Page 71 of Pixie Problems

"Students will spread rumors. If you don't want them to gain traction, don't worry about them."

"You mean about the jevadu?" I asked.

"I mean about Torian Hunt being different," she told me. "And we all know he's different. He makes sure of it. So this? It's the price he's paying for showing off."

"But even if he is one - " I tried.

Tag held up a hand. "Rain, you know how cliques work, right?"

"Yeah," I mumbled.

"Well, the fae have them too. Winter magic users aren't popular. No matter how much Ivy Rhodes tries to maintain equality of the seasons, the students here have learned from their parents, and those kids tell their friends, and the mereideaof being better than someone else is a dream these kids latch onto. Now, they use it like a weapon, because if Summer is better, then they have a chance at being one of those betters."

"Oh." Ok, that sorta made sense. It also sounded pretty sad. "Because most of us were fosters, right?"

"Exactly," Tag agreed. "Kids who have been shit on their whole lives could wake up and find they are a faerie princess. Or maybe a duchess. Baroness? Whatever they're dreaming of, it sounds a lot better than just being the cleaning girl's bastard child, right? But here's the thing. On Faerie, from what I understand, they don't work like that. This whole concept comes from our fairytales - the kind from the Brothers Grimm and Disney. Those things. The ones where it all works out happily in the end."

"Yeah, but hasn't it?" I asked.

She rocked her head from side to side. "Depends on what makes you happy.Most of these kids didnotget adopted. Sure, they got a hand up, and yes, the fae communities will help them, but all of it comes with strings. So if they can convince themselves the one kid who has far too much magic is a monster..."

"But wildlings aren't monsters!" I insisted.

"Aren't they?" she countered. "Jack gave his magic to you, and look at what you can do with it already. What if Jack, with all his years of experience, still had control of it? What about a troll? A dragon? What would you call those things?"

"People," I insisted, knowing I was wrong but refusing to back down.

Tag just chuckled softly. "Keep thinking that way, Rain. That's exactly the sort of mentality you should have as the Morrigan. Oh, and how's the sword?"

I groaned. "Heavy, but I'm getting used to it. And I like how it swings. Good balance."

She beamed. "Good. Go show Bracken what you've learned with it. And yes, I'll keep the wildling hate out of the Forge, ok?"

"Thanks, Master Tag!" I said as I turned for the door.

But that had taken some time, which meant I had to hurry to get to class. Unfortunately, I still didn't know where Jack was. "Outside" was a big place, and knowing my bird...

I was barely past the first cedar tree when I found him. What shocked me enough to make me stop hard was the guy leaning against a bare trunk only a few feet away, tossing something at him. It was Hawke, and it sure looked like he'd been out here a while.

"Hawke?" I asked. "Jack?"

"Jack-court!" the bird replied.

Hawke rolled his eyes. "I'm not giving you bread because you're on the court, man."

"So why are you?" I asked.

Hawke lifted his eyes, trapping me with that warm amber color. "We were just waiting for you." His expression looked almost guilty.

"Mhm..." Yeah, something was up. "Hawke, can you tell a lie?"

"No, ma'am," he replied, making it overly formal.

"Ok, that doesn't really work," I realized, "because if you could..."

"And that's the catch," he agreed. "But the truth is I was waiting for you, and I think Jack knows where we are, because he found me. Now he's sharing my snack."

That snack looked to be a roll, or what was left of a hamburger bun.Probably not a burger, though, since the fae were all vegan. It didn't matter. Jack loved bread, even if it wasn't great for him.