"Hawke did." I lifted a brow, daring him to deny his friend that right.
"This ismyroom!" Torian roared. "Mine! Do you hear me?"
"Hey, hey, hey!" Aspen begged, rushing out from the bathroom to grab her brother's hand. "I'm sorry, ok?"
"It's him!" Torian growled, refusing to look away from me. "He's what upset the balance. He's the problem. And he's always here." He paused only long enough to pull in a deep breath. "Get. Out."
"Tor!" Aspen begged.
"Hey, that's - " Wilder tried.
Hawke moved between us, but the magic in the air was increasing.
"I may have been forced to accept you on the court, Keir, but that doesn't mean I have to accept you in my space. You are not welcome here." Torian took another step, shoving Hawke aside in the process. "Go the fuck away. Stop being a fuckingzygony! Fin's dead. He's not even there, but you're avoiding your room because you're too fucking scared to face your own failures. That means you aren’t strong enough to be here. You aren't capable of keeping up withus."
"Hey!" I snapped, because no one liked being called the fae equivalent of a wuss. At least our term meant glass instead of female genitals. "If you want something, have you ever considered just asking? Or are you always this big of a dick?"
"He kinda is," Wilder agreed, yet even he was now on his feet, posed to block Torian from coming at me.
The air in the room was filled with static. Moisture was starting to grow. The wind wasn't strong, but I could see papers fluttering on the bed where Wilder had been studying. Just the corners, luckily.
The one thing I wouldn't think about was how Torian's words hurt. They were only words. Sticks and stones, right? Considering I was a fae, I could heal from almost anything. I didn't need to worry about a little bruise on my pride - or so I tried to tell myself. It still stung.
So what if I'd been avoiding my own room because of the too-still silence? Guilt was definitely a part of it, but I didn't want to talk about it. I'd thought I'd found a place where I could be safe to ignore it, with people who understood that sometimes acceptance didn't come quickly.
And now that was gone too.
"You know what, Torian?" I shot back. "I don't carewhatyou are. Youdeserveto be called a monster!"
I turned, intending to leave, but my words pushed him over the edge. Electricity cracked in the air. The gentle movement of a breeze suddenly slammed into me like a cold front. That was what made me turn, but I could smell moisture, just like a storm was coming.
"Get the fuck out!" Torian screamed.
I wasn't even all the way around, but the bolt of lightning that shot from his chest was so bright. A purple-white light reflected off the walls, burning my eyes and making me all but blind, yet years of training were hard to overcome.
I threw up a shield, hoping to dim the glow, yet it only lasted a second. One split second where the bolt crashed into the iridescence of my ownmagic, dissipating immediately, leaving burn marks in my vision and the boom of it slammed into my chest, likely "just" thunder to the rest of the school.
"You've just gone too fucking far," I said, shoving down all my emotions.
Then I stormed toward him.
Chapter Thirty-Three
KEIR
The pretty little brat lifted his chin and stood his ground. He tried his hardest to look like something I should be scared of, but I was too pissed. Torian had just sent lightning at me! That wasn't a step too far - it was like a hundred!
"You think you can take me out that easy?" I demanded, grabbing a fistful of his shirt.
He pushed. I ignored it. Hawke snagged my arm, weakly holding me back, but at the same time, Aspen shoved right between me and her brother. That was what made me pause.
"He didn't mean to," she insisted. "I'm sorry. It's my fault!"
"Asp." Torian said it like a command.
I simply rocked my head over to glare at Torian. "Oh, so the tough guy can't even control his power? Well, I have a solution for that."
Torian growled like some feral animal. "You touch me, and - "
