Page 243 of Pixie Problems

"There is no princess here, Huntsman. I am eighteen, and that makes me an adult! That makes me theQueenof Winter, and I order you to leave!"

"That crown has been claimed."

"That crown wasstolen!" Aspen shrieked.

Torian pushed, scrambling unnoticed through the hunters. Not a singleone even looked at him. That was how he got back to Aspen, grabbing her hand even as he turned back to face the Huntsman.

"Do it," he said softly.

And Aspen smiled.

I felt my arms growing weak. Spots were forming before my eyes, but I still saw when Aspen's lids slipped closed, her fingers tightened on her brother's hand, and everything I'd ever thought was possible changed.

Lightning flashed across a clear sky, spraying out in all directions. Hawke dove to the ground, avoiding it. Keir shoved a hunter back, then turned to grab Jack from the ground. Behind me, where I couldn't see, I heard Wilder pulling back, and then the skies opened up.

"You cannot have any of us!" Aspen screamed. "We are free. We may be fae, but we arenotsubjects of the Mad Queen!" Then she thrust her free hand toward the ground.

Lightning hit everything. Not just near us, but all across the Silver Oaks campus. The air sizzled with ozone as the electricity burned the very air it broke through. The crashes of it rolled across each other, turning into one deafening, vibrating, heart-stopping barrage.

Strike after strike slammed into the ground, the bright bolts wrapping around the hunters and yanking them up into the air. The silent grey men flailed and struggled, but when a bolt hit them, they stood no chance at all. Again, then again, then again, and just when I was sure I was about to lose consciousness, my world turned white - and hot!

Then I was falling. Another crack slammed into the ground beside me, but I was too busy trying to gasp for air to even move. Down here, I could see the stars shining in the sky, and the half moon was just cresting the trees, but the purple-white whips of power were slinging each and every hunter at Silver Oaks deep into the darkness above.

"To the kids!" Ms. Rhodes screamed, her voice so close I could've seen her if I could just turn my head that way.

Instead, I focused on rolling over, reaching an arm out towards Aspen, and croaked out, "You saved me."

The footsteps were almost to us.

Chapter Seventy-Two

RAIN

"Shit, shit, Rain!" Keir whimpered as he raced towards me.

Warmth immediately flooded my back, but little else. I turned, waving Keir off. "You can't heal me. Doesn't help. Just makes Wild magic."

"Fuck, are you ok?" he asked.

I tried to twist. "Aspen? The others?"

"I'm fine," Aspen panted, but she was now on her knees, and Torian was beside her.

Ms. Rhodes ran into our little clearing with Bracken and Tag right behind her. The woman's head snapped over, her brow creased, but she didn't waste any time with pleasantries.

"Hawke, put your wings away before someone sees!"

"Fuck," Hawke grumbled, and silvery mist drifted from his back as his wings quickly dissolved. "Sorry."

Ms. Rhodes turned again, surveying all of us. "The rest are coming." Her eyes landed on Aspen. "And we heard him. The Huntsman's voice carries."

"Magically, probably," Torian grumbled.

But Bracken didn't care about any of that. Pushing his way around the headmistress, he headed right to me. "Rain?"

Like I had with Keir, I waved him off. Unlike with Keir, I pointed tomy throat to show the problem. Bracken immediately pushed magic at me. Yeah, I could feel it, and the shadows inside me grew, but little else.

Then he knelt beside us. "Heal yourself."