"Afternoon, Master Tag," I said.
"Suck-up," someone grumbled.
"Shh, she's on our side."
I tried to figure out who'd said that, but too many people were trying hard not to look at me. I was pretty sure it had come from the group sitting right behind me, but I didn't know any of them well enough to recognize their voices. Yet when I claimed my seat, the girl beside me, Lina, leaned in.
"So, you're the talk of the school," she said.
I sighed. "Not surprised. Do I want to know why?" But I was honestly hoping she'd tell me everything.
She flashed me a devious little smirk. "Well, the jesters say you made it all up - "
"Which 'it?'" I asked, breaking in.
She gave me a confused look. "The whole thing with the Hunt."
"Lina," I whispered, "no one talks to me. I don't have a clue what thing with the Hunt."
"So what happened before spring break?" she asked.
"I threw my suitemate a birthday party outside, with the permission of Ms. Rhodes, and we did the whole cake thing. The Hunt showed up, Torian gated a bunch of people into our suite, and the teachers came out to help us fight them."
Her eyes narrowed. "I'm not fae enough to feel lies."
"No lies," I assured her, tilting my head back. "You can ask anyone in this room, because I'm sure a few can taste them."
"So what the fuck is everyone freaking out about?" she asked.
I just shrugged. "I was hoping you'd tell me."
The guy in front of us turned around, passing me a metal hammer. "If you get these nails out, I'll fill you in."
"Seriously, Heath?" Lina teased. "I don't know why you keep taking this class. You know the tools will make you itch!"
He smiled at her just a little too nicely. "Hush. I don't have a Jack for magic, and I really don't want to swing sticks like the sentinels, so here I am. I also know there will always be someone willing to grip that damned iron for me."
So I picked up the hammer and started removing the three nails in a rather boring piece of wood. In truth, this looked more like an excuse to talk to us than a real project, but what did I know? In here, we had a lot of freedom to make whatever we wanted.
"So?" I asked as I set the first nail on the table beside the wood.
"Ok," Heath said, leaning in. "The way I heard it, the Huntsman yelled that Aspen Fox was 'the princess,' and that pissed her off so much she kicked the shit out of them. One of the hunters was killed - which should be impossible, and Torian's trying to claim he did it."
"No," I said, shaking my head. "Not... no."
Heath just jerked his chin at me. "She might not be able to taste lies, but I can."
"Ok," I said, leaning forward and lowering my voice. "Here's how it went. We did cake and presents. Everything was good, and then fog started rolling in. Jack called out that the Hunt was coming, so we got everyone back inside."
"With a gate?" Lina asked. "Rain, that's not easy to do!"
"Ms. Rhodes gave Torian permission earlier, so one was open to make taking the presents back easier," I explained, glancing over to Heath. "How'm I doing so far?"
"Complete truth," he assured me.
I nodded, because I was making sure I was only speaking facts. "But Keir, Hawke, and I are all sentinels. So we got some weapons." I lifted a hand. "I say got, because Torian made some, I made some with Wild magic, and it was a clusterfuck."
"Ok, I'm with ya," Heath agreed.
