Page 200 of Rebellious Royals

As she spoke, my shadow was stretching longer. I watched it claim the empty space between us until by the time Ms. Rhodes finished, everyone in the room was looking at it too. Then it thickened, lifting up from the floor just to open its hollow, shadowless eyes.

"Hello, Shadow," Ms. Rhodes said.

It dipped the silhouette of its head in her direction, clearly acknowledging the greeting.

But Ms. Rhodes kept going. "Is this history right? Are you the personification of Magic?"

Shadow lifted its thumb, thrusting it forward for emphasis.

The air in my lungs froze in place. It was thewhat?!Personification of magic sounded like a big fucking deal, but what did that mean? My head was whipping between the dean and the dark silhouette standing before her as regally as Torian usually was.

"Are you in control of Rain?" Ms. Rhodes asked next.

This time, it shook its head slowly, making the motion overly obvious.

"Is Rain in control of you?" she tried next.

Shadow lifted its hand, tilting that from side to side for a moment, then shook its head.

"Ok, what does that mean?" I demanded.

"I'm going to guess," Torian offered, "that you can influence it, but it is not a slave to your whim?"

Shadow thrust its upward thumb toward him, a clear sign Torian's guess was right.

But it was Hawke who asked the most important question. "Why now? If Crow Kings and Morrigans have been handling fae issues for generations, why is Shadow here, helping Rain?"

"It can't speak," I reminded him.

"I don't care who answers!" he snapped.

But Shadow had gotten very good at demonstrating what it meant. First, it pointed at Jack. Then it held both hands together, flopping one to mimic a door opening and closing.

"The gates are sealed," Torian said, clarifying its meaning.

That earned him a thumbs-up. Then Shadow mimed placing something on its own head and hacking at nothing.

"My mother corrupted the magic?" Torian guessed.

He got another thumbs up. Shadow turned, looking at the group now watching it intently before pointing at Aspen, then to Torian. Again, it mimed putting something on its head - likely a crown. When no one spoke up, it moved to Aspen and made the gesture over her, then it drifted to Torian and repeated that.

"Aspen had to be crowned first?" Wilder guessed.

Shadow rocked its hand.

"I had to get the Winter Crown," Aspen realized. "If Tor got it, bad things would've happened, but now the Summer Crown is a problem?"

Shadow lifted its thumb at her, then rocked its hand. Again, it mimed putting a crown on Torian.

"Aspen and Torian both need the crowns," Bran said, offering his own take on that. "We all know the Mad Queen is a problem, and Shadow is saying she has to be dealt with."

Using both hands, Shadow pointed at him emphatically.

Which made Ms. Rhodes suck in a breath like she'd just realized something. "You, as Magic itself, are in danger because of what the Mad Queen is doing?"

This time, Shadow simply nodded - but then it lifted its hands to its neck as if strangling itself, and wilted a bit as if collapsing.

"We have to stop magic from being destroyed," Torian said. "And if Rain's shadow is really Magic..."