Pascal's head snapped up. "Really?"
"I mean, that works for you, right, Pas?" Daivon asked.
"You did swear your loyalty to her," Keir taunted.
Bran was chuckling. "Man, I'm so relieved for you. Took you long enough to manifest, but you aren't doing it mildly."
"No, he's not," Hawke agreed.
"Because there's not enough Winter users?" Rain asked me.
"Maybe," I said.
But movement caught my eye, making me look down. On the floor, her shadow was shaking its head. I simply lifted a hand and crooked a finger at it.
"If you have commentary, make it a little more obvious, Shadow."
So it stood, lifting off the floor. Rain leaned back a bit, surprised by that, but most things tended to obey the command of royalty. That was why I hadn't asked.
"Is he Winter?" I asked.
"Queen!" Jack responded, flapping over to join us.
Rain lifted her arm, catching him easily. "So that's a yes?" she asked, making sure.
Both Jack and Shadow nodded.
Well, that confirmed it. I had another question, though. "Was he always?"
Jack twisted his head, but Shadow shook its head, clearly saying no.
"Wait, what?" Pascal asked.
I lifted a finger, begging him to wait. "Is his power weak?" I tried next.
Both Jack and Shadow shook their heads.
"Because there are so few Winter users?" I asked.
Again, both said no, this time almost in unison.
"Interesting," Wilder breathed, moving closer.
And all of them were pulling in. Aspen moved to my side, facing both Jack and Shadow nearly the same way I was.
"Do you know why he's Winter?" she asked.
Jack shook his head no, but Shadow nodded. Ok, that was unexpected.
"Um, any clue what that means?" Rain asked.
"One knows, the other doesn't," Pascal said. "Why? Is it weird that I'm Winter?"
Hawke looked at the other sentinels in the room. "A bit," he said.
"Why?" Bran demanded.
I had this. "His hair is warm-toned," I explained. "His skin has a warm tint as well. His eyes are leaning to the green shades. Clearly, Pascal descended from a Summer fae."
