The headmistress paused with her hand on the knob. "Then it shouldbe easy. Keir, when he's accomplished that ten times in a row, you may leave. Otherwise, you can go when the hour is up."
"Why?" I asked.
Letting go of the handle, the woman turned back to us. "Oh, I thought it was obvious. You, Keir, want to help the court. Bracken says you have the ability to block Mr. Hunt's magical strength. Liam has let me know you like being the hero. Well, you're not. You, Mr. Delaney, are a common fae mongrel with indeterminate power. The sort of power we do not understand. You've made it your place to stand with the Morrigan, so this is your chance to prove you deserve to be there."
"I haven't done anything wrong," I reminded her.
"Mm..." She smiled. "So prove you can do something right. Torian, blue only."
"I could do this in my sleep!" he snapped.
"When you had control, yes. I'm sure you could." She paused to lick her lips, holding both of our attention in the process. "But that's the thing. You don't have control anymore, do you? So find it, and if you slip, Keir will shield it. Together, you might even learn how to be ateam."
"I don't need him!" Torian grumbled.
"Oh, because you think Hawke will always be there for you? What abouthisgoals, Torian? You are not the center of the universe, and I will not allow you to think you are. Master your control, and we can worry about what comes next, but as long as this building is being ravaged by lightning, glamours, frost, and who knows what else? No, you will learn how to not only control your magic, Torian, but also yourpower."
"And I've been pulled out of literature to babysit him?" I asked.
"And to learn your own place, Keir." She smiled at me. "Do you know when I met Joan le Fae?"
"No, ma'am."
"Whenshemade me a general and put me in charge of the trolls. When she dared me to convince the Summer militia to fight beside monsters. Keir, this is your chance to learn what it means to be fae. Forget all the gossip you hear in the halls, and stand up for what you believe in, even if it's doing nothing more than keeping this place standing. Silver Oaks is our sanctuary, and right now, you're defending it."
"Ok," I relented. "But if you're changing my degree, then you are inmydebt."
She just smiled. "No, I'm actually doing you a favor. You just haven't realized it yet. The debt is yours, Keir, but I'm not going to require repayment.He will." And she tipped her head at Torian. "Ten times in a row, Torian. Not nine. Not 'close enough.'"
And then she left. Across from me, Torian groaned, scrubbing at his face as if to erase something. It took me a little too long to realize it was his smile.
"What's so funny about this?" I asked.
"Her," he admitted. "I think I might actually be outclassed. The woman is a force of nature."
"She was the general of the Summer Army." I huffed because that should say enough. "She walked in both palaces, Torian. Of course she knows how to play this game!"
Finally, his pretty green eyes found mine. "Do you?"
"I don't want to."
"Hm..." His gaze slid down to my chest, then back up, hanging on my lips. "And yet you have a knack for it. So you know, the Morrigan will get enmeshed in fae politics. Whether she wants it or not, Rain will be buried with the bullshit our kind thinks is fun. If you really want to help her, then you'd best figure out how to enjoy it."
"What, or die trying?"
He shrugged. "That's typically what happens when a Morrigan shows up."
I nodded my head slowly. "So where do you fit in?"
"Making blue light," he said.
I just waved at the prism. "I'm waiting."
"I'm distracted," he said, keeping his tone very casual.
Which made me smile. "So does this mean we should talk about what happened yesterday?"
"Nope."
