"He kinda is always right," I reminded them. "His track record is really pretty impressive."
Jack just preened. "Jack-Court!"
"Trying to say we should make you the leader of this rag-tag band of fairies?" Wilder asked.
Which made Jack shake his head. Not like he was saying no, but more like a dog when it tried to get water out of its fur. "Jack!"
"I meant it that way," Wilder said.
"What way?" I asked.
The guy looked over and winked at me. "The gay one. I mean..." He gestured around the table, hitting everyone except Torian. "Fairies. Not fae. Not Faerie. Fairies, Rain."
"Guess this means Torian's the odd one out," I teased. "It's ok, though. We'll still keep you. And so you know, I also like my tribe, and I'm glad I found it."
"Same," Keir said. "And now we get courtiers too. Talk about a real Cinderella story. Out of the ashes, right?"
"Complete with a fairy god-girlfriend," I agreed. "But Jack is not my godmother."
"Bitch!" Jack corrected. "Bitch, bitch, bitch!"
It was enough to make all of us laugh. When Jack started slinging his beak in a vehement nod, I realized that was exactly what he'd intended. It was also what we needed. All of us, even the bird.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
RAIN
Working with Poppy and her courtiers helped more than I'd expected. She had a system. For every dot, two groups had to verify that it wasn't some version of a Hunt sign. We could only do that by identifying the enchantment that was marked. If both groups agreed, the dot was removed from the list.
We were now down to just over two hundred dots. That was still a lot, but Wilder, Hawke, Keir, and I woke up early to head outside. Our big plan was to spend all day doing this. Torian had made arrangements with Ms. Rhodes. While we walked the grounds, he and Aspen put their abilities together to search for this thing a different way - the kind that kept my girlfriend safely inside.
But instead of a quiet and sullen morning, Keir decided to start the conversation with a bang. "So, is Torian ok lately, or is it just me?"
"He's Torian," Wilder said, flashing a smile at Keir. "Lately, his moods have been swinging faster than a hare in heat."
"A what?" I asked.
"Rabbits," Hawke clarified for me.
"They fuck a lot," Wilder said, struggling not to smirk. "You know, quick turnaround?"
"That's not..." I just groaned. "Wilder, that's not a real phrase!"
"Should be," Keir said.
"Mhm," Hawke agreed. "Fitting too. After the kiss and all."
"What kiss?" I asked.
Hawke and Wilder both looked right at Keir. He sighed, making it clear this was his story to tell. Considering he shared a room with Torian, I could only imagine what he'd heard going on next door. I also wasn't completely sure I wanted to know.
"So, the day we got suspended?" Keir said. "Yeah, um, I went to shield his room and he sorta kissed me."
"Wait." My feet stopped hard. "Youkissed Torian?" Holy fucking shit. I didnotsee that coming!
"He kissed me," Keir said again. "I thought I was pissing him off so he'd punch me. You know, so he could vent after that bullshit in the halls."
"But they kissed!" Hawke laughed. "Oh, and Torian is still fucking confused about it."
