"You killed my mom! You stupid bitch, you let them kill her!" I knew Harper's voice too well.
"She is the one who called them!" Aspen shot back.
But that wasn't the way to take control. Rain had reminded me of that over and over. Being on the defensive wasn't a winning strategy. If we wanted to actually stop the horrors my mother had put into motion, the only way to do it would be to change the fight.
"Hold my beer," I whispered as I strode forward to jump up on one of the many boulders scattered through this place. Then I roared, "Silence!"
People stopped moving. Most turned to face me. I spotted Poppy Hawthorne standing under the silver oak with both hands plastered over her mouth and her eyes much too big. Fuck. I hadn't thought about her. She didn't deserve this.
The rest obeyed my command, all except Harper Valentina. Her wailing made it easy to spot her over near the windows.She'd fallen to her knees, and a group of jesters were around her, looking like they weren't sure if they should hold her back or offer support.
Then there were the damaged limbs and branches, likely victims of whatever attacks had been thrown around in here while we were holding back the Hunt. I saw students dressed in damp suits and dresses, huddled behind some of the larger trees. Others were braced up and looked ready to fight back. Most of them were, actually, and they stood proudly in a mixture of seasons that didn't seem to matter at all.
They were the last nudge I needed.
"This?" I yelled, gesturing around us. "This is what the division between seasons has caused. Look around you! Now tell me why Summer is the superior season? What has Winter done to any of you? But you're willing to kill them for nothing more than the chance of additional magic? To be stronger? To impress my fuckingmother?!"
"We do the Queen's bidding, boy!" someone snapped.
And others joined in. Parents pushed closer, turning their anger on me, but little did they know I was immune to it. Their rage was nothing compared to the Mad Queen's. Their memories of our once-glorious court were nothing but lies.
So I waved my hand and showed them. I pulled at my power to make sure the glamour was strong, and before even my own eyes, the atrium shifted to the Summer Court. Trees turned to green marble and gold-accented columns. My boulder became the dais for the royal throne.
I made sure they could see the dust clinging to every ledge. I did nothing to hide the grime on the floors. Decay took over, showing what happened to an abandoned court, and around me, even the sounds began to echo, proving this place was too empty to swallow the sound the way it should've.
"This," I said, "is the court I left. This is what Faerie looks like now. This was where my mother raised me among servants - not staff, butservants! - too terrified to do their jobs. This is what you are all fighting for, and is it worth it?" I glared across the crowd. "Is it?!"
"I am proud of my season!" a woman yelled back.
"Winter never should've resisted our queen!" another screamed at me.
And those two set off the rest. Voices were raised. People refused to actuallylookat what I was trying to show them. Rain had said the trick was to do something different, but it wasn't working. They weren't changing their minds. If anything, I was making this worse, so I wiped away the glamour.
Then Rain jumped up beside me, shadows spilling off her like ink into water. "No!" she yelled. "You will listen to our prince! Now is the time for you to shut the fuck up and learn something. This is a school. Learning is what we do here."
She didn't snap, but the effect was the same. Her shadows rolled across the atrium, never getting above waist high, yet they secured everyone. Just like it had on the Winter Solstice, Rain's Wild magic held them. It silenced them. It also turned them all toward me.
As the darkness touched someone, a light began to bloom inside them. Most were dim and green. Some didn't have it, but they looked human to my eyes. Some white existed, but not nearly enough. And yet, the change made the people in here pause to look at those beside them. Confusion held their tongues.
In truth, I didn't have a clue what that was supposed to do, but it was ok. I trusted Rain. That was why our court worked. We could all lead. We didn't have to pick who was best or worst because what mattered was the end goal, not how we got there.
So I reached out a hand for my sister. "This," I said, speaking before people got too distracted, "is the Winter Queen. None of you realize it yet, but Titania's dreams of a single power have already been crushed. My sister has claimed her throne. Not mine, but hers! She is the elder.Sheis the rightful ruler, and she has named her heir - and it is not me."
The darkness had reached the four glass walls of the atrium now. Teachers, students, parents, and more were all glowing softly as the Wild magic swirled around their feet. I saw humans whipping their heads around, clearly terrified by the power we were using here today, but that would only help.
Then I saw Shadow.
It blended into the Wild magic, and yet it was still there. Like a slightly blacker silhouette, it wove between the bodies, reaching over to caress the light around each person it passed. The thing didn't seem to be hurting them. If anything, it was more like it was tasting them, sampling them somehow.
Green was everywhere. There was so much of it, but I also saw white. Ms. Rhodes' light shone like a beacon, making her hard to look at. Bracken was wrapped in a swirl of both colors, much brighter than I'd expected. Some students glowed impressively. Most were like a soft ambiance, but there was just so much green, and it made me sick.
"You were supposed to be loyal to me!" I screamed. "Some to my sister, but look around. Look at how little Winter there is in here, and yet you still want to abuse them? Will nothing make you happy? Are you all truly so cruel that you will kill and pillage and destroy until there is nothing fae left in either this world or ours?"
I slashed my hand through the air. "I am done with it. I revoke your power. I refuse those of you who care for nothing but rank, titles, and power. This is our world now! We, the next generation of the fae, will not follow your hate with more of it!"
And all those lights went out.
The moment my arm was all the way down, the atrium went dark. Beside me, Rain flinched and Aspen gasped. I squeezed my sister's hand in reassurance, but I hadn't expected that either. Yet just as a worried hum began to swell, my sister raised her voice.
