"You're teenagers," Bracken said as if that explained everything. "One hour. Rain? I'm trusting you to actually use the whole time."
"Can do, Zez. Well, give or take a few minutes."
Wilder just reached up to rub the back of his neck. "That wasn't even close to being true."
I just shrugged. "I didn't want to accidentally set off any fae magic."
Aspen wrinkled her nose at the dissonance. "And that's even worse!"
"Do not get her started," Keir warned them.
But the group of us simply stood there, listening to Ms. Rhodes and Bracken walking across the gym. Their steps were soft and light, but Ms. Rhodes' heels still did that clacking thing just enough for me to know when she'd reached the main exit. That was when Hawke moved to close the door to our room, blocking their sounds.
"I think Ms. Rhodes is right," he said.
"Weneedto be focused on how to deflect their attacks," Torian told him. "How is manhandling a sword, or spear, or any other weapon going to protect Aspen?"
"It may have prevented her from being attacked from behind," Keir offered.
I shook my head. "She didn't see it coming, though."
"Jack!" my bird cawed.
"And you didn't see it either!" I told him. "Look, there's no reason you three can't focus on magic. Hawke, you too."
"Me?" he asked, clearly confused.
"You have magic, right?" Had I said something stupid?
"Yeah..." He glanced at Torian as if checking to see if that was the right answer.
But I waved Torian away, making it clear this wasn't about him. "You have Wild magic. I do too. Keir's doing his Earth thing. That means yours won't look weird, right?"
"She has a point," Wilder said.
I flashed him a smile. "Ok, and if someone comes at Aspen, are you going to not do anything because you shouldn't be using your magic?" I asked, keeping my attention on Hawke. "Or do you only protect Torian?"
"No!" he huffed. "Of course not."
"So what Ivy and Bracken - "
"Ivy?" Torian asked, cutting me off.
"You know Ms. Rhodes has a deal with her," Keir said, a clear warning in his tone to leave it alone.
I let out a heavy sigh. "No one is saying any of you suck!" Turning, I glared at all the bruised egos in the room. "That's not why they have us in here. This is a chance. It's a privilege most don't get. This? It's my zez and the dean of this entire school saying we have free rein to figure out what we need to do to help each other."
"Because," Wilder said as he leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms, "this isn't a normal court. We're supposed to be in two of them. Instead, we're just us. All for one, and all that. This isthecourