"Enough!" Ms. Rhodes said. "Pearl, I will let you pack, but if you come back here again…" Ms. Rhodes pulled in a hard breath. "You willdie,Pearl Hawthorne. This is my kindness for your years here. Be grateful you get that much."
Ms. Rhodes' threat sent a ripple of a vow into the air. In the crowd around us, students heard it. From the look on her face, Ms. Hawthorne realized exactly how serious Ms. Rhodes was. I wanted to add something to that, but I knew I would only look stupid after the grace and power Ms. Rhodes had just demonstrated.
Then Ms. Rhodes gestured dismissively. "Sentinels, please escort Ms. Hawthorne to her apartment." She paused to rub at her eyes. "Teachers, check the students. We'll need to make sure everyone is safe and accounted for. Someone make sure the gym is fine." Then she looked back at where Camila was still splayed in the grass. "Court, see if you can do anything for that girl. If not, I understand."
"Heard," Torian drawled lazily. "This is one task that's not on you, General."
"And it shouldn't be on you either," Ms. Rhodes said. "Not yet, at least."
Torian simply dipped his head toward her. "It seems we have adults willing to lead us through it, though. Accepting that is hard, but we ended up with a Morrigan who is making sure I learn a thing or two."
"Then make sure she's ok too," Ms. Rhodes said, turning away. Under her breath, she muttered, "I'm so sick of this shit."
Chapter Sixty-Six
RAIN
Camila was not ok. She was gasping like she couldn't quite catch her breath, so Keir moved to stabilize her. Torian told him to stop, but Bracken ordered Keir to continue. Wilder and Hawke had gotten the flames out, but the gym was still smoldering. Yet as the teachers turned away, yelling at the students to return to their rooms, that exams would be rescheduled and a head count would happen in one hour, a girl stepped forward.
"Torian?" It was Elyssa. "I know I was wrong when I hurt your sister. I thought I was showing my power..." And she gestured around us. "But this? We're supposed to bicker about who is prettier or got the better boyfriend. Notkill each other!"
Then she dropped to her knees, falling down before all of us. "I want to be different, Torian. Iwantto be on the right side. I'm so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"
From Aspen's side, Nevaeh stood, heading over to stand beside the girl. "We've all made mistakes, Torian. Even you." And then she knelt elegantly, resting only one knee in the grass as she ducked her head. "And whether you'll take it or not, I vow my loyalty to the One Court. I hereby swear on the power I inherited through my ancestors and the use of it that I've beengranted. Queen Aspen, Prince Torian, Duke Wilder and Duke Hawke..." She paused for a moment. "And to both the Morrigan and her knight, I offer my service in all ways desired or required. My life, my power, and my loyalty are to the one true court of the fae." Then she nudged the girl beside her slightly.
Quickly, Elyssa repeated all of that. The words weren't quite the same, but I was starting to realize the vow of loyalty wasn't required to be. There was clearly a template, and yet it shifted just a bit for each person.
But when Elyssa was done, Nevaeh spoke again. "The court shall have my loyalty until the end of time, as long as the loyalty of our chosen rulers remains to the fae they have been chosen to serve. I vow not to a season or a person, but to the leadership that works together for us all. Will the court promise the same in return?"
Torian moved closer to rest his hand on Nevaeh's head while Elyssa tried to repeat all of that. When she was done, he nodded at her, but his eyes were on Nevaeh. Slowly, the rest of the court moved in as well. Keir helped Aspen up, leaving Camila with one of the sentinels who'd moved in to help. I stepped in as well, feeling like this was very important.
"None of us are perfect," Torian said, raising his voice so it carried. "Not me, not my sister, and not even our Morrigan. How can we expect any fae to be something we're not? So yes, I will accept both of your oaths, but not only for myself."
"We," Aspen said, glancing at her brother with a knowing look, "are one court, just like we are one people. Your season should be yours - not what your parents or relatives decide for you. Winter, Summer, Earth? It does not matter, because we are one."
Then they both looked at me. For a moment, I panicked, not knowing what I was supposed to do. All around us, the crowd of people had stopped to watch. Both Torian and Aspen hadspoken like they'd been trained to be heard far away, and I didn't know how to do that. And yet, I could immediately see the point. Summer, Winter, and Wild. Those were the types of magic. I represented one - but I wasn't royalty!
But I had been picked by Jack.
"Faelings, foundlings, changelings, wildlings, or evencaradil," I said, trying to mimic the calm but forceful way they'd pitched their voices, "we all want the same. We may have different abilities and needs, but does that really matter? Are we not simply working for safety and happiness in our lives?"
"So let us ignore those lines!" Torian said, taking over again. "It should not be Winter against Summer. Our fight is not about sidhe against wildlings! It's about fairness versus selfishness, and this court will accept all who seek a fair and just existence!"
"For the one true court!" someone called from the side.
I looked over to see one of the sentinels I barely knew with his fist in the air. Then, everyone around us cried out the same, throwing their arms up in some kind of victory. There was cheering and smiles, but it all felt surreal.
My father had almost died today. Our gym was gone, just a smoking husk of it left between the trees behind me. So many hateful and hurtful things had been done, all in the name of a queen who didn't give a shit about any of these people.
And now it was just... over?
Did that mean I should've broken someone's vow after the first attack? Had I been weak, trying too hard to be a "good guy" and making things worse in the process? The problem was I didn't know, and there was no way at all to be sure.
But when the cheering began to fade a bit, a group of students pushed forward. I recognized these as our courtiers. As a group, they knelt before Torian and Aspen. One boy spoke the words, allowing the others to repeat after him.
I counted maybe twenty students offering up their loyalty. Even better, I didn't have to say anything this time. Torian spoke. Aspen said just enough to count, but she kept coughing in between from the smoke she'd inhaled.
When they were done, more came forward, then more after that. When it became obvious the crowd was all waiting their turn, Bracken pushed to his feet and whistled sharply enough to make everything stop.
