"Oh, now sounds like a good time." Reaching into his pocket, Liam pulled out a key. "You can have both rooms until the end of the week. We would prefer you sleep in there."
All I could do was chuckle at the way this man had led me into a deal I did not want. "I'm still blaming Bracken for this, so you know. He taught you to deal like a fae, and I think I might be outclassed."
"No, you deal like a human, which is why you have Rain's back. She needs someone who can understand her. Bracken needed someone who could understand him. We adapt, Keir. It's what happens when you care about someone enough. It's also why Bracken felt so strongly about Rain. He adapted too."
"Lemme guess, you want me to help Torian adapt now?"
"It would be nice, but I'll settle for making sure he can find his control again. Something broke it, and he won't say what. I'm not sure he even knows, but he needs to."
"He almost saw his sister get dragged off by the Hunt!" I huffed, because that should've been obvious.
Liam just shook his head. "It's something else."
"Or you're wrong."
"Or that," he admitted, "but you should trust me on this. Something happened, Torian isn't talking about it, and Rain doesn't know. Since it seems you're now a part of the court, I think you should use that. Find out why Torian can't focus anymore, because if his magic gets out of hand, we're all screwed, Keir. That includes Rain."
"I'm keeping that suite shielded, then."
Liam smiled. "Which is exactly why I asked you. Ms. Rhodes says you have free access to the Oak."
Closing my eyes, I let out a groan. Yeah, they'd backed me into a corner, knowing exactly the buttons to push to get me to do this, but as Liam opened my door and made to leave, I stopped him.
"I want thateltamsword before I graduate. Not ownership of it, but the use. I need to use it when I'm practicing with Rain."
"Deal," Liam said. "But if Silver Oaks falls, the sword will go with it."
"I'm better than that."
He thrust out his lower lip and nodded once. "I know. It's why Bracken didn't ask. He knew you'd convince him this was a bad idea." Then heglanced at my desk. "I'll also have your homework assignments delayed due to the room change."
"I don't want her in steel."
"Steel won't change anything," he pointed out. "What she needs are shadows. Learn how to power her up, Keir, because if Aspen and Torian can't, someone must. That someone is you, and it's not a defensive conjuration."
"Yeah," I breathed as he closed the door and left, but I wasn't sure I could.
My power had always been defensive. I could shield, deflect, and dodge. I'd learned how to heal, unlock, and assist in other ways, but no matter how hard I tried, I could not attack with my power. Not even when I needed to.
And yet, my abilities were stronger than so many of the faelings who served on the sentinels. They could glamour, enchant, and other things, yet still had to learn combat skills to push back the Hunt. Was it really any different for me? I couldn't conjure in the expected way. Technically, the shields I excelled at counted, which was what categorized my abilities at this institute.
But I had a feeling Torian could teach me more.
I also hated even thinking that! The guy was too young to know half of what he could already do. His skills were impressive, but it wasn't surprising to me at all that he'd pushed too far, too fast. Now he was paying the price for it.
Yet if I could get him to help me learn, then maybe I could figure out his problem in the process. If nothing else, it was worth trying, because Liam was right. Rain needed me to know more. I needed to learn more. I also really needed to start packing.
I'd barely stood up when another knock sounded on my door. "What, Liam?" I grumbled, crossing the space to snatch the thing open.
On the other side was Wilder with an armload of unfolded boxes. "Liam said you deserve help."
"Huh?"
"Yeah," he muttered, coming into my room. "Not needed. He said you deserved help, then handed me these. Do I want to know?"
All I could do was shake my head. I'd been outplayed so badly. Oddly, it made me respect Rain's dad even more.
"I'm moving," I told Wilder.
