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Chapter Thirty-Six

RAIN

W hen 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?"

"When?" he asked.

"Now's good. Yep, now. "

There was a soft chuckle on his end, but the kind which sounded like he was pushing away worry. "I'm on my way. Give me three minutes."

"Rain?" Aspen asked as I lowered the phone.

"Look," I said, dimming the screen and pushing the phone away, "whatever you're trying to do isn't working. I don't know if it's Torian, trauma, or something else, but you can't do this on your own, Aspen."

Her eyes jumped between mine, focusing first on one side, then the other. "Rain, I'm not supposed to talk about it."

"With Bracken?" I huffed. "If not him, then who?"

"Torian says - "

I cut her off right there. "Torian thinks he's unstoppable, but you know what? He isn't! I could stop him. Keir can stop him. I'm sure the whole school ganging up together probably could as well. And sure, he's all big and badass, right? But he's not, Aspen. He's faking it!"

"No, he's - "

I leaned closer and lifted my brow, waiting for her to finish that.

When the silence stretched on too long, I shifted my tone, making it gentle.

"Aspen, I know you love your brother. I get it, but his pride means he can't ask for help.

Not won't. Not doesn't want to. Torian either doesn't know how or doesn't know he can - otherwise I would've been helping you with this! "

Her teeth found her lower lip and her eyes hit the ground. "Rain, it's just..." She made a face. "Stupid promises!"

"Hey," I breathed. "It's ok. If you need me to leave, I get it. From the sounds of it, Fae words are some fucked-up shit, huh?"

That earned me the flicker of a smile. "Yeah, kinda. I mean, promises are magical, and breaking one? It's not fun. Think of it like pushing through a mountain or bleeding yourself dry."

"And you promised not to tell me about this," I realized.

"Anyone," she clarified. "Wilder and Hawke already knew, so I can talk to them, but we can't tell anyone else."

"Not even your own uncle?"

Her head twitched slightly. "Oh. He knows."

"So talk to him, Aspen. Figure out what you need for help, and let my zez help, ok? I dunno, maybe even get Torian some help too? You know, before he drags you into whatever hole he's sliding into?"

"It's complicated," she tried just as someone tapped at the door.

"Aspen?" Bracken called through the wood.

"Zez!" I replied, scrambling to my feet to let him in .

But he heard me. Something zinged, the latch clicked, and the door opened before I could reach it. Bracken surged in from the hall, pausing long enough to look around. His eyes naturally went to all the plants in the room.

"Aspen?" he asked gently, heading towards her. "You ok?"

"I can't hold it all," she mumbled, sounding ashamed. "There's just too much!"

"I know," he soothed, bending down to feel her forehead like a parent checking for a fever. "Do we need more pots?"

"She gave some magic to me," I said, aware Bracken's attention was locked on Aspen.

The man paused, slowly looking back at me. "What?"

"Ms. Rhodes said I convert fae magic to Wild magic." I shrugged. "So if Aspen's going to explode, I mean..."

"She's not going to explode," he assured me before looking back to her. "But tell me what happened?"

She shook her head. "Can't."

"Zez, she's been spending all her time with Torian, and he's not letting her even spend the nights here.

I've barely seen Aspen in two weeks! Not even at lunch.

I mean, not really. And she keeps having too much magic, because this is the second time, and she's been coming here to leave plants, but never here when I'm home, almost like that prick won't let her see me! "

"Torian doesn't like Rain?" Bracken asked.

"No!" Aspen hurried to say. "It's not that! It's just - " And her mouth hung. Her lips were open, but not a single sound came out.

"Going!" I announced, knowing magic when I saw it.

"Dad!" Jack grumbled. "Dad-Rain." But he followed after me.

As I left, I closed the door between Aspen's room and the bathroom. Then I closed the one on my side as well. What I didn't do was stop - until I reached my bed. There, I fell down face-first with a groan.

My entire body felt like it was vibrating with some kind of panic. My fucking fingers were trembling, never mind the way my heart was pounding. I simply wasn't sure if my little freakout was because of how I'd found Aspen, or if the magic was doing something to me.

