"That was too much magic to stun," Torian said almost lazily.
"Because I knew the court would try to stop me!" She huffed out a breath. "Whatever. You still need to know that Harper Valentina is trying to get revenge on Aspen." Her eyes darted over to the pair of us. "She said you ruined her, Aspen. She wants to make you pay."
"What?!" Torian demanded. "And how doyouknow this?"
"She called me last night," Nevaeh explained. "Aunt Taylor - uh, Harper's mom - hasn't been able to get Harper back into Silver Oaks. Harper was pissed about it and talking about how they're calling the Wild Hunt on Aspen, to get rid of their problem. I..." She took a step back, looking ready to bolt. "I thought you should know. That's not right, but I can't stop them. I can't even try to talk them out of it, because they just keep asking if I like being on my own or if I want to be dead like everyone else from Winter!"
"Shit," Wilder breathed.
"What. Did. They.Do?" Torian demanded. "Tell me exactly, Nevaeh, or you'll lose a lot more than your magic."
"Tor - " Aspen tried.
"No one touches my sister!" he roared.
"And we've got her back," Hawke said calmly, clasping Torian's shoulder both to calm him and prevent him from chasing Nevaeh down.
"Tor, back up," Aspen demanded, stepping towards Nevaeh. "I won't let him hurt you, but tell me what they said?"
"Harper was calling you a stupid bitch," Nevaeh explained. "But she says that about everything that has to do with Winter magic. They think if all of us are dead, the magic will flow into Summer, and the nobility will become even more powerful. That's why the Queen's doing it, right? She has to know something we don't. It's why she has the crown."
"It's not," Torian snarled.
Nevaeh flinched, shifting so Aspen was between her and Torian. "But Harper says she's got a way to call the Hunt. Well, with them coming twice now, and so close together, I just wondered if maybe she does."
"Harper wouldn't have anything to do with them being here," Wilder countered. "She's nothere."
"But..." Nevaeh looked at me desperately, then back to Aspen. "She was here. Aunt Taylor and Harper came to petition to have Harper reinstated."
"When?" I asked.
"I don't remember!" Nevaeh whimpered. "I don't, it's just that with the things she was saying, I thought she might be doing something. I mean, she always made it sound like she was unstoppable, and her ideas made so much sense in the moment. She even had me convinced I could change my season, but it doesn't work. It never works. Harper's just powerful because of her mother's nobility. It makes her a real lady, not like most of the people here, so she has more power, right? Inheritance and all that?"
"Not really how it works," Wilder said.
"Kinda how it works." Torian stated.
"That!" Nevaeh said, pointing at them. "I don't know what it means, but that's how she does it. She knows things I don't, and she makes me feel stupid for not knowing, but when I try to learn, she tells me I'm wrong because I'm Winter, and Winter can't do anything anyway because the Queen will exterminate us. The only reason I was safe was because my whole family's Summer, but she doesn't like me. She doesn't want me around, and if I don't have my magic back, I don't know what they'll do to me over the summer!"
"Tor, give her the magic back," Aspen said.
"No."
"Give it back and make her get the information you're trying not to ask!"
Torian slashed a hand through the air. "I will not! She came at us, Aspen. She tried to hurt Hawke! I have my own promises to keep."
"Then I'll give it back!" Aspen snapped, reaching out quickly to grab Nevaeh's hand. "By taking this, you agree to never harm us again. You will not ignore potential harm to us, just like you did now. If you learn more, you will share it, not hide it. You also will not ignore, leave so you don't hear, or avoid anything we might need in any other way. In exchange, you can have your magic back." She tilted her head slightly. "Do you agree?"
"Aspen, don't," Torian warned. "You - "
Aspen just ignored him, closing her eyes the moment Nevaeh nodded. All around us, white began to brighten. The lush colors of the leaves and flowers in here felt like they dulled. The air felt dense and dry, but not cold. Just when I began to feel like I was struggling to pull in a breath, motes of bright white drifted inwards, aiming for Nevaeh.
Like snowflakes, they clung to her skin. Like fireflies, they refused to fall from the sky, floating lazily in the air until they made contact. More and more gathered on her, making the girl glow. The more that attached to her,the faster the rest moved, until Nevaeh was shining brightly - and then the power all sank down into her skin.
Nevaeh sucked in a breath and her eyes flew open. "It's back!"
"He can take it again," Aspen warned. "But the court pays its debts. You didn't have to tell me this, but you did, so this is the least I can do."
