Page 124 of Pixie Problems

"I need to give you magic," Aspen explained. "Rain, it's a lot, and there aren't enough plants to hold it. I don't..." Her eyes sparkled with growing dampness. "What if it's too much?"

"Morrigan!" Jack insisted.

"That," I told her. "Ms. Rhodes said it makes me stronger, so go for it. I mean, if it's too much, what's the worst that could happen?"

Her brow furrowed at the question - only to jump back up when my own fucking shadow reached up to clasp the hand on the floor.

"Shit, I feel it!" she breathed.

"Morrigan!" Jack demanded.

And Aspen relaxed. The wave of her magic slammed into me like a damned freight train. This wasn't a little trickle like she'd given me at lunch. Instead, it made me think about the river analogy Wilder had used. The entire Mississippi River of magic had just been unleashed, and I was the one who had to suck it all up.

So I pulled. Instead of merely waiting for it to happen, I did everything I could to bring it all into me. I'd been working on controlling the flow withthe stone Ms. Rhodes had given me, and this was basically the same thing. Well, if comparing a leaky faucet to the Pacific Ocean was the same.

A chill raced over my skin. Warmth grew in my chest. On Aspen's shoulder, Jack pushed closer, and I swore his feathers were even more iridescent black than normal. I wasn't sure if it was a side effect of the power flow until my shadow lifted its right hand off the floor to clasp Aspen's bicep - still holding her other hand with what should've been the shadow of my left.

The thing was growing darker, deeper, and more intense. The pressure inside me was pushing hard on my insides. A low hum was ringing in my ears, and the scent of spring was filling the room. Flowers. With Aspen, it was always flowers, and I was starting to realize this scent was part of her magic.

"I got you," I breathed, ignoring the over-full feeling inside me. "Aspen, you're going to be ok. This is what I'm good at, right? And I'm never going to let you suffer alone."

"Just a little more?" she begged.

"Give me as much as you need," I swore. "I'm the Morrigan, baby. I'm going to protect you any way you need, and this is an easy one."

"Oh, Rain!" she breathed, surging in to wrap her arm around my neck and press her mouth to mine.

I felt Jack's feathers against my cheek, but didn't care. I kissed her so hard. My girlfriend was back. Maybe it was for a minute, an hour, or hopefully a whole day. I didn't know, but if I could help her with this, then maybe it would be enough to convince her I wasn't useless. She didn't need to hide from me.

I could save her.

Yet when I reached around her back to pull her closer, I bumped into something warm, dry, but not at all solid. It was attached to her arm, and belatedly, I realized it had to be my own shadow. The thing had been holding her there, and clearly lifting her hand off the floor hadn't broken the contact. I also didn't care at all.

My tongue swept through her mouth. Her fingers tangled in my hair. We kissed like it might be the last time we had the chance, all while her power poured into me. I needed to touch her a little more, to hold her a bit closer, and to make sure I could contain this. Simultaneously hot and cold, the rush of magic was like some kind of high I'd never experienced before, and not the good kind.

This was the sort that made my heart race, my skin was too tight, andmy mind was buzzing with a sound that reminded me of an electrical current. No, one more plant couldn’t have been enough. If she was trying to use them to release this? I suddenly understood why there was a jungle growing in our suite, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered but the way her sweet, soft lips slid across mine as if she'd missed me as much as I'd missed her.

And somewhere in the frenzy, I forgot all about telling her brother off.

Chapter Thirty-Six

RAIN

When the flow finally stopped, Aspen all but collapsed into my arms. The problem? My shadow was hovering beside us - and not on the floor. I looked at it. It looked at me - and then it lifted its hand to its head in the symbol of making a phone call.

"Dad," Jack did his best to whisper.

Shit! They were right. And this time, I was pretty sure Liam couldn't really help. So, gently easing Aspen back, I gave her a quick kiss and pulled away.

"Give me just a second, ok? I'm not leaving. I just need to get my phone real fast."

"What? Why?" she asked.

I didn't bother answering. Instead, I ran - or as close as I could get in our suite - into my room. My phone was in my coat pocket. That was on the desk. Pulling it out, I unlocked the thing and was swiping through my very short list of contacts as I hurried back. Finding what I wanted, I called, holding the thing up to my ear even as I knelt down before Aspen again.

"Rain?" Bracken answered.

"Zez, I have a pixie problem," I told him. "Can you come to Aspen's room?"