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Chapter Ten

RAIN

O ddly, the next day was completely normal. No one asked about what had happened to Aspen. Sure, a few people wondered if I was ok, since I'd missed some classes, but that was about it. Well, besides Ms. Rhodes working with me on a few new defensive options for my Wild magic.

It was the morning after when the shit hit the fan. When Aspen and I headed to the elevator, the girls in line were whispering. Something about graffiti, but they weren't saying it loud enough for me to get all the details. When we got on the elevator, it was a different story.

"It's all over the first floor!" someone said as she got on a floor below us.

"Just the main hall?" another asked.

"No clue, but I'm heading all the way down to see."

"Oh, good idea!" a few agreed.

Aspen looked over at me, so I canted my head as if asking, "Why not?"

She rode all the way down with me. As a herd, we piled out and turned towards the atrium. The first thing I noticed was the bright green spray paint sprawling along the wall. Not the glass one, but the classrooms that faced the atrium.

"Summer Is Coming!" was the most obvious. That was huge, and written in the green I'd noticed, but it wasn't alone. One of the rooms had a black X on the door. Another had red that dripped down the front, along with "Winter Whore."

"I don't like this," I breathed.

Aspen grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the atrium. "I don't either."

"Bitch," Jack muttered, keeping his voice down as if he was disturbed too.

But on the other side, through the atrium, I could see the same thing. I was trying to make out what was written over there when the glass doors opened, and the guys shoved in. All of them. Keir and Torian were in the lead, but Hawke and Wilder were close behind.

"What the fuck?" Torian demanded.

Aspen just jiggled her head in a negating but nervous way. "Tor, how could they vandalize the entire school?"

"Bigger question," Keir said as he moved to slip an arm around me. "Who would want to, and why?"

"'Who' is the same as the list of people who attacked Aspen," Wilder grumbled.

"The why part's what really matters," I said.

"Not our problem, though," Hawke pointed out. "Guys, it's probably some stupid prank."

"But what if it's not?" Torian growled.

Hawke clasped his friend's shoulder. "Then we do what we can, but really? If you were trying to take down the enemy, are you going to announce it first?"

"But they already fucked up when bashing Aspen's head in didn't work," Keir countered.

I heard them bickering, but I turned to look at everything around us.

The atrium was massive. Some said it was nearly a full acre of fae plants.

I didn't know if that was literal, but it sure felt like it, and outside three of these glass walls was the interior of Silver Oaks Institute.

The other side looked out at the grounds.

To both my left and right, I could see words big enough to take up the entire hall.

Before me was the main entrance, and that had also been painted.

On a door was what looked like a snowman with a red slash through it.

Green leaves and flowers were everywhere.

All of that was bad enough, but when I looked towards the office, my heart stopped.

"Support Winter and die. The Prince demands his crown."

"Fuck," I breathed. "These people don't have a -"

The screeching of a woman cut me off. "Ivy!" Her voice was shrill with anger. "The whole first floor is like this. How did this happen with you in the building!"

The sound drew my eye to where Ms. Hawthorne was storming towards the office.

She kept yelling, all but pushing students aside as she waded through the masses who'd come down here to gawk.

When I looked the other way, I saw more teachers, and all of them seemed to be converging on the office, even if most weren't squealing like Pearl Hawthorne.

"Fucking stupid is what it is," Torian was grumbling as all the pieces finally fell into place for me.

"Terrorism," I said, spinning back to look at my friends.

"Rain?" Jack asked, twisting his head to look at me.

But that one word made the court fall silent. Keir groaned as the truth of it sank in, but Torian gave me a confused look.

"What about terrorism?" he asked.

"No, that's what this is," I explained. "The traditional type.

The point is they're saying what they're going to do so everyone is terrified.

They break the routines we all think of as normal, put everyone on high alert, and then their actions don't seem out of place.

It all compounds, just like the wars in the Middle East."

"And I have been on Earth a matter of years, so I don't know all this," Torian reminded me. "Why would someone vandalize the school like this?"

I lifted my chin, refusing to look at my girlfriend. "To scare Aspen enough that she'll leave."

"And every other Winter magic user too," Keir added.

"Tor, quite a few faelings have grown up here.

We've heard all about the atrocities done in battle situations.

Flying planes into buildings wasn't done to kill the people inside.

It was meant to terrify the ones who survived.

To shut down the country. Isn't this the same thing? "

"Which means the threat is real," Wilder said. "Maybe not the threat we expected, but still real."

"Fuck!" Torian snarled, turning away in frustration.

Aspen just grabbed my arm, forcing me to look at her. "What do we do, Rain?"

"I don't know."

"She does not go anywhere alone!" Torian snapped, spinning back just to point at Aspen. "I don't care what we have to do to make that happen. We all know who they're really after, and it isn't me."

"Ok," I said, rubbing Aspen's upper arms. "We can go talk to Ms. Rhodes. I have first period with her, and - "

"No." Aspen pulled in a breath and stood a little straighter. "We're not hiding anymore, right?"

"This isn't the same," Torian said.

"Kinda is," Wilder countered. "Hiding is exactly what they want."

"So I can't hide!" Aspen told him. "I can't, Tor. I also can't have you following me around like a shadow. That does nothing but make me look weak."

"And," Hawke said, sounding like he didn't really want to, "if she looks weak, that makes her a more appealing target."

I groaned, reaching up to rub at my brow. "We shouldn't even know this shit!"

"We have access to the internet," Hawke reminded me. "The nightly news teaches us this. Unfortunately, you're right. It also teaches them - whoever they are."

