KEIR
The snow melted the next day. That left the grounds covered in mud, which made walking to and from the gym miserable. Luckily, Pascal didn't mind. He didn't have a family and was technically out of the foster system since he was now an adult, so the winter holidays were boring him.
He made a good sparring partner too. The guy had a wicked backhand with a practice stick and he was quick on his feet. As a Legacy, he didn't have any magic to back him up, but he also didn't need it. Pascal had earned his place in the sentinels on merit alone.
On Wednesday, he dragged me to the gym again. The guy had been pushing me more and more over the last month, and as we headed back to the main building for dinner, I rubbed at my shoulder. Beside me, Pascal chuckled.
"Sore?" he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Gonna have to miss the big party tomorrow because you hurt all over?"
"Fuck off," I replied.
He laughed. "Guess Brack's letting you slack off so you don't bust his daughter's balls? Or is he making you work harder so you don't have the spare energy to throw her in bed?"
I glanced over, ignoring most of that. "You do know she doesn't have balls, right?"
"It's a figure of speech, dumbass." He chuckled. "It's just that you never talk about her, but you spend all your time with her."
"I haven't really seen her much since the Solstice," I countered.
"Technically correct," he pointed out, "but I've seen you watching the atrium. C'mon, Keir. What's the deal? They're all saying she's the Morrigan."
"She is."
He stopped, making me do the same. "Ok," he said, glancing around us. "What the fuck are you trying to hide?"
"I cannot and will not answer that."
Pulling in a long, slow, and frustrated breath, he tried again. "What do I need to know to keep my ass in one piece?"
Now that I could actually answer. "Liam and Bracken have just adopted her. I'm pretty sure it was magically assisted. But I can't think of anyone who has the power to do that."
"Ms. Rhodes?" he suggested.
I shrugged. "Possibly, but why?"
Because the why was the important part. Whoever had done that had used a lot of magic in a season only a few had power in. That meant it was a big deal to do it now. Waiting would make more sense, but the implications of not? That was what he needed to be thinking about.
"Bracken?" he suggested next. "Heard he was a noble."
"It's a rumor," I reminded him. A true one, but still a rumor.
Pascal just chewed on the inside of his cheek, thinking hard. "Aspen?"
"She's barely got any control," I countered. "I'm not sure who did it, and Rain doesn't seem to either know or care. But Jack is a wildling prince. Nobility, Pas. Can't rule him out, although I've also heard he gave his magic to Rain. No matter who made it happen, to me it says one important thing: someone with some serious power is invested in her."
"Interesting..." He tipped his head, making it clear we could keep walking.
So I fell in beside him, my stomach grumbling with its need for food. "Harper and a lot of the jesters got expelled. According to Bracken, they will not be coming back. Ms. Rhodes wants to make it clear she will not have the school become a hotbed of political bullshit."
"Good."
"And Torian kissed her. That's what started shit on the Solstice." I tried to slip that in casually, but my frustration came out in my tone.
Which made Pascal laugh. "Oh, guess that means it's on now!" Grinning, he jerked his chin at me. "You hear the rumors about him yet?"
"About him stripping Nevaeh's magic?"
He nodded. "And now he's using Winter magic, dude. Supposedly, Nevaeh's got nothing. Not even a hint of a glamour. She's as magicless as I am. So where did it go?"
