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Chapter Five

RAIN

T hat evening, I got to bust out some of the new clothes Liam had bought for me: the athletic wear.

I had my choice of sports bras, leggings meant to work out in, and fitted tees that not only wouldn't get in my way, but also had some cool graphic prints on them.

Then there were my shoes. The very expensive, highly recommended ones I still couldn't believe he'd just bought like that.

My new coat didn't really go with the whole workout look, but it did cover my ass.

So as I hiked across the snow-covered lawn to get to the gym for my five o'clock appointment with my other dad, I didn't worry about anyone looking out and seeing nothing but spandex-covered butt cheeks.

The snow on the ground crunched under my new shoes, and when I got close enough, the crows in the trees all cawed out a greeting.

"Afternoon, guys," I yelled back.

That made Jack chatter in approval. I wasn't sure if it was for me or the other birds, but I didn't care.

Those other crows all seemed to be the normal type, but they'd still helped on the Winter Solstice.

How many of them had blocked magic from the jesters?

Just flying between people had sometimes been enough of a distraction to stop a spell from being thrown.

"Jack?" I asked as I reached the door. "Are the crows out here wildlings too?"

Sitting on my shoulder, he looked at me and twisted his head. That was neither a yes or a no .

"Some are and some aren't?" I tried instead.

This time, he nodded.

"And the ones who are supposed to be normal crows, are they actually normal?" He shook his head, so I kept going. "Because of the magic around the school?"

He nodded vigorously. "Morrigan!"

Ok, I wasn't quite sure how that all fit together into an answer, but it meant the crows here were all special in some way.

I had a feeling they were Jack's little avian army, but how that helped me was still a mystery.

Although once I was inside the building, Jack was tired of talking.

He immediately took off, flying across the room to his favorite perch.

That let me strip off my coat and look around. It was currently winter break at school, which meant no classes. The gym was empty, only daylight from the windows lighting the place. That made it feel a bit abandoned, and yet it didn't have that empty feeling like I was alone in here.

"Bracken?" I called out, walking toward the mats.

He came out of one of the rooms at the end. "Hey," he said, hurrying over. "So, you heard the news, right?"

The look on the guy's face was adorable.

Bracken was the school's weapons instructor and a sentinel.

He was the very definition of a fae warrior with his pale hair, golden skin, and shockingly good looks, and while he'd always been nice, he looked like he could be a hard-ass if he needed to. I'd just never seen him need to.

But right now, the expression on his face was almost childlike. A little smile kept flickering over his lips and his eyes were darting around my face as if he was desperately trying to read my expression. In other words, he was nervous.

"So," I said, trying to sound as serious as I could, "you got the paperwork magicked to be official. I'm legally yours and Liam's daughter. There's just one thing I'm having a problem with."

"What?" he asked, his body going completely still as if bracing for the worst.

"If Liam's going to be 'Dad,' then what the hell am I supposed to call you?"

The man's breath rushed out and he stepped in to hug me.

"I don't even care," he said, sighing when my arms closed around his back.

"Liam always wanted a kid. I always wanted a daughter.

Someone I could teach weapons to, who would be loud, dramatic, and a little bit wild.

" He leaned back to look at me. "We started talking about adopting you the day I had you work alone with Keir.

I told Liam you're the perfect blend of me and him.

The daughter we needed, and we'd been trying to figure out how to make it happen. "

"And then I became the Morrigan," I realized.

He canted his head to the side and shrugged.

"You were the Morrigan even then, Rain. We just didn't realize it.

No, this power you have didn't make us want you, so don't even think that.

It made us hurry to do it so we can protect you, but it is not what made us feel like you're already a part of our family.

" Then he turned me to the side and led me toward the room he'd come out of.

"I know that," I promised as we walked.

"Right now you do," he agreed. "But in a week, a month, or a decade, you'll start to wonder, so I'm making it clear.

Liam and I were making arrangements to adopt you over the summer.

We wanted to make sure a family was something you were even interested in.

Most of all, we wanted to give you the chance to get used to the idea, and you being the Morrigan got in the way. "

"So you weren't going to make me go back to the Sparks'?"

