Page 78

Chapter Sixty-Eight

RAIN

T here was cake. Some had brought presents - and I got more stuffed crows than I knew what to do with. The kitchen staff had even made ice cream, but the best part of all was that evening when I went to celebrate alone with my dads.

Bracken handed me the one thing he'd thought had been lost in the fire: a key.

"What's this for?" I asked.

"Ivy gave us one of the condos for the summer," Liam explained. "Two bedrooms, Rain, so you'll have your own space."

"Yeah?"

Bracken nodded. "And you can have sleepovers. I'm not even going to make rules about boys or girls, since we both know that's pointless. I will say that I would prefer not to hear anything."

"Yeah, I can agree with that," I assured him. "I think that would be kinda gross."

"Very," he said around a laugh.

But Liam had also picked up a suit for me.

It was meant to go under my graduation gown so I'd look fancy for my official graduation pictures.

The ones with my diploma and parents. He hadn't gotten me the skirt kind, though.

Nope, he'd gone with wide-leg, pinstriped pants and a sleeveless blouse because it would be warm outside.

The pants were black and white. The shirt was green and white.

Together, I ended up representing the three main colors of magic.

Unfortunately, I didn't sleep well that night.

Every time I'd doze off, I'd end up jerking myself awake with some nightmare.

I was just too excited about this all being official, maybe?

I didn't know, but the fourth time I did it, I swore the room got darker, and then I finally was able to actually get some rest.

Naturally, graduation day filled the campus with people running every which way.

Liam said the fae made it easier than it was for most schools.

The diplomas were magically signed. The arrangements could be handled with magic as well, including the setup of the stage and chairs.

Then, early in the afternoon, it was finally time.

My dads walked me down to the atrium where I met up with the court.

Everyone was dressed in their best - except Keir.

Wearing a wonderfully tight t-shirt and jeans, he had his phone out and was snapping pictures of all of us.

At one point, Aspen asked someone walking by to take one so he could be in it too.

She said she needed one for posterity, so Keir gave in.

Then it was time. As a group, we headed out toward the ring of trees.

That, evidently, was where this would be held.

Keir broke off to join with his sentinel friends so he could watch from the stands.

The rest of us had to get sorted into alphabetical order so we'd get the proper diploma when it was our turn.

Then we waited. After that, we waited some more. Thankfully, I had my phone, and Torian had started a group chat. Keir was picking on us for looking like everyone else in the sea of green caps and gowns, but I was ok with that.

Slowly but surely, the stands that had been placed on either side were filling up with beautiful people.

A few looked old enough to be parents, but the rest were probably just fae.

Considering there were eighty-seven students in my graduating class - since we'd had so many expelled this year - that meant there had to be nearly two hundred people in the stands watching us.

For me, it may have been the biggest event of my life.

Finally, Ms. Rhodes stepped up to the podium at the front. There was no microphone, and yet when she spoke, her words carried magically to all of us.

"Good afternoon to this year's graduating class," she said with a bright smile. "Some of us have been together for years now, and others have joined us mere months ago..."

She continued talking, but my phone vibrated in my lap. I checked the screen, expecting to see someone in our group joking about how that "mere months ago" person was me. Instead, I saw a number I didn't recognize. Swiping at it, I found a text waiting.

Poppy:

Rain, this is Poppy. Please tell me I got the right number?

Rain:

Yep, this is me.

Poppy:

I don't know what to do. I'm heading out there, but I just saw my mother in the school. She and Ms. Valentina came out of one of the bathrooms on the second floor!

Rain:

You saw Ms. Hawthorne?

Poppy:

Yes, and the woman who was involved in the attacks against Aspen a while back.

Rain:

Where?

Poppy:

I don't know where they are now, but I'm trying to get to Pascal.

I looked up, scanning the stands on either side of me. I saw my dads. They were watching Ms. Rhodes talk. A few rows behind them was Keir. Thankfully, not only Pascal, but most of the other sentinels were sitting with him.

Rain:

North side bleachers. He's in the second section from the front, right by Bracken and Liam.

Poppy:

Ok, I'm coming. What do I do?

In truth, I didn't have a clue. Ms. Hawthorne had made a vow that she wouldn't come back. No, wait. She'd promised she wouldn't walk onto the property, or drive.

Rain:

How did they get here?

It took a little too long to get a reply. In that time, I flipped over to the group chat with the court.

Rain:

Poppy just texted me that she saw her mom inside. She's trying to get to the sentinels.

Keir:

Where is her mom?

Rain:

The school.

I saw him turn and talk to his friends, then all of them stood.

That caught the attention of my dads. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but Keir gestured for them to stay even as he and the sentinels headed towards the aisle that would get them out of the seating area. Then my phone dinged again.

Torian:

What's going on?

Rain:

I don't know. I thought Ms. Hawthorne couldn't come back? Poppy said she's here though.

And then Poppy finally replied.

Poppy:

I think they used a gate. I know Mom can make one, but she'd need an anchor. The only thing I can think of is that Ms. Valentina had Harper convince a friend to do something.

Shit. Ok, this wasn't good. I flipped back to my contacts to find one of my dads'. Bracken came up first, just because of the alphabet, so I sent a quick message to him.

Rain:

Poppy says Ms. Hawthorne is here. So is Ms. Valentina. I don’t know what to do.

Before my eyes, my zez twitched then grabbed at his pocket. I watched him check his phone and then his reply appeared quickly.

Bracken:

Got it. Enjoy graduating.

