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Chapter Four

RAIN

W hen we got back to Silver Oaks, the place was a ghost town.

Everyone who could go home for the winter holidays was long gone.

That was just a bit less than half the school.

Those who couldn't leave had been spending time in the lounge areas for their floor.

Winter weather made even the atrium a little too cool to be comfortable. That worked out for me, though.

Loaded down with at least a dozen bags of clothes and stuff I'd bought myself, my arms were burning before I made it to the elevator on the girls' side of the dorms. Beneath me, my shadow was once again normal.

Behind me, Liam had even more bags from the purchases he'd made.

When I'd used up one whole gift card, Liam had taken over, but he was loving it.

I now had an entire wardrobe suitable for "his daughter," he said.

Together, we rode up the elevator to the fourth floor, but the moment we stepped off, we were busted.

A snorted laugh came from the wrong direction, making me look over in time to see Ms. Rhodes closing the door to her own apartment.

When my eyes landed on her, she turned to me and held her arms out.

"Please tell me there's no iron in there?" she asked.

"Just clothes," I assured her. "Dad decided my closet was embarrassing."

"Oh, we're to the 'Dad' stage already?" she teased, looking over at Liam to make it clear who that was pointed at.

"I do not need your help, Ivy," he grumbled .

She took a few bags from my arms. "Then I am not helping you. Lead on, Rain." After flashing me a smile, she fell back beside Liam - but didn't offer to help with any of his bags. "So, it's been sorted?"

"Brack sent me a text saying it's official. Paperwork should arrive in the next few weeks," he assured her.

"Congratulations," Ms. Rhodes beamed, and she sounded completely sincere.

"But I wanted to talk to you about a few things," Liam said, keeping his voice down. I was eavesdropping shamelessly. "Brack and I were thinking about moving back to one of the cottages at the end of the year. Also, it seems Rain's shadow has opinions."

"Opinions?" Ms. Rhodes asked.

"It pantomimes things, and not the things Rain is doing. Almost like it's got a mind and personality of its own. Is that a Morrigan thing?"

Ms. Rhodes blew out a heavy breath. "Possibly. Every Morrigan is different. Their magic manifests based on the person chosen, the king who gives them the power, and - "

"Which king?" I broke in.

Ms. Rhodes turned to give me her attention. "The Crow King. In this case, the Crow Prince."

"Jack," I realized.

"Jack," she agreed.

"So, having my shadow just run around on its own, trying to strangle my foster mom, is normal?" I asked, hoping she'd reassure me this was all part of my new magical deal.

But Ivy's mouth opened and nothing came out. She murmured, almost like she wanted to start over, but she hadn't answered at all yet. Naturally, that was when we reached my door.

"I think we're going to need to start your training sooner rather than later," she said instead. "Rain, I do not know what abilities you will have. Only Jack does."

"And he can't exactly tell us," I grumbled.

"But he can give us clues," she countered. "Together, we will figure this out, ok? It's not something for you to worry about."

"And the cottage?" Liam pressed.

"Mm," Ms. Rhodes murmured while I unlocked my dorm room. "Well, my concern is having a respected adult on the fourth floor. Mr. Meadows refuses to chaperone their floor. Mr. Tanner's a possibility."

"I just want to make sure Rain has a home," Liam explained .

"I like having you in the dorms," I said, cringing when I realized I'd just interrupted a talk I probably wasn't supposed to be listening to.

But Ms. Rhodes chuckled like she wasn't surprised at all. "I may have a better idea," she assured Liam just as I swung my door open. "We'll talk later?"

"Definitely," Liam agreed.

The word was barely out of his mouth before a streak of black rushed out screaming, "Rain! Jack-Rain. Rain-Rain. Rain-Dad!"

"What did he say?" Liam asked.

Aspen's laugh came from inside somewhere. "Jack learned how to say dad today, Liam." Then she sucked in a breath, seeing me through the open bathroom door. "Did you buy the whole store? I thought you were going to talk to your fosters!"

"We did that," Liam said as he gestured for Ms. Rhodes to put her half down on the desk right inside my door. "Then we went shopping. Now we're back." And he smiled at Aspen proudly, as if she'd done something impressive.

I kept walking until I reached my bed. There, I let the bags slide off my arms. "Did I miss something?"

"Nope," Liam said, sounding like I definitely had.

Ms. Rhodes chuckled softly, then looked at Liam and tipped her head back towards the hall. "If you're done, can I borrow you for a moment?"

