Page 76

Chapter Sixty-Seven

RAIN

I slept at my dads' place that night. When my alarm went off, I noticed something on the screen of my phone and found a text from Ms. Rhodes.

She told me to sleep in because she would not make it to first period.

Since our finals had all been pushed back one day, I took the chance to study a little more.

The moment I stepped into my second period class, the students all stood and clapped for me. It was embarrassing as hell, but kinda nice too. Even Aspen clapped. But then our teacher explained that our tests had been saved, and we could continue where we left off.

Surprisingly, the extra studying had helped. I figured out how to handle that first problem that had stumped me initially, and the rest of it I actually knew how to solve! When we were released, Aspen said she was positive she passed with at least a C. For her, that was pretty good.

On the upside, we didn't have tests in every class, but third period had a substitute.

It was one of the women from the front office.

I now knew this lady's name was Rose, and I was starting to realize I'd seen her around more than I'd realized.

She'd been beside Ms. Rhodes when the Hunt came.

She'd stepped up to teach this class before.

On impulse, I lifted my hand. "Ms... Um, Rose?" I asked.

She paused. "Yes, Miss le Fae?"

"Did you live on Faerie too?"

She paused, looking up at me. "Yes, I did."

Hawke jerked his chin at her. "I think we want more than that."

So Rose put down the paper she'd been reading from.

"I was born from impoverished parents. I grew up on the edges of the Vale - which is where wildlings still have control.

My family had been displaced during the troll wars, you see.

When I was old enough, I joined the Summer army, and yes, I served under Ms. Rhodes.

In fact, I was her personal assistant at the time of the Exodus. "

"Did you ever see Titania?" I asked next.

Rose's face froze in place. "Child, I was present for many of the executions. Did I see her? Yes. I saw both the Mad Queen and the trail of blood she left behind."

I nodded. "So why, in your opinion, are people who ran from that suddenly so willing to commit the same crimes to get it again?"

Rose pressed her hands down on the desk and thought for a moment.

"Rain, the truth is, I don't know." Lifting her head, she looked at everyone in the class.

"What I do know is that time passes for everyone, and blurs all of our memories.

Some things seem sweeter with the distance it causes.

Others seem less horrific." Then she looked at Wilder.

"I'm sorry I didn't try to stop the executions.

I was a young soldier then. Scared, if I'm honest. I told myself it wouldn't change anything, so I stayed silent - and that's how all of this has happened. "

"How?" someone else asked, picking up on that part.

"We convince ourselves it's someone else's problem," Rose said.

"We focus on the fact that we don't know them, we don't have the power, and we're just looking after our own interests.

They have a bird on this world people joke puts its head in the sand to hide.

We did that, twisting our thoughts to be a shield of lies until we believed them enough to speak them.

Over time, opinion becomes truth, and truth sways those we tell.

The Mad Queen offered riches and power. She gave bloodshed and horror.

Some came here before the latter, but they miss the former. "

"How do we fix it?" I asked next.

She smiled down at her desk. "Ivy - er, Ms. Rhodes - would want me to tell you how we left those problems behind on Faerie, so now it's our job to make sure we don't repeat the mistakes of the past." She chuckled once.

"I'll do you one better, Miss le Fae. In my opinion, the way you stop it?

" She tipped her head at the class. "This.

Education, explanation, and doing exactly what our young and rebellious royals seem to be doing.

You erase the lines between people. You make a bigger tent.

You also make sure you do not ignore the horrors, even when you feel the most powerless. "

"Is that going to be on the test?" someone asked from the back of the room.

Rose chuckled and then shrugged. "I wouldn't think so, but once I tell your teacher we discussed this, there's a chance it might be - so remember it.

We all have a part to play, even the most minor and overlooked peasants, like me.

If everyone takes the same sort of initiative we see in our Morrigan, our society will be better for it. "

Then she picked up her paper and continued to go over our study guide for the final exam. Yet when the class ended and we filed out, I heard the whispers between the students around me. Quite a few were talking about "the one true court" and I liked it more than I wanted to admit.

Everything else was easy, right up until I was supposed to head to the gym. Since I was already at the Forge, I decided to see just how bad the devastation was. Instead, I found students, teachers, and staff wading through the wreckage.

