Page 22 of Rebellious Royals

"Sure," she said. "Rain, I give you a drink. You give me information. That makes it a trade. It also means neither you nor I can be held responsible if we cross outside the student-teacher lanes."

"So a fae excuse?" I asked.

She smiled at me proudly. "Exactly. Now, give me some information."

So I told her about the girls and their weird gesture. I didn't know them, but both seemed to be faelings. Not that it made them stick out, but I was trying to give her all the details I had. The whole time, she was nodding.

"I know the gesture is American Sign Language for loyalty," she said. "However, because it's a sign in an Earth language, I can't tell you what group is responsible for it. For all I know, this could be a few students who are simply awed at seeing a real Morrigan."

"Torian's gotten it too," I pointed out.

And her body stilled. "Ok, that makes me worried."

"Us too," I agreed. "Ms. Rhodes, something's weird. The whole feeling of the school is off. Aspen's getting glared at, Wilder's having shoulders crash into him in the halls. Hawke's getting looks. Not good or bad, but more like they're weighing him. Torian's mentioned people nodding or dipping their heads at him."

"And Keir?" she asked.

I sighed. "He's seen it, but they don't seem concerned about him. Keir said he feels like he's watching this happen from the outside, but he's noticed it. What bothers me the most is that none of us are hearing anyone talking about it."

"Except Tag," she said, leaning back. "Anita Taggart told me about your discussion."

"I wasn't going to get her in trouble," I admitted.

Which made Ms. Rhodes chuckle. "Rain, it's ok. Tag and I are on the same side. We don't always agree, but she's been my partner for well over a decade now. It's why she works at Silver Oaks."

My mouth dropped open in surprise. "Wait. You... and Tag?"

"Mhm," she agreed. "There may also be times I can't tell you things, but she can. I just want to make sure you know how close that tie is back to me."

I nodded. "And I'm going to guess this isn't something I should share with others?"

"The court can know," she told me. "I'd prefer the student body doesn't. But we also have something else I want to talk about."

"Ok?"

Silence hung for a moment as she watched me, almost judging me. Then, "Rain, how did you kill the hunter?"

I put my left hand on the table, exposing the bracelet Hawke had made for me. It was a leather cuff with the crow-shaped stone secured to it. Carvings of fae creatures had been worked into the space around it.

"Thisreuciyou gave me? When the Hunt shows up, it glows. All I know is I stabbed the hunter, it flashed, and the man turned from grey to normal-looking and died because he had a sword in him."

"Are you ok?" she asked, leaning a bit to see my face better. "I know that had to be hard, and talking about it likely makes it harder."

I nodded. "I'm ok. It's weird and gross, but not like, traumatic?"

"Are you sure?" she asked. "Rain, most people don't realize what traumatizes them until much later."

"Seeing Jack get knocked out of the air scared me more?" I offered. "I mean, that's kinda how I'm judging it. And I'm sure it's not exactly good for my mental health to kill people, but they were trying to kill us, so I dunno. That makes it feel like, um, justified?"

"Which is more than fair," she assured me. "I'm more interested in what spell you performed."

"I didn't."

"You did," she countered. "Thereuciholds wild magic like a battery. It can also be enchanted - which I intend to teach you soon."

"How soon?" I broke in.

"As soon as I think you can do it without destroying the stone. Sadly, I can't demonstrate that for you.Reuciand my magic do not mix well, so we're going to have to muddle through this the hard way."