At the same time, Pascal asked, "What do you need, Keir?"
"Bracken," I said. "We need to talk to him, don't we, Fin?"
The asshole shoved at both my shoulders, forcing me back. "Learn to take a joke, Keir."
"Learn to keep your mind off women!" I roared even as Pascal hurried towards the opposite door from the one we'd come in. "If you - "
"What?" he broke in. "You'll throw me to your new friends? You think because you're hanging out with the court, you're all hot shit now? You think being friends withhigh schoolersis so fucking cool?"
"You evidently do," I countered, jerking my chin in a dare for him to come at me.
He braced a little more, clearly considering it. "Just admit it. You're jealous because I'm stronger than you. Maybe you're a fucking pureblood, but your magic's shit."
"Good enough to stop you," I pointed out. "And to give you one hell of a headache."
"She's a fucking Winter bitch!" he bellowed. "And now she's helpless! Harper's not here to shield her. Aspen doesn't like her. Nevaeh thought she could fuck with all of us, calling herself part of the Summer Court, but she's not!" He turned and spit at the girl, who was still curled up on the floor but conscious - and luckily, he missed. "She's nothing!"
"Hey," I barked, nudging him hard enough to get his attention back on me. "Not a good look, Fin. If the only way for you to feel powerful is to use your magic to control those weaker than you, then who's the sad one, hm?"
His eyes jumped to mine. Immediately, I slammed a shield into place, blocking his magic, but I could still feel him trying. It pissed me off. I also didn't want him to know that, so I forced a smile to my lips.
"Push harder if you can," I dared him. "Prove you can best me, Fin."
"You fucking - "
"Hey!" The sound of Bracken's voice cut through the entire cafeteria. "Fin! Office.Now!"
Fin glared a second longer, and I felt his power hammering my shield - and then he gave up. Letting out a sigh, the man knew he was beat. Then, and only then, did I step over, giving him a clear path to leave.
"Fuck you, Winter groupie," he grumbled as he walked past me.
I scoffed, but said nothing else. The guy was an asshole. I didn't actually care if he liked me or not, but I was getting really tired of babysitting his ass.Yet the moment Bracken hauled Fin through the doors, the entire cafeteria began to buzz with whispers.
I just knelt down to check on the girls. "You ok, Poppy? Nevaeh?" I asked.
"What happened?" Nevaeh asked.
"Fin," Poppy mumbled. "He enticed you."
"Sorry about the head," I told Poppy.
She just waved that off. "It worked, and spewing lies hurt much worse. I'm ok." Although she still hadn't sat back up. Her hands were pressed hard against the floor, and she was panting. "I'm ok," she said again, and this time it sounded like she was trying to convince herself.
"Hey..." I soothed, reaching over to help her lean back on her heels. "I can ease that, if you'd like?"
"Please?"
So I pressed my fingertips to her brow and healed. It wasn't an ability I was good at, but it should be enough. When the girl sighed and softened, I knew she was feeling it.
"You ok?" I asked Nevaeh even as I let go of Poppy.
"I don't know what happened," she admitted. "I don't hurt, but I also don't remember!"
"He made you act like a servant," Poppy told her. "Get his meal, bow, and shit like that. I told him to stop, but I couldn't break his magic."
Nevaeh pushed her lips together hard, but I could still see the lower one quivering. "I used to have good shields."
"Will it come back?" I asked.