"Those assholes locked you in a room," he snarled.

"Maybe the iron didn't hurt you, but what if it had?

No, I was not going to allow you to be put in that situation again.

Solitary confinement is a punishment, and you are a teenager.

You have to screw things up to learn how to do it right.

Parents are supposed to help steer you toward the little mistakes, not the big and dangerous ones. "

"Were your parents good?" I asked.

He nodded. "Most fae parents are. That's why there are so many fae children on Earth.

They gave their lives so their kids could live.

My mother was the first intentional sacrifice the Mad Queen made in her attempt to get a child.

My father got me out not long after, smuggling me through servants and peasants until I could reach a gate.

I tried to make him come with me, but he wanted to lay a false trail.

To this day, I don't know if he's alive or dead. "

"I'm sorry," I breathed as we entered the room.

Bracken simply gestured to the walls. "But he taught me about this. These are all the weapons I know how to use. Somewhere in here will be the perfect fit for you."

It was a lot of weapons. More than I'd ever seen in one place. There were bows, daggers, swords, and spear-looking things. Slowly, I turned, trying to take in all of it. Bracken knew how to use every one of these ?

"How old are you, Brack?" I asked.

He chuckled. "Thirty-nine, just a year older than Liam. Yes, I'm young. I really did go to school here, and I graduated a year ahead of Liam. Not much different than you and Keir, actually, except that he's got two years on you instead of one."

I groaned. "My love life is about to get complicated, isn't it?"

"Probably," he agreed. "But more than that, I want to talk to you about working with him.

Rain, Keir's magic is defensive. He's a skilled fighter, and he's been taking my courses for a while.

While you're the Morrigan, there's no reason you need to work alone, and everyone needs someone to watch their back in battle. "

"But what battle?" I asked. "See, that's the thing, I don't even know what it is I'm supposed to do."

"There's always a battle," he told me. "I don't know if that means we'll find a way to open the gates and need to defeat the Mad Queen, if it will be the Hunt here, or something we won't see coming.

There's always a battle, and the Morrigan is able to do things others can't. Namely, it's that you're immune to magic. "

"And fae fight with magic," I realized.

He nodded. "I'm sure you've heard of Joan of Arc? The warrior woman who fought for God?"

"Yeah..."

"She was Joan le Fae to us, and the last Morrigan. In that sense, 'Fae' means being of our world, and most of our world is wildlings. So, Joan of the Wild power, or Joan of the people. Both interpretations are accurate."

"Oh." Because what else could I say to that?

Bracken palmed the back of my head. "You are Rain of the Wild power. Jack made a deal to trade his power with you in exchange for your help in resetting the balance of things."

"Jack!" the bird called out, whipping his beak up and down to make it clear he agreed with that.

I chuckled. "Ok, so I'm magical because Jack gave it to me." That was basically what everyone had been telling me for the last few days.

"Exactly," Bracken said. "You are wielding his magic. That ring you wear is proof of the agreement, and it will not come off so long as you uphold your end of the bargain."

"And if I mess up?" I asked, because I didn't exactly have the best track record.

Bracken just clasped both sides of my face and bent to look in my eyes.

" You did not mess up. I know you think you were bounced around because you weren't good enough, but it's not true.

" His eyes flicked over to where Jack sat on the back of a chair, then over to me again.

"You kept moving because you were being protected.

That's why you fit the profile of the foundlings. "

I couldn't make that make sense, so I shook my head to show it. "How? Why? I just wanted to be a good kid!"

"Rain!" Jack cawed. "Jack, Jack, Jack."

"I don't know what that means, Jack!" I snapped.

"Liam did some digging," Bracken said, stepping back.

"Rain, not all foster homes are good. The one with the earring?

They lost their license to foster because of child abuse.

Another home had allegations of sexual abuse between the children.

Some were fine, but when Liam dug, he found the other kids you were with had issues.

Bullies, abuse, sexual assault, drugs...

Jack got you moved before you became a victim. He was looking out for you."

"What about my father?" I asked.

