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Chapter Fifteen

RAIN

M issing the end of the New Year's Eve party sucked, but not as much as I'd expected.

Aspen was waiting in our suite when I got back.

She then took me around to the boys' side to hang out with the guys - including Keir.

Yeah, something was off with them, but no one was talking about it, so I did my best to ignore it.

Then it was back to training with my zez.

Bracken had our sessions scheduled for the evening, right around when I'd do them during class.

That made it easy on New Year's Day, since I was able to sleep in.

The next few days, however, he pushed me hard, letting me know it was partly to make sure I didn't lose control of my temper again - and thus my shadows.

Oddly, it was nice. Bracken never got angry if I was frustrated. He didn't yell at me for lashing out. Instead, he showed me other ways to control my emotions, such as movement. Discussion was his favorite method, though - even if it was harder for me.

I'd never really had anyone who wanted to actually listen to me before.

Now I had two! More if I counted my friends, but that was different.

I talked about different things with them than I did with my dads.

But those last few days of winter break passed too fast, and all too soon we were back at school.

On Monday morning, I headed downstairs out of habit, but when I reached the first floor, Jack started cawing.

Belatedly, I remembered I was supposed to go to the Never, not to my English class.

So, turning around, I followed a cluster of older students through the heavy wooden door and made my way down.

Ivy Rhodes stood calmly beside the bottom of the stairs. The college-aged kids around me all smiled or nodded at her in greeting, but when she saw me, the headmistress stepped into the flow of bodies, gesturing to a side hall.

"I have a room down here we can use," she explained.

And while that was great, I couldn't help but notice all the people looking at me. I wanted to say "us," but those eyes were just on me. Ms. Rhodes wasn't a big deal. From the whispers around me, it seemed I was.

Thankfully, the room she directed me to was small. It looked more like an office, or maybe even smaller. There was a table for four in the middle, but the walls were what shocked me the most. Made of packed dirt, the tree's roots were visible - and dense.

"Have a seat, Rain," Ms. Rhodes said.

"Uh, ok?" I was so lost right now.

Still, I claimed a space facing the door. She took the chair with its back to it, right across from me. Dropping my bag by my chair, I reached up for Jack, but he leaned closer, pressing into my neck. Clearly, he didn't want to move.

"Ok," I said. "So what's first?"

Ms. Rhodes plopped her pristine elbows down on the table, then leaned in. "First, we talk." She offered me a reassuring smile. "Rain, tell me about this shadow of yours?"

"Uh, the mist ones, or the silhouette one?"

"The silhouette," she said.

I grunted, trying to think of what to say. "I mean, it just 'wakes up' sometimes. I don't know what else to call it, and I can't feel it or anything, so I don't know how long it's been doing it."

"Morrigan," Jack declared.

"It's her power?" Ms. Rhodes asked.

Caw! Jack replied, ruffling his feathers.

"That means neither yes nor no," I explained.

Ms. Rhodes slowly nodded her head. "So it's a power, but not necessarily hers?" she tried next.

"Jack!" He proclaimed. "Morrigan. Jack-Morrigan. Jack-Rain-Morrigan!"

"So it's a shared power?" she guessed .

The bird shook his head at that. "Morrigan!" He hopped in place on my shoulder. "Rain-Morrigan! Rain, Rain, Rain!"

"It's not Rain's power as a Morrigan, but maybe it's a power she can control because she's the Morrigan?" From the way she said that, Ms. Rhodes was guessing.

But it made Jack nod. "Rain-Morrigan!" he agreed.

"But it's not a Morrigan power?" Ms. Rhodes pressed.

Jack twisted his head. "Jack-Rain-Morrigan." This time it was more like he was grumbling.

"Does it have something to do with you, me, and this thing I am?" I asked, trying to help.

"Jack!" he cawed excitedly before slinging his beak up and down in a very enthusiastic nod.

"Wild magic?" Ms. Rhodes tried next.

Again, Jack nodded.

"Ok," she mused, "so what would use Wild magic, but not... Is it a wildling?"

Jack shook his head.

"But it's Wild magic?" I asked.

"Morrigan!" he cried before nodding at both me, then Ms. Rhodes.

"Wait," she begged. "Her shadow is moving because of Wild magic?"

That earned another twist of his head.

"This," I told her, "is what I've been dealing with. He can't really tell me what I need to know, so I don't know how to control this stuff. I mean, it's not like I called it on New Year's Eve. It just came out when Torian pissed me off."

Which made Ms. Rhodes pause. "Jack, is her shadow an embodiment of Wild magic?"

The bird nodded.

"And that's it?" she asked. "Not a power you gave her, but one the magic has created on its own?"

Caw! he agreed, nodding again.

"Can Rain control it?" she pressed.

Jack nodded one more time, but not as enthusiastically.

"So it does have its own opinions?"

Another nod.

"And it listens to her, but does it have to?"

Jack hunched lower, his entire body sinking as he pondered that. Then, finally, he twisted his head.

"Do you know?" Ms. Rhodes tried next.

Jack shook his head, looking almost ashamed.

"Well, ok then," Ms. Rhodes decided. "But it sounds like the thing listens to you, Rain.

So for now, we'll try that. As for your shadows, it seems they operate with a mechanism similar to my own Summer magic.

You can unleash it, but the more focused you are on the result, the more exact the effect will be. "

"How do I do that?" I asked.

She lifted a hand. "That's what we'll learn in here this semester."

"What about my Literature grade?"

"We'll discuss those books while you work," she added with a smile.

"Rain, I've seen your transcripts. You enjoy reading, and you've always done well in your English classes.

I feel confident that if I assign the books to you and discuss the concepts in each, you'll gain the knowledge that class is for.

I also won't test you on it, but I think I can give you the same grade you got last semester. Is that fair?"

