"Of course she shouldn't!" he agreed. "Because none of this is aboutme! Aspen, it's you. It has always been you, and some stupid, fleeting high school romance isn't going to change anything. Shit, it's probably not even going to last. Why can't you see that?"
"I don'twantit to be about me!" she yelled. "Why can't you get that through your head?"
"The moment you become an adult, all of this will change," he pointed out. "You can't be a kid forever, Aspen. You can't focus on kissing girls and skipping homework - or even what people are saying. I brought you here because you have a future, and here is where I can make sure it happens!"
"Fuck your plans," she grumbled. "Right now, my concern is my girlfriend and my magic."
"Well, at least we agree ononething," he grumbled.
"No, we don't! I'm not the one trying to save the world! I'm not supposed to save the world. That's Rain, and she needs to be what matters right now, ok?" Aspen told him. "Fuck, Tor. Everything I remember about Faerie is from you. I was a baby when I left. I don't care about the crap locked on that side of the gate - and you shouldn't either. What matters is right here, and she'shere.I also think we should tell her."
"We can't!" he grumped.
"She's not stupid," Aspen countered.
"And she has clearly picked Keir," Torian said. "Not Hawke. Not me, or Wilder, or even you. She's ruining everything!"
"No," Aspen said, clearly annoyed. "She pickedme.I told her she could have Keir too, and you know what? I like him. Fuck,youlike him! That's why you sucked on his face! And now that's all I can think about!"
My eyes got big and my mouth fell open. I also felt guilty for eavesdropping, but this was definitely not what I'd expected them to be arguing about. This fight was about me and Keir being a thing? Or was it more about him and Torian not being one?
"I'm straight," he insisted.
"So straight that you're obsessed with the guy! And just because I'm only into girls doesn't mean you are!"
"Are you really?" Torian asked. "Or is it just because I am?" He scoffed. "That works both ways, Aspen."
"Fuck you!"
"Then do something about it!" Torian said. "What's your big plan, Aspen? Just toddle along, doing everything good enough to get by until your girlfriend fixes shit for you? Don't make a scene, don't draw attention, and don't ever take a risk, because this is good enough, it's safe enough, it's easy enough that you don't have to risk stepping out of the little lines you put around yourself? Is that it? Are you too fucking scared to take a damned risk? Have you ever fucking thought about what happens if youdon't?!"
"I never asked for any of this!" she screamed. "I don't want it, Torian! I just want to be happy - is that so wrong?"
"It is if it means no one else can be," he shot back.
Deciding I'd heard far more than I should've, I rapped at the wall. The thump was loud enough to make both of them fall silent. On my shoulder, Jack cawed loudly, then flew over to his perch. I moved to set my shit down, hoping to let a little of the tension over there calm down.
But Torian had other plans. Before I'd even kicked off my shoes, the guy wrenched open the door between our suites and stormed in.
"She needs to learn control, and I'm sorry if that hurts your feelings, but you seem to be doing just fine with all the guys I used to call friends."
My mouth fell open and I turned to him. "Fuck you, Torian."
He huffed as if I'd just proven him right. "You burned through all her power in one single battle. You needed mine and Wilder's to keep you going, and you were still so weak afterwards that you were given a week ofsick leave to recover. Good job, Morrigan. Way to waste the power you were gifted."
"What?" I had no clue what he was talking about.
"Magic isn't never-ending, Rain." He grunted as if I should've known that. "You're supposed to be the Morrigan. Figure your shit out, and learn how to manage your power, because my sister isn't your bitch!"
"Bitch!" Jack yelled, but it didnotsound like he was agreeing.
"Fuck off," Torian snapped at him.
"Jack-Rain!" he shot back.
Torian just grumbled, turning his gaze back on me. "Aspen is my sister first," he told me. "She came here to learn, Rain, not to be distracted, and not to be dragged into some useless fight with the Hunt! She's supposed to be learning how to control her power, because she could do great things with that much magic. She could make a real difference for all the fae here, there, and wherever the fuck our people ran to. But no! She's so worried about you, how you're doing, andwho you're fuckingthat she can't get her own shit together!"
"Her shit, or your shit?" I asked. "Because she's not the one who's been fucking up lately, Torian. That's all on you."