"Sure," he agreed. "Don't forget you're meeting Bracken in the gym at five, Rain."

"Bye, Dad," I called after him, making sure I got used to this new dynamic.

The pair was barely through the door before Jack landed on the headboard of my bed and started making a ruckus. It was a mess of crow clicks and yammering sounds, but he was clearly demanding my attention. Gesturing for Aspen to close my door, I headed to the bird and sat beside him.

"It was a few hours, Jack," I explained. "I'm also sure Aspen talked to you, and she probably gave you plenty of food, so what's your problem?"

"He slept," Aspen said as she made her way over to give me a kiss. "But we're both excited that you got a family. Sounds like it's all official now, huh?"

"Yeah, Bracken sent Liam a message just as we left the restaurant. Waiting for the paperwork, but it seems I'm officially Lorraine Brooks le Fae. The Morrigan title is my legal last name now."

"And is that a good thing?" Aspen asked.

Caw!

I laughed at both of them, then flopped onto my back. "It's a great thing. I just have no idea what a Morrigan is. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I think it kicks ass that I'm magic, but from what I understand, it's Jack's magic, not mine, right?"

"Rain!" Jack croaked. "Rain. Rain. Rain!"

"Which," Aspen said, "makes me think it's your magic."

Jack flung his beak up and down in the avian version of a yes.

"But I'm just a human," I reminded her. "I don't really get how all of this works." I groaned. "Never mind the shadows!" And I told her all about the weirdness that had happened while we were out.

Jack clicked and grumbled through the story.

Aspen listened; her pale eyes locked on me intently.

When I mentioned Nancy being strangled, she giggled.

When I told her about the shadow's idea for a dad-name for Bracken, she nodded.

Jack just chattered, more like he was trying to interrupt than anything.

"You need more words, Jack," I told him. "I still don't speak crow, so you're not really helping."

Aspen pointed to the ring on the first finger of my left hand.

"What I do know is that's an enchantment linking you to Jack.

Well, we think it is. Torian and I have been talking about this.

Anyway, the ring Jack gave you ties the two of you together.

Jack is a wildling, and a strong one. So, he gives up the ability to create obvious magic in exchange for you being able to manipulate it instead. But Wild magic is a little weird."

"Weird how?" I asked, latching on to that part.

Pulling her legs under her, she turned to face me, smiling down at where I lay. "My magic is Winter magic. So, right now I'm kinda at the peak of my power. The world makes it, and I can use it. In the summer, that season's magic gets stronger. Torian can use it, so you'll see his - "

"But I saw him use Winter magic on the Solstice," I pointed out.

She stuttered a few sounds, then just sighed.

"Yes. We have the same father, so it makes his magic complicated.

My point is that when it's summer, that power will come from the world as the trees wake up, the grass grows, and all of that.

Winter works in reverse. Other than how we get it, it's all pretty much the same, right? "

I was nodding. "As far as I can tell, yeah. Except you tend to do more ice magic, and he kinda does whatever he wants."

"Because he's learned more," she explained.

"But Wild magic is special. It's from them.

They're the 'world' that makes it. Wildlings are the monsters, animals, and plants.

They're the makers, not the users. Well, mostly.

Basically. Kinda?" She waved that off. "The Crow King, however, is the mediator.

I'm going to guess that since Jack's taking lead on this, the Crow King is still in Faerie? " She looked up at the bird.

He nodded again. "Jack! Morrigan-Jack."

I sucked in a breath. "Oh! Because your dad - I'm guessing the Crow King is your dad?" He nodded again, so I kept going. "He can't help, and as the next in line, it falls on you to deal with the mess the fae are making?"

Jack nodded, paused, and then shook his head. Yeah, this yes-no thing was going to get old pretty fast.

"Ok," I tried. "So are you the next in line?"

Jack shook his head.

"But it falls on you to sort things out?"

This time, he nodded. "Jack! Rain. Morrigan. Jack-Rain. Jack-Morrigan."

"That's the price of fae nobility," Aspen explained. "With great power comes great responsibility. The magic makes sure of it."

Caw! Jack crowed, bobbing his head emphatically.

"Are you a real prince, then?" I asked. "I don't mean power. I mean recognized. If the gates were open, would you then become an official prince?"

The bird actually sighed, then shook his head.

"A bastard prince," Aspen said gently. "Welcome to the club of outcasts, Jack. As far as I care, that makes you even better. Means you fit in with the rest of us."

"Jack!" he agreed, fluttering off the headboard to land right between us.