Page 73

"She did from a distance," Ms. Rhodes said.

"She's also exactly the kind of person who'd bring those tactics here.

" She scanned all of our faces. "And yes, I remember when those things were something courtiers bragged about.

It was what convinced me I no longer belonged in that world.

I will not hunt my own people. I don't care if that is Summer, Winter, or Wild.

" With each type of magic listed, she looked from Torian, to Aspen, then finally at Rain. "How did Rain get the weapons, Wilder?"

"Her shadow did," he explained. "The damned thing stood up, folded on itself, and then came back and pulled their weapons from its darkness."

"That's what you called peter-panning?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, and trust me, the description does not do it justice. "

"Jack yelled at my shadow," Rain explained. "It just stood up, and before I could even reach for my magic, it was gone. I was thinking I shouldn't push shadows through Keir's shield, because they might break it, and then it was back with swords."

"On its own?" Ms Rhodes asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, it does that."

"Wait," Torian said. "Where is her shadow?"

Ms. Rhodes waved that off. "They're all gone. Not even the trees outside have shadows right now."

"Is that why it looks off?" Liam asked.

"Yes," Ms. Rhodes breathed. "I simply don't know if she used them up or sent them away. The problem is that I'm sure she doesn't either."

"I don't," Rain admitted. "I just wanted to push the Hunt as far from here as possible."

"But she's using too much magic," Torian said. "She burns through it like it's unlimited."

"She barely knows what she's doing," Ms. Rhodes countered. "We've been working on her transfer of - "

"The stone!" Rain said, sitting up. "It glowed!"

"This?" Aspen leaned back to pull the crow-shaped thing from the bedside table. "It's a rock."

"It's reuci ," Ms. Rhodes said. "It can hold Wild magic the same way crystals hold seasonal. I was hoping to charge it enough so she could create a bond with her weapons and armor."

"She was wearing shadows," Bracken pointed out.

"Hawke and me too," I told them. "The Huntsman took a swing at me and Rain's shadows just..." I made a gesture of something flying at my chest. "And it formed, encasing both of us."

"Took a full-on hit from the Huntsman with it," Hawke added. "Rain, next time we need helmets, ok?" And he pointed at the side of his face. "Pretty sure this is going to bruise, because it still hurts."

"I'll heal you later," I told him.

Hawke nodded, but Rain reached out for Ms. Rhodes' arm. "Is everyone ok? Did they get anyone this time?"

"The staff is doing a head count right now," Ms. Rhodes assured her. "Nevaeh said Lukas kept dodging, which was the only reason they hadn't been hauled off, and then you were there."

"So those three are ok?" Rain asked .

"Yes," Ms. Rhodes assured her. "And yes, you saved them, Rain. You are getting to be quite the Morrigan."

"Yeah, but I didn't do it right," she said. "It never feels like I'm doing it right! I push and pull, and it's like I'm struggling to even touch them!"

"Because they are the Hunt," Torian said. "They are seasonal sidhe wrapped in Wild magic. Your powers cannot break that. Rain, they're the same thing you are."

"So why are they killing fae?" she demanded.

Torian licked his lips. "Because they answer to the crown."

"Is that what he said?" she asked.

"It is," Torian confirmed. "The problem is there's only one crown right now."

"Ok," she muttered, thinking hard. "He also said he doesn't want Hawke. Why?"

Torian smiled. "Now that I didn't know." And he looked at his friend.

"He still smacked me off my feet!" Hawke grumbled. "Asshole."

"But he does want Aspen," Torian said. "And that is a problem."

"A big one," I agreed.

Rain just huffed. "Over my dead body."

"No," Liam said. "Rain, he will kill you. Don't even think that's a threat, because to the Wild Hunt, destroying anything in their way is the goal. They are not your battle!"

"Are you sure?" Bracken asked.

Liam looked over at Aspen. "Yeah. I am." His eyes were still on Aspen.

And the girl with skin light enough to be called "white as snow" paled a little more. Slowly, she began to shake her head. "I didn't do anything!" she insisted.

"But you are currently his target," I realized. "Harper made sure of it."

"And that stupid bitch isn't powerful enough to do this on her own," Torian pointed out. "That means her mother helped. Maybe more. There's no way Harper Valentina could've directed the entire Hunt at one person."

"They want Winter dead," Wilder said. "Aspen can't hide her power, and the more Winter fae the Hunt kills, the stronger we're all getting."

"But we got the thing," Rain insisted. "So they can't just come back, right?"

"But they will come back," Ms. Rhodes said. "The next time a storm comes, the Hunt will be here. They know there are fae here now - and they know about you. They will keep coming back until there is no one left to stop the queen's plans. "

"And even if she doesn't know about you," Bracken said, "you are the greatest threat to her domination of power. That you've stopped the Hunt twice? Three times? They will be after you, Rain."

"So what do we do?" I asked. "We can't stay inside forever. Hell, just going to the gym means going outside!"

"Jack!" he cawed.

"Not helping," Rain grumbled.

"Rain-Jack-Shadows!" Caw!

Torian murmured like that actually made sense. "We listen to the crows."

"Court!" Jack agreed. "Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack! Court-Rain-Dad-Shadow-Bitch!"

"What?!" Ms. Rhodes gasped.

"Oh," Rain said. "Um, he has a new word. He likes it a lot."

"Bitch!" Jack said again. "Bitch-Jack!"

"And somehow," Ms. Rhodes said as she pushed to her feet, "I'm not offended. But you, Miss le Fae, are officially on sick leave. I want you to eat as much sugar as possible, relax, and your school work this week will be excused."

"What?" Rain asked.

"Recover," Bracken said. "You don't realize it yet, but you're going to need time. Take it, Rain, because you want to be ready when they return."

"Yeah..." she breathed. "And there's always going to be a next time."

"Gentlemen, let's let our Morrigan have a moment with her parents." Ms. Rhodes smiled at Rain. "The school is in your debt today, Rain."

"No debt," Rain told her. "It was a gift, freely given."