over. "We let people decide who they are. Not who we want them to be. If they're Summer but feel like Winter, then fine. Winter needs more people anyway."
"So what happens if everyone wants to be Summer?" he asked.
I lifted a brow at him. "You long to have Summer magic?"
"Well, no."
"Exactly," I said. "Some will pick Winter just because my sister's so damned..." My words trailed off as the truth of what I was saying hit me. "...nice," I finished. "That's what Pascal said. Aspen's nice. He swore to her because she's nice."
"And Poppy is sick of monarchies, the same way Keir is."
"Earthborn," I pointed out. "They've seen democracy in action."
"But a court isn't a democracy," Wilder countered.
"But it could be a republic," I realized. "Maybe we were born into the positions, but you weren't born the heir. Against all odds, you were picked to be the representative."
"And when they pick someone other than us?" Wilder asked.
And I sighed, feeling my great plans crumbling around me. "I don't know."
"Neither do I," Wilder agreed. "What I do know is something happened to start all of this. Something you really don't want to talk about."
"It's stupid."
"Mhm." He lifted a brow. "How stupid?"