"Jack, am I ok?" I asked.

He fluttered over to the bed, then nodded. "Morrigan."

"But is this what I'm supposed to be doing as the Morrigan?" I asked. "I mean, is it breaking my magic somehow? Or is it my purpose?"

He shook his head. "Rain. "

"What does that mean?" I groaned, rolling onto my back. "Ugh, you need more words."

So the damned crow hopped onto my chest so he could stare down in my face. "Jack. Rain. Dad. Court. Jack-Rain, Morrigan. Morrigan-Court, Rain." Then he twisted his head.

"I was with you until that last part," I admitted. "There's you, me, my dads, and my friends."

He shook his head like I was wrong. "Jack."

"You."

"Rain."

"Me," I huffed, because that was obvious.

"Dad."

"Bracken?" I waited for a nod. "Liam too?" That got another nod.

"Court!"

"Aspen, Torian, Hawke, Wilder, and Keir."

But Jack shook his head. "Court!'

"I don't understand!" I insisted.

Chattering like a grumble, Jack hopped off me so he could pace the length of the bed.

Giving in, he flew to my shelves and grabbed a piece of paper.

Carefully, checking to make sure I was watching, he tugged on it, pulling it half off the shelf.

When he pulled too far, it tipped, so he stood on the shelf side, holding it half on and half off.

"Morrigan!"

"Balance?" I guessed, because the Morrigan was supposed to bring balance to magic or some shit.

Jack nodded. "Morrigan-Court."

"I'm supposed to balance the court?" I guessed.

Caw ! The bird flew back to the bed just so he could nod right in my face.

"Ok, that's great and all," I told him, but stopped when the door to the bathroom cracked open with a simultaneous tap.

"Rain?" Bracken asked.

"Yeah? Come in!"

He opened the door the rest of the way, paused to look around - likely at the crazy amount of plants - then closed the door behind him. Letting out a heavy sigh, he paused to rub at the bridge of his nose with one hand before crossing the room.

"How many plants are in here? "

"Uh, a lot?" Was that bad?

When Bracken sighed again, I had a feeling it was. "So she's been doing this awhile?"

"I don't even know what this is!"

He lifted a hand, begging me to wait. "Aspen's guardian taught her to push any excess magic into plants." To make his point, he looked around the room again. "How long, Rain?"

"Since the Hunt," I admitted.

"Hunt-Court," Jack said morosely.

"Clearly," my zez agreed. Then he pulled in a massive breath. "Rain, she can't keep doing this. There's only so many places these plants can grow without dying, and we shouldn't put too many more outside. They might spread, and they aren't native here."

"So is it bad if I said she pushed power into me?" I wrinkled up my nose, giving him my best "cute face."

Yet my words made him twitch, looking at me in a whole new way. "How much?"

"Morrigan," Jack answered for me.

I grunted, aware Bracken wouldn't understand that any better than I did. "I think a lot."

"Can you take it?" he asked.

Caw ! Jack told him.

I ignored the bird. "Ms. Rhodes said her magic becomes mine, so that means I should, right? Like, I'm just converting it to Wild magic?"

"And yet you have a limit too," he pointed out.

That was news to me, but sure. It made sense. "What kind of limit?" I asked.

Caw ! Jack said again, louder this time.

"It's up to each person," Bracken told me. "And it's not easy to measure. That's why we tend to use vague terms like 'a lot' or 'not much.'"

"Yeah, but I was fine with the amount Aspen gave me," I assured him, but Jack immediately shook his head. I went on, "I mean, the first time, I think it's when I finally figured out the whole level thing Ms. Rhodes keeps talking about. You know, like full or empty."

"And this time?" Bracken pressed. "Rain, I'm not going to trade Aspen being a magical bomb for you being one!"

"Shadow!" Jack cawed loudly, sounding like he was struggling to make it happen .

Immediately, both Bracken and I turned to look at him. The bird slung his beak up and down in a yes, then hopped in place. The damned thing looked proud of himself, and he should be - because that was a new word.

