"I hit on a girl. That redhead, Isla? She was checking me out, so I encouraged her. Before I knew it, she was talking about how my hair is dark because of my father, and saying shit thatsounded like what The Silent have been telling us. One court, Summer is best, and all that crap."
"Ah." He nodded. "So why were you hitting on some idiot faeling? Because Tor, that girl is dumb."
"But curvy," I said.
He grunted. "Fuck curves. Never mind that Keir's been anything but subtle. Hell, you kissed him like you were sucking out his soul that night."
He meant when Aspen had been crowned. When Keir and Rain had finally realized our secret. When Ms. Rhodes had allowed us to talk about it again.
"But he's with Rain."
"So?"
I huffed at that. "And Rain is with my sister. So you know, I'm not interested in any form of incest."
Across from me, Wilder rolled his eyes so hard I should've heard them rattling. "So don't fuck your sister. Easy."
"And I'm straight."
That made him scoff. "You, Torian, are fae."
"Aspen only likes girls," I tried next.
"And you're not Aspen!" He tossed up his hands. "Torian, for one day, try living for yourself. Not for your mother, your people, or to keep Aspen safe. Youkissedhim. We all know it happened, and you're not disgusted by men, so why are you pretending like Keir isn't an option for you?"
I didn't know. For as long as I could remember, I'd been so sure of how things would go, and ending up with a woman was a part of that. And sure, I'd had more than a few opportunities to enjoy the girls here - enough of them made it clear they were interested - but they'd always felt temporary.
Rain had caught my eye, though. Something about her had pulled at me, making me feel like I'd found my match. Over andover, she'd told me off, laughed in my face, twisted my words to get the upper hand, and acted like I was nothing at all special.
But so had Keir.
I knew he was handsome; he was fae. When I should've punched him, I'd kissed him. Not even an hour ago, I'd been desperate for anyone to be interested in me, but Keir was with Rain. He was a guy. I was supposed to be straight - but what if I wasn't?
"Fuck," I breathed, pushing to my feet. "We need to make an appointment with Liam."
"You're changing the subject," Wilder said, making it clear he knew me too well. "What's wrong with Keir?"
"I don't know!" I snapped.
"Just not feeling it?" he asked. "C'mon, Tor. Talk to me. I mean, Iamyour equal now."
Of all the things he could've said, that one actually hit. It was still new enough to feel shocking, but also reassuring enough I had no way to counter it.
"How do I know?" I asked, refusing to look at him.
Wilder eased himself to his feet. "You stop trying to convince yourself you fit in one box, and you start seeing if others fit too."
"And if I'm wrong?" I asked.
Moving to my side, he slapped my back gently. "Which means you think he's hot."
"He's..."
Hot was true. It was also the least important thing to me. I'd known so many beautiful people who terrified me. That was the nature of our kind. But Keir? He was heroic. He was noble. He was soft, strong, sensitive, and so close. The guy lived in the other half of my suite!
"Wilder, I don't know what I'm supposed to do anymore."
"I know," he said softly. "But it's ok, Tor. We're all here for you. We actually hope you'll fuck up a bit, so if Keir isn't doing it for you, flirt with Rain. Fuck, flirt with Hawke."