"I don't know," Bracken admitted. "Honey, I can't talk to that bird any better than you can, but I know you ended up here, and here is where you need to be.

That doesn't mean you screwed up. It simply means a fae prince had plans, and most of us are no match for fae royalty, ok?

They're powerful. They get what they want, and no one can stand against them.

The amount of magic they control makes even the world bend to their will, and you were Jack's pawn. "

"Jack!" the bird snapped, sounding upset. "Rain! Rain-Jack."

"Or friend," Bracken corrected.

The bird nodded as if that was much better.

It made me chuckle, ducking my head as I realized what Bracken was saying.

All my life, I hadn't been a screw-up. I'd simply been in the process of being pushed to where I was supposed to end up: right here.

So many times I'd wondered why that crap always happened to me, and now I was one of the few lucky ones to get an answer.

It was because the fae needed me. Me, the very normal girl who happened to like crows a bit too much.

"Ok," I breathed. "So, I'm guessing to be this Morrigan thing, I need to be a warrior, right?"

"It would probably help," Bracken agreed. "Liam told me about your shadow earlier today. I'm not sure how that will affect your magic or how to train you to deal with it. Ivy Rhodes is the best person to help you there. I'm the one to teach you how to survive combat, though. "

"Because you don't have strong magic?" I asked, making a wild guess.

Bracken ducked his head and chuckled. "No, that is not the problem.

Rain, my parents were nobility. They repeatedly met each time the Summer and Winter Courts held celebrations.

Evidently, sparks flew. After a few centuries, they realized they were in love, and I came along a few more centuries after that. "

"So you're like Torian?"

His gaze whipped over to meet mine. "What have they told you?"

"Uh… He can use both Summer and Winter magic, right?" I winced, wrinkling my nose. "Am I not supposed to know that? Aspen said a lot of it is a secret they can't share, but I've seen him use both green and white."

"No, that part's safe to know," he assured me. "But the rest? It is a secret, Rain, because it has to be. If people knew what the court has seen, none of them would be safe. Different reasons for each one, but they are real reasons."

I nodded quickly. "Gotcha. I won't ask. I mean, it's not like it matters, right? They're not on Faerie, so who they're related to, or friends with, or that stuff? It no longer matters."

"Exactly," he agreed, smiling in a way that made me feel proud. "Now, which style do you want to learn first?"

"First?"

The smile on his face grew a bit. "Oh, you're going to learn all of these weapons, Rain. By the time I'm done with you, you'll be able to defeat every fae on both worlds. It just might take a few decades."

"Decades," I grumbled. "In case you forgot, I'm a little human. In a few decades, I'll be getting old."

"Not as much as you think. The Morrigan ages more like a faeling. It's the power coursing through you. You won't live as long as me, sadly, but you will live longer than a human. Now, if you go to Faerie? Then all bets are off. There, it's up to Jack and you."

"Oh."

He nodded. "So, how about you pick your weapons? One step at a time, Rain. I promise I'm not going anywhere."

I headed for the wall, eyeing a pair of elegant swords hung crossed over each other. "Ok, Zez. How about these?"

I heard his steps falter as he followed me. "What did you call me?"

So I turned around, tensing up at his reaction.

"I mean, qeze is father, right? And you're my dad now, but I'm human.

Liam said Zeh or Zeze work for the fae version of 'dad,' but like, it feels unfinished.

I dunno, childish even. Then my shadow spelled out Zez, and I kinda like it.

I mean, maybe it fits? Or Zezzy for when I'm begging?

You know, that way it won't get confusing trying to call you both Dad? "

Bracken stood there with his eyes locked on me. His posture was straight and tall, almost like he was locked at attention, but he kept blinking. Finally - slowly - a smile began to return to his mouth and he nodded a few times. I even saw when his throat bobbed as he swallowed.

"That," he said, pausing to clear his throat, "is perfect. I'm definitely ok with being 'Zez.'"

So I pointed at the swords. "And starting with these is ok too?"

Bracken chuckled, the sound a mixture of happiness and awe. "Yeah. It also proves you're definitely my kid. Rain, those were my first weapons."