"What?" Bracken asked him.

"Shadow!" Jack said again. "Rain-Shadow. Morrigan. Shadow!"

"What does that mean , Jack?" I insisted.

"Shadow!" the bird said, hopping off the bed and onto the floor. There, he pecked at the ground, right where my body blocked the light. "Shadow, shadow, shadow."

"But it doesn't listen to me," I countered, because he was clearly talking about my shadow.

"Shadow," Jack grumbled, pecking the thing's forehead.

The darkness on the floor swatted at the bird's form. This time, it was two-dimensional, yet I knew that could change. It also gave me an idea of what Jack was talking about.

"Are you saying my special shadow can help me with magic?"

So Jack hopped right on the thing's face. "Shadow, shadow, shadow, shadow!"

"They talk?" Bracken asked.

"Pretty sure they don't," I assured him. "My shadow kinda does its own thing. I mean, it usually helps, but it's clearly fae."

But while I was speaking, my shadow reached to its own chest and held its hand there for a moment.

By the time I was done talking, a small wisp of dark smoke was curling up.

It was like the trail of smoke from a cigarette in an ashtray, swirling more the higher it got, and then dissipating to leave nothing.

"Shadow!" Jack insisted.

"Wait," Bracken begged. "Jack, are you saying her shadow is like an outlet? Rain can't hold too much because her shadow will release the excess?"

Jack twisted his head and ruffled his feathers, but settled on nodding after all that. "Jack."

"Gonna take that as a yes," I told my zez.

"Same," he agreed, but he didn't take his eyes off Jack. "So if Aspen needs to dump more power, will it hurt Rain?"

That got a definitive shake of his head. "Jack!"

"Is this how we should keep Aspen stable so she can regain her control?" Zez asked next.

Jack nodded this time. "Morrigan. Shadow! "

"Yeah, to me that sounds like a yes," Bracken said. "Rain? Are you ok with that? Aspen can use her plants if you aren't around, but since you have a phone, I can only assume there won't be a long wait."

"So she can stay here again?" I sat up, excited at the thought. "Yes! Of course I'll help her. I mean, I would've this whole time!"

"And we didn't know you could without complications," he explained. "But Jack seems to think you've got this." So he turned back to look at the door leading into the bathroom. "Aspen?"

"Yeah?" she replied from her room, yet the thundering of feet assured me she was coming closer. A moment later, she peeked her head through the door. "Is she ok?"

"I'm fine!" I promised.

"She's fine," Bracken agreed. "Jack also says she can take anything you have to give."

"Shadow!" Jack agreed, nodding again.

Aspen hurried over to kneel on the ground beside him. "You have a new wor-" She paused, seeing the tendril of darkness still wafting up from the floor. "Rain?"

"My shadow," I explained. "Jack acts like it's a release valve."

"Shadow," Jack agreed.

"So." Bracken reached over to rub Aspen's shoulder. "Sounds to me like we've got this handled. Well, except for one little thing. Aspen, you can't keep all of these in here."

"I like them!" I shot back.

"And there are more than the pair of you need," he chided. "Pick a few. Five for each of you. I'll even agree that two little ones is the same as one big one. So five big ones. The rest need to go to the atrium."

Aspen groaned. "We gotta carry them down?"

"Gate," he told her. "I know you can. You know you can. Rain will think it's sexy, and you need to burn some power."

"Ms. Rhodes won't be happy if I get caught," Aspen countered.

"So we don't get caught," I assured her.

Bracken laughed once. "How about I take the blame this time, girls? To the atrium only, Aspen. I'll tell Ivy, and I'll leave a note approving it. If any other teacher has a problem, you let them see it. Think it will work?"

"Yes!" Aspen gasped.

"And I can carry plants," I said, because to me, this all sounded like maybe I could get Aspen back.

Probably not always, and it sounded like she still was working to be ok, but she was here. I'd missed her so much I would do anything to see her again. Besides, lifting some of these plants would definitely count as strength training, because my girlfriend didn't only grow tiny ones.