Page 163 of Pixie Problems

He immediately looked at Aspen. "I'm good."

"All of you," Ms. Rhodes said. "To whichever room you want. Because you helped with the Hunt, I'm waiving your curfew." Then she sighed. "We'll be canceling classes momentarily. Just be in a room when the staff comes around for a head count."

"Rain, grab his other side," Aspen ordered. "Tor, you need to sit down."

I stepped forward. "Let me help, Torian?"

"I'mfine," the boy grumbled.

Rain and Aspen didn't seem to care. Each girl wrapped an arm around his waist, supporting him whether he liked it or not. When Torian wrapped an arm around Rain's shoulders, Jack rattled and took off, buthe didn't go far. Surprisingly, the crow came straight for me, landing on my shoulder the way he usually did with Rain.

"Court!" he announced.

"Yeah, whatever," Torian said. "C'mon, Keir. Guess I'm outnumbered."

"Man, I haven't done shit to you," I told him - but I did follow.

Luckily, we didn't even make it to the stairwell before the emergency lights went out and the elevators reactivated. Aspen immediately pressed the call button, opening the doors, and the four of us piled on. At the top, we passed Torian's room, aiming for the third one down.

There, Torian pulled away to open the door without knocking. "I have Keir and the girls," he announced.

"We were watching," Wilder called from the opposite suite.

A moment later, both he and Hawke came in through the bathroom, the six of us swarming the open space of Hawke's room. Hawke didn't hesitate.

"Torian, sit," he said, grabbing the boy by the shoulders and driving him towards the bed. "Rain, you get the chair."

"Floor's good," she announced, lowering herself down by the wall, then leaning on it.

"Rain, court," Jack said, scanning the area.

"I got you, man," Hawke said, pulling out a practice stick.

He balanced that between two shelves in the corner, making a diagonal "perch" of sorts between them. With a happy caw, Jack left me without a second thought, landing on the bar and only rocking slightly. Once it settled into place, the bird fluffed his feathers, shifted his feet, and then squatted down like he was ready for a nap.

But there was one thing missing. "Rain?" I asked. "Where's your shadow?"

"Hunt," Jack mumbled.

"The Hunt took it?" she asked.

The bird shook his head. "Morrigan. Hunt-Shadow-Morrigan. Shadow-Rain. Court."

Hawke laughed once. "Wild guess here, but your shadow is part of your power, it chased off the Hunt because of that, but it will come back soon enough. You're supposed to stay here and hang with us?" He looked at the bird for confirmation.

"Court-Rain!" Jack agreed, nodding to prove it was either right, or at least close enough.

"Hey, Tor," I said. "How'd you know to shield the wards?"

"It's Torian," he countered.

I just lifted my hands, holding off his temper. "Sorry. Question still stands, though."

"I was trained on those wards," he explained. "It's also easier for one person to do an enchantment than three - or however many Ms. Rhodes uses.Ican repair them, Keir, and that asshole was trying to drain them."

"Can I do that?" Rain asked.

"What?" Wilder gasped. "Why would you want to?"