"And," Wilder said, gesturing to the door I'd seen marked with red, "that room is used by a teacher who has Winter magic."

"The black," Keir said, "is a known Winter sympathizer. I have Fundamentals of Metallurgy in there, and my teacher is enamored of the Winter Court. I'm pretty sure he's descended from both seasons."

"Ok, but none of this helps us protect Aspen," Torian grumped.

"Jack!" my bird said.

Aspen looked over at him. "What, Jack?"

"Jack-court!" he said. "Jack-shadow. Jack-Rain. Jack, court, Rain." He slung his beak up and down. "Court-bitch?" And he shook it from side to side.

"Any clue what that means?" Keir asked.

"I think," Hawke said, moving a little closer, "that Jack's saying he and Rain's shadow can help?"

That made Jack chatter enthusiastically. "Jack-court! Jack, Jack. Court!" And then he fluttered over to land on Aspen's shoulder. "Jack!" Then he nibbled at Aspen's short silver hair. "Court!"

"He's going to stick with Aspen!" I realized.

"Doesn't help, Jack," Torian said. "No offense, but you gave your magic away."

"Shadow!" Jack said.

That made me look at my feet where my own shadow was waving back. "Are you going to help somehow?" I asked.

My shadow pointed at Aspen and Jack, then to itself.

"Wait," Hawke begged as he gestured for everyone to step back and give my shadow room. "Shadow, if something happens, can Jack tell you?"

My shadow nodded. The gesture was big and overly emphatic, but that was necessary with a dark silhouette on the ground. It had to gesture too much so we could make out what it meant.

"And you can tell Rain?" Hawke continued.

Again, Shadow nodded.

"But then what?" Torian asked. "She's just one - "

As he spoke, Shadow reached over and grabbed Torian's shadow. Clearly, there was a sensation that went with it, because Torian shifted as if he'd been pushed sideways. His expression changed and he looked at Shadow again.

"Ok, that's hard to miss."

"Kinda is, isn't it?" Hawke asked. "So, Shadow? If Jack tells you, you can tell Rain, then get the rest of us?"

And one more time, Shadow made a production of nodding. Slowly, Hawke began to smile. Wilder murmured as if he liked this idea. Torian sighed, but that was typical for him, yet no one had really told me what they thought about any of this.

"So, will that work?" I asked. "Aspen, are you ok with this idea?"

She reached up to pet Jack's back. "I think the bastard royalty needs a little 'we' time," she joked.

"Sure," Keir said, "but is it enough?"

"Keir," Hawke said, waving us down. "Jack can watch Aspen's back. If she knows it's coming, she can handle it. Absolute worst case? She gates out, and I'm pretty sure she can gate into her room if nothing else."

"I have the one back by the Elysium Burst plants," Aspen said. "That's the easiest, and gives me the most exits, right?"

"Right," Torian agreed. "And all you need are two parallel supports. The top prevents a mess, but it isn't necessary."

Aspen nodded. "Yeah. I got it. We'll be fine, and I won't end up looking like I'm freaked out, so that undermines these assholes, right?" And she looked at me this time, not her brother.

"I don't know," I admitted. "I didn’t exactly study crazy fae cults in my last school or anything."

Which made her grin just as the first bell rang, proving we were all late. Considering the halls around us were far from empty, I wasn't worried about it, but Aspen shifted.

"It's only first and third that we have to worry about. I'll be careful, Tor."

"And I'm sure Jack will help with both," I said. Not just to her, but more to all of us.

"Jack!" he agreed. "Court, Morrigan, Jack!" And he ruffled his feathers proudly.

"Ok," Torian relented. "But if I feel anything..."

"Then meet me here," Aspen told him. "I won't wait around for bad things to happen. I'll get the fuck out, ok?"

Torian stood there, and to me it looked like he wanted to say no.

He couldn't. We all knew Aspen was right, even if we didn't like it.

If she ran and hid any time there was any problem?

The asshats responsible for this mess would just keep doing it.

A little spray paint shouldn't be enough to chase anyone off, let alone a queen.

"I just don't like that they're threatening you," Torian finally said. "But go. Jack has more than proven himself as a protector."

"Jack!" he cawed as Aspen turned away.

"I have to get to class too," Wilder said, backing in the other direction.

"Same," Hawke agreed. "You three are headed down to the Never, right?"

"Mhm," Torian agreed, waving them off.

But when I turned for the door, he caught my shoulder. Keir was also standing still. Neither one said a thing until our friends had left the atrium. That was when Torian stepped a little closer. Keir looked around, making sure we were alone.

"I don't like this," Torian said.

"Me either," I agreed.

Then Keir stepped forward. "So we all go to Rain's class and talk to Ms. Rhodes. I have a feeling she's going to be late too, so we're ok there. But this needs to be addressed."

"But what can she do about it?" I asked.

"Probably nothing," Keir admitted.

"But she needs to know we're not hiding who we are anymore," Torian said. "She needs to be prepared for the fallout, because I will tear this school down if I have to."

"I'd rather you didn't," I said, trying to lighten the mood a little. "Kinda the only home I have."

"The only one I have too," Torian assured me. "But Aspen means more to me than comfort."

Keir wrapped an arm around my shoulder on one side and pressed Torian forward on the other, driving us towards the exit. "When you put it like that, Tor, you have a point. Personally, I'd prefer you just kill these fuckers."

"And that," I fake-whispered at Keir, "is why he likes you."

Torian huffed something like a laugh. "It actually is."