Page 99 of Rebellious Royals

"Then we'll grow another plant," she decided. "What will we name it?"

"Maybe Spot?" I offered. "I mean, because Spike and Spot are good names. Then again, it won't have spots, huh? So maybe Rex?"

She waited until we were on the elevator, heading up. "I like Spot."

And sure enough, the male Monarch's Assassin had variegated leaves that looked like they had spots, so the name fit! Together, we repotted it into something bigger, and then she showed me how to encourage a plant to grow. Of course, I didn't have the talent she did, but Aspen assured me I'd get better with practice.

That was why she'd gotten into plants. It was why botany was one of her favorite classes. And while we grew the plant only big enough to guard the door, she told me all about the project they were learning in her class, and how she was working on making something special for me. She also wouldn't tell me what, just that her class was going to be outside the next day, and that if the Hunt showed up, she'd see just how strong her magic really was, because she wasgoingto do this.

So on Wednesday afternoon, I dawdled after leaving the Forge. I was supposed to be going to the gym, but I knew Aspen's class came this way. Jack took off, landing in a tree above me and chattered with the wild crows around us.

"Morrigan!" he cawed.

"What?" I asked, turning to look up at him.

"Court!"

"Who?" I asked, trying to spy a black bird in the midst of thick leaves.

But when Jack flapped his wings without letting go of his branch, I saw him. "Court!" he cawed again.

"Duke!" Hawke corrected as he made his way over. "And you need to remind your Morrigan that we agreed to not be alone."

"Jack!" the bird reminded him. "Jack-Rain."

"Which means," I said as Hawke jogged into view, "that I'm not alone."

"But you're later than normal, and I can get closer to the Forge than Keir can." He tilted his head back toward where he'd come from. "Let's go before we're late."

I shifted to his side and lifted my arm. A second later, Jack swooped down, landing on my wrist before hopping up to my shoulder. I liked how easy that was for us now. Keeping tabs on him had become so comfortable, I barely even thought about it anymore. I did, however, need to get him to ride on the other shoulder more often, just so one wasn't stronger than the other.

Yet when Hawke pulled open the door to the gym, a shrill sound pierced the air. Immediately, we both looked up, but Jack was still on my shoulder. He always took off when the Hunt was coming, so what was going on?

Then someone else cried out, and then a few more afterwards. My head whipped around, trying to figure out where it was coming from, but the mass of the gym made the sounds bounce around weirdly. All I was sure of was that it wasn't between me and the main building.

And then the back of my head began to get cold and crawl. I reached up to check for something in my hair, but Hawke snapped around.

"Aspen," he breathed, rushing into the gym.

I almost followed, but then his words broke through my mind. That was Shadow's alert that something was wrong withAspen!Was she the one who'd screamed? But the sky was still bright blue. That meant this wasn't the Hunt.

As I bolted toward her, led by the sensation under my skin, I hoped this wasn't something worse.

Chapter Thirty

RAIN

As soon as I ran, Jack took off, soaring beside me. Sadly, I didn't have any armor. I hadn't picked up my sword. The one thing I did have was magic, simply because our practice sessions resulted in me missing blocks enough to be constantly fueled up.

"Jack, go back and get Hawke!" I told him.

"Morrigan!" he said instead.

"So tell Shadow!"

And from the edge of my vision, darkness shot away towards the gym. The sensation was leading me toward a cluster of trees I knew far too well. We'd fought the Hunt beside them once. Over there was where the lure for the Hunt had been hidden. My first semester, Aspen had been burned with iron around here, and we'd also laid in the winter grass, feeding Jack as we figured out this relationship thing we were doing. Once, I'd found her around here with the Huntsman trying to drag her away.

My guts were tying themselves into knots as I hurried to find her. Somewhere, she could be dying, or fighting for her life. My job was to protect her. Not because I was the Morrigan, either. No, it was because I loved her - and I did. Aspen was the entirereason I was happy. She was everything good in the world, all wrapped up in a beautiful, pale package.