"Uh-huh," I quickly agreed. Because a free grade? Hell yeah, that was more than fair!

"But there's a catch," she informed me. "In exchange for giving you an easy B, I expect this class to cover much more than the mechanics of magic."

"Like what?"

"Like how you're dealing with your new family," she explained. "How things are going with the person you're dating. The complications with those guys who follow you and your suitemate around. Then there's the part about how your shadow has eyes."

"Yeah," I mumbled. "I mean, the eyes are weird, and the rest is complicated. See, I know they have things they can't talk about. But the hardest part seems to be someone acting like a self-absorbed jerk."

"Torian?" Ms. Rhodes guessed.

I nodded.

The look on her face was hard to decipher, but confusion and surprise seemed closest. "Does this have anything to do with you kissing Keir?"

"Look, I don't want to get anyone in trouble," I told her. "They're my friends, and a lot of the stuff we talk about is kinda personal. I also know you can taste lies because you're a pure fae, and people say you're like five hundred years old, so I've probably already messed up, and - "

"Five eighty-six," she broke in.

"What?" I gasped .

"I'm five hundred and eighty-six years old," she clarified. "Yes, I was the General of the Summer Army. Yes, I have met the Mad Queen, both before and when she went mad. I fought beside Joan le Fae, bowed to the Crow King, and fought beside the trolls. Your grandfather, I believe, was there, Jack."

He shook his head. "Jack!"

"Great-grandfather?" she tried.

That made him sling his beak up and down.

"One of the greatest of the wildlings," Ms. Rhodes went on. "And Rain, I do know everything that happens in my school."

"Yours?" I asked, catching that part.

Ms. Rhodes smiled proudly. "Mine. When the Queen went mad, I collected every jewel, golden trinket, and valuable thing I could carry and left Faerie - which included as many people as I could bring with me.

Then I used those to start Silver Oaks Institute.

I refused to turn my sword on my own people, and for me, that would've been a death sentence. "

"So you don't hate the Winter Court?" Because I'd been warned some did.

Ms. Rhodes chuckled. "Child, my wife was Winter.

My son is Winter. His daughter is as Summer as I am.

" Then she leaned back, her face becoming smooth and stoic.

"My wife was also killed in the first raid of the Winter Court.

" She paused, the tip of her tongue sliding across her lower lip. "That was the day we left."

"We?" I asked.

"My family," she clarified. "My son runs the school in Europe. My granddaughter runs the one in Africa. You see, there are multiple gates to this world, and each one has a school beside it. We set it up that way."

"Oh." Ok, that was a lot to take in. "But why schools?" I asked.

"Because children are the one thing all fae prize."

"'Cept the Mad Queen," I countered.

"Hence why she's called mad," Ms. Rhodes explained. "But I'm curious who explained the courts to you. Bracken?"

"Kinda everyone," I admitted. "I've been trying to figure it all out, and Liam said not understanding the people around me could be dangerous."

"And so you fell in with the court," she chuckled. "I expected the jesters to claim you, actually, since they all have mixed heritage."

"Yeah, but Aspen said I'm a pureblood." I shrugged, trying to show it didn't matter to me. "And Keir says the faelings hate that they're part human because it means weaker. So me being human means I'm lesser in their eyes."

"More true than you know," she admitted. "So how did Keir end up helping you?"

"He's in my gym classes." Again, I shrugged. It seemed to be my best move today. "Bracken made him help me catch up, and he kinda explained Aspen to me."

"But you were kissing him the other night," she pointed out.

"Um..." I groaned. "Supposedly, fae can't lie, right?"

"Correct. At least, we cannot use words or phrases that are not true. We can, however, deceive with the truth, and most of us are very good at it. Why?"

"Because I've been told it's ok to date a few people at the same time, and that it's a fae thing, and that there are pleasures of the heart, the mind, and the body, so it's completely normal."

"For those from Faerie," she clarified. "On Earth, we find ourselves living with monogamy so we don't stand out." She canted her head as if that was inconsequential. "But how does Aspen feel about you kissing Keir?"

"She said she likes him. They've gotten to be friends."

Ms. Rhodes narrowed her eyes. "And Torian doesn't approve?"

"Torian's a dick," I shot back before sucking in a breath. "Uh, I'm sorry. A jerk. I meant he's a jerk."

"And there's another rule for this hour," she said. "In here, I will not limit your colorful language, and you will not spread my secrets. Is that a deal?"

I nodded quickly. "I'll try not to, but what if I slip up and say something to Aspen or Keir? Or my dads!"

"They all know my secrets," she assured me. "I simply do not want the entire school talking about my Winter Court family, or other topics that could weaken their respect."

"Oh." I nodded quickly. "Makes sense, but if someone needs to know, I'll have to tell them. I mean, that's what this Morrigan gig is all about, right? I'm supposed to protect the fae?"

"Yes, that's exactly what it's about," she assured me. "I will also accept your changes. That makes our deal final."

And the air shimmered with the magic that now bound us. I looked around, trying to see it, but this was the sort of thing which was only felt. Like a ripple of wind across my skin or something, but completely invisible .

"Can I do that?" I asked.

"You will before this semester ends," she said. "Now, how about we start with the most important thing. Rain, what does Keir do that makes the shadows fade?"

"He reminds me to let them go," I explained. "Like, he talks me through what to focus on, or he distracts me. I mean, he kinda kissed me when the atrium filled up, so I forgot about being pissed at Torian, and that made them stop pouring out and start fading."

Slowly, Ms. Rhodes nodded. "Well, let's start there. Can you call the shadows on command yet?"

"No," I mumbled. "They just sorta happen."

"So let's make them happen." And she began describing my very first magic lesson: calling my own magic.

Needless to say, I sucked at it.