The Huntsman smiled.
Suddenly, everything made sense. Torian had made sure we'd be safe out here on our own. He also knew what the Hunt was supposed to do. I didn't know what he'd said to theHuntsman in those few minutes they'd been alone together, but Torian knew how to be cruel. If his cruelty would stop everyone else's, I could definitely get on board with this.
So I grabbed Ms. Hawthorne by the back of the neck and pushed her forward as well. "This one is a traitor to the one true court," I said. "She has plotted to harm the Summer Prince, and risked the lives of fae children!"
Slowly, the Huntsman turned his desiccated eyes on me. "You walk with magic."
"I am the Morrigan," I said, lifting my chin. "I speak for the Prince of Crows. I fight for the balance of all fae, and these two are destroying it! I give them to you. You, Huntsman, can decide their fate."
"Does the Prince agree?" he asked.
"This prince," Torian said, "answers to the Morrigan."
The Huntsman merely lifted a hand, summoning something. Immediately, the wind kicked up and all the moisture in the air began to swirl. Like apparitions from the fog, more hunters appeared, all of them walking closer as if curious.
"Guilty," The Huntsman finally said, pointing first at Taylor Valentina. Then he turned his head to Pearl Hawthorne. Once again, that cruel smile touched his mouth. "Guilty!"
And like a pack of rabid dogs, the hunters rushed in, moving much faster than I'd expected. The women screamed and thrashed, trying to get away, but this was the Hunt. Groups of them grabbed each of the women, yet when they moved to drag them away, Torian spoke up.
"No!" he snapped. "You will do this here, where they can all see!" And he pointed back at the glass. "They want to see the Queen's verdict? So let them watch."
For just a second too long, the Huntsman looked at Torian. It was almost as if he wanted to refuse, but couldn't. Then, after await that felt like it had lasted nearly forever, he dipped his head, accepting the order.
There was no gesture or command. The moment the Huntsman's eyes dropped, two of the hunters shoved their hands into the women's chests. Both went limp, but when the hunters pulled their arms out, there wasn't a wound at all.
"Guilty!" the Huntsman declared, turning away as if this didn't bother him at all.
And the entire Hunt went with him, leaving the bodies of those women behind.
Chapter Seventy
TORIAN
My heart was slamming against my ribcage, but I couldn't run. I couldn't tremble. I had to stand here like the perfect example of royalty or this wouldn't work like I wanted. Rain had followed my lead, and now it was done.
Now, those two women were dead, and I'd made that happen.
"Tor?" Hawke whispered.
"We need a moment for this to sink in," I told him.
"For us?" Keir asked. "Because it's sinking, Tor."
"For the people in the atrium," I said, keeping my body perfectly straight and defiant. "Rain, I'm going to need your help with what comes next."
"Always," she promised, looking over to catch my eye.
Brown. A warm shade that reminded me of sunlight dappling trees. Soft. A gaze that felt like comfort, but in a way that allowed my pulse to slow back to something closer to normal. On her other side was Keir, his sharp jawline making him look fierce even though I knew he was the gentleness I needed. And the rustle of Hawke's wings was a reminder of why I was willing to do this.
Something had to change.
We were the one true court. That was the name the students of Silver Oaks had given us, not the one we'd made for ourselves. We were a mess of magics, seasons, and bloodlines, but we made it work. Together, we had proven that leadership wasn't something a person was born into. It was a trait shaped through trials and grit. One honed with kindness and empathy.
And now I needed the rest of the fae to understand exactly what that meant.
"Time to start a rebellion," I said, turning to storm back into the school.
They followed. Pascal and Bran yanked open the doors for us like we were entering a throne room. At the side of the atrium, Beverly and Marlowe, two of the older sentinels, did the same. But even before I entered that magical green space, I could hear a girl wailing.