Yet all the movement had caught the attention of more people than just me. A few parents were twisting to see what they were doing. At the front, up there on the dais, even Ms. Rhodes was now watching them. Yes, she was still talking, but she now looked like her attention was split.

"Jack?" I whispered to the bird on my shoulder. "Is this going to be nothing and I'm freaking out?"

He shook his head.

"Is this going to be bad?" I asked.

He looked over a bit and up, then cawed like a normal crow. After a moment, he nodded.

So I shoved to my feet. "Ms. Rhodes!" I yelled.

There was a loud rustle as everyone turned to look right at me. I felt anxiety hit me in the gut like a sledgehammer, but I ignored it. Looking stupid didn't matter right now. This did.

"Rain?" she asked, my name carrying with the same magical enhancement as her speech.

Beside me, a guy made a gesture like he was wiping at me. "You're loud," he said.

So I decided not to yell. "I have reason to believe we have a problem, Ms. Rhodes." My voice carried the same way the dean's was.

"What kind of problem, Morrigan?" she asked, giving a heavy weight to my title.

Which was when Jack took to the sky. "Enemy!" he screamed.

"That kind," I said, just as the crowd began to murmur.

I knew I was causing a scene, and at first, I thought that was all it was, but then someone pointed. Turning, I followed their finger up. Behind and to the right of Ms. Rhodes, I could see the sky through the trees, but barely. Still, that part was no longer blue.

"Jack!" I yelled. "Check the sky!"

And for a moment, the crowd hung silently, their heads whipping from side to side. Sadly, we didn't have to wait long. One lone crow circled above the students, turning back to face the way I was sure I'd seen clouds.

Today's forecast had been for completely clear skies.

Then every tree out here erupted as crows took to their wings. The flapping sounded like waves breaking on sand, but even through it all, I could hear Jack make his pronouncement.

"Hunt! Hunt-Hunt-Hunt!"

And from the stands, Bracken yelled, "Sentinels!"

A few rows in front of me, Torian shoved to his feet. "Court!"

And from the back, a girl cried out, "Courtiers, get everyone inside! Help the court!"

"Today is not the day to ruin my dreams," I grumbled, peeling off my graduation gown, glad Liam had picked pants. "Aspen!"

"Someone hit her with magic!" Hawke ordered as he pushed his way towards us from back in the W-section.

Immediately, at least five students tossed various colors of magic at me. I saw three greens, but there was definitely a white and an iridescent one in there as well.

Up on the stage, Ms. Rhodes was pulling off her own attire and summoning her armor and weapons. On the stairs, parents were getting jammed up, slowed by the few narrow passages to get down to the grass.

And the clouds were getting closer much too fast.

"Go, go, go!" I yelled, pushing people past me, guiding them back so they could run for the school. "Get the adults. Get everyone inside! The Hunt is coming!"

Deep inside, I knew why. I didn't want to think about that, but there was only one thing that made sense.

Ms. Valentina was here. She knew how to make those stupid little tokens that called them back.

It had been months since we'd seen them, and I'd dared to hope that just once, I'd get to have something nice without someone trying to fuck it up - but it seemed today was not that day.

What had been an orderly ceremony only seconds ago had just turned into chaos.

Wooden chairs were left empty. Some had been knocked over.

People were running, some screaming, and too many faces were filled with fear.

I saw all of it like snapshots I knew would be seared into my memories for far too long, but I was trying to move against the flow of bodies.

I needed to be up there, between the fae and the Hunt.

"Morrigan!" Jack called. "Hunt! Court, Knight, Courtier. Shadow!"

"You want me to help yours, Shadow? Well, I'm definitely going to need an assist!"

"And weapons," Keir said as he shoved in beside me with an armload of weapons. "Thank fuck Poppy knows how to gate." And he shoved a cloth covered bundle at me. "Take that, it itches."

The moment my hands closed on the fabric, I knew what it was. This blanket was usually crumpled in the corner of my zez's weapon room. The thing inside it was heavy, solid, and suspiciously sword-shaped.

"Where did she gate you?" I demanded.

"The gym," he said. "Pascal said we needed gear, and there's still some out there." And he started moving towards Torian and Aspen. "I grabbed something for all of us."

Tucking my sword under my arm, I pulled out my phone again and found Poppy's last message. If she could gate...

Rain:

Gate people into the atrium. Hunt is coming!

Her answer was a thumbs up. Not the emoji I usually liked seeing, but Shadow had made me oddly fond of it. I was going to take that as her version of the sentinel's "heard."

"Torian!" Keir snapped, tossing something towards the prince. "Prove you know how to use a real one. Aspen, this is for you." She got a pair of shorter swords. "Wilder." Then he turned. "Hawke?" And Keir lifted both his eltam blade and a longer spear-looking thing. "You get to pick."

"Fuck, I'll take the war scythe," Hawke said, holding out his arm.

Wilder turned to me. "Your turn, Rain. I think we're going to need armor."

So I reached down and pulled shadows. I'd never really done this intentionally before. Usually, it was more of a panicked reaction, but it didn't take long before the shadows wafted from me, covered my friends, and then snapped into place.

"Sentinels!" Keir bellowed.

"Heard!" a group yelled, allowing me to see them heading toward us.

So I slung shadows at them as well. A few flinched from the darkness streaking through the air, but when it snapped into place, they realized what I was doing.

"Hunt!" Jack cawed again. "Hunt, Hunt, Hunt, Hunt!" And then he turned hard, heading into the trees just as the first rush of cold air washed over us all.