"No."
"Not even a hint?"
Liam chuckled. "Not even a hint. I may not be bound the same way you are, but my word is my word. It's also much safer for my daughter if certain rumors are allowed to die."
"If I do this," I asked, "will other monsters be allowed to attend Silver Oaks?"
"Monster is a slur," Liam informed me. "You can use wildling or sidhe. Faeling or fae. I don't care what distinction you make when separating people, Keir, but I promise you, Torian is no more monstrous than my daughter."
"I want to know more about jevadu."
"No."
That made me look at this man again. "And why not? If you're asking me to keep an eye on this guy all the time - "
Liam just lifted his hand. "Ms. Rhodes and I are hoping you'd be willing to move into the attached suite. To share space with him."
"Even more reason to know what a fucking jevadu can do!" I shot back. "Look, unlike Bracken, I've never been to Faerie, but I've heard the stories of monsters who could rip a mind apart with fear, then glue it back together with seduction. They feed on our magic, leaving behind husks. They eat meat!"
"So does Rain."
Yeah, he kinda had me there. Still, I had a better question. "Why is he evenhere?"
"Because Torian Hunt is fae. Jevadu are fae. This is a school for the fae, which is why Jack is allowed here as well. Without Jack, Rain is nothing more than a human girl who is immune to magic."
"Yeah, but she's not." I pushed out a laugh. "Joan le Fae didn't have the Crow King with her."
"Joan le Fae lived in a time when girls her age were expected to be wives and mothers. Rain doesn't. Joan le Fae also had to learn. She led human armies before she was 'burned' at the stake, allowing her to vanish without leaving behind a mess. I'd prefer Rain doesn't join the army and head off to the latest war her human nation is invested in. We don't fight with swords and arrows anymore, Keir. We use artillery and chemical weapons. Rain is not Joan, and she shouldn't be."
"True," I relented. "But I'm not living with Torian."
"That's a fair answer," he said, turning for the door. "I'll make sure Aspen knows she'll need to spend more time with him again."
"What?!"
A devious little smirk touched Liam's lips. "Someone has to make sure he doesn't break, because he is, Keir. Torian's control was perfect last semester. Now it's as unsteady as Aspen's. I'm not sure if she can help keep him from snapping, but after you, she's the best option we have. Since they're siblings, it's less complicated when they share a room."
All I could do was shake my head in both awe and annoyance. "You're a fucking asshole, Liam, you know that?"
His response was just to smile.
So I sighed. "Ok, fine! We both know that if Aspen abandons Rain again, it will cause a whole new problem. Probably a very 'dark' one. Rain will think she's getting cut out, Aspen doesn't know how to share her time wisely, and we'll have three insanely powerful people trying to pull this place apart."
"Which is why I asked you first," Liam said. "But like I said, it's not - "
"You've been living with us too long," I grumbled. "But fine. I'll do this on one condition."
"Name it first," Liam said.
"If I share a suite with Torian, I will not be punished for the mistakes he makes, the rules he breaks, or the complications that come from me limiting his magical effects, including physical ones."
Liam's eyes narrowed and lost focus as he ran through my list. "You think you're going to end up punching him, huh?"
"He'll punch me," I corrected. "I just want to be able to punch back."
"Done," Liam said.
I nodded. "When do I move?"