"Ok, we're going to need to remove all the ferrous metals!" Bracken yelled.

"Dad!" Jack cawed, launching himself into the air to track down my zez.

I followed the bird, making my way around a tree to find Bracken leaning on a cane. Granted, as I closed the distance, he used the thing to point too. But when Jack landed on his shoulder, my zez turned, giving me a massive smile.

"The weapons survived," he said.

"Yeah," I breathed, moving closer and lowering my voice. "Zez, Shadow was in there with me."

He nodded. "Not surprised."

"No. I mean it actually talked to me."

"What did it say?"

"That it will save mine if I save its - but I don't know who it meant by that! It also said the fire wasn't an accident, but we already know that part."

"And your shadow is magic, right?"

"Yeah, but like Magic, capital letter and all."

He nodded. "Ok, so maybe what it means is keeping Winter alive?"

"I don't know," I said. "Worse, it's been just a normal shadow since. I try talking to it, and I'm getting nothing."

"Shadow!" Jack said, tucking his head under his wing. "Shadow!" And he sighed heavily, making a production of it.

"I'm going to guess that means Shadow wore itself out helping us in the fire." And he looked down at my feet. "I'm in your debt, Shadow. And more for saving the weapons, because I can't think of any other reason that entire room was spared from the flames."

"Wait, what?" I asked.

Bracken chuckled and nodded. "Yep. Even if that room didn't burn, that much heat should've warped the metals or oxidized a few of them. Instead, it's all fine. The paint, the floors, and everything in there is just like we left it - including both your sword and Keir's."

"Thank you, Shadow," I said, looking down at my feet.

My silhouette didn't move much. It merely shifted an arm to make the thumbs-up gesture. It was enough.

But without a gym, we couldn't hold our combat classes. Bracken said the court had all passed, as far as he cared. The sentinels had as well. He sent a digital test to the rest of his students, to be completed at their convenience, and that was it.

Which meant my last final exam ended up being Tag's.

Somehow, the schedule for finals worked out so everyone's fifth-period class was the last exam of the week.

In other words, this was it. I headed into the Forge just to be caught before I could sit down.

Then, one by one, every student in the class brought up something they'd made to help me as the Morrigan.

Some were expected, like the ceramic and carbon fiber knives.

Others were impressive, such as the brass bracers a girl had made.

Then there was the one I liked the most. The guy who sat in front of me, Heath, had blown a glass mug, then enchanted it.

I could see the subtle sparkles of magic caught in the middle of the glass - where I couldn't touch it and ruin the enchantment.

When he handed it to me, it was with a smile.

"She won't feel the enchantment," called Lina, the girl who sat beside me.

"So tell her," Tag instructed.

"Um..." Heath ducked his head like he was almost embarrassed. "I put an enchantment in there that will negate any poison or toxin. Depending on who holds the handle, it will make the beverage fit for them."

"Whoa," I breathed, looking at the mug in a whole new way. "And it won't mess up, like, oak syrup?"

"Nope, that's safe, so it won't change it at all." He shrugged. "And it's a gift, Rain. You know, to show I noticed all the times you ended up missing class this year because you got caught in the crossfire."

"Or put herself there," Tag said. "Heath, I think this deserves not only an A, but extra credit as well. Rain, how would you use this one?"

"I'm going to put it beside my bed for the next time someone has to carry my wounded body there and heal me up," I said. "Then, my drink is one thing I will never have to worry about."

"Congratulations," Tag announced. "I think you have all shown exceptional skill. Now get out of here, and your grades will be posted shortly."

And that was it. I was officially done with high school!

Following the rest of my class out of the building, I blinked against the bright sky - then blinked again.

There, leaning against one of the trees and much closer than I would've expected, was a guy I recognized.

The sun made it hard to be sure, but when the others waved or smiled at him, offering greetings as they passed, I was sure of it.

"Hey, Hawke," a few called at him.

He nodded, even lifted a few fingers, but never moved. But when I headed toward him, Hawke lifted his arm, catching Jack as he sailed out of the branches above.

"We were waiting for you," he said.

"You're close to the Forge," I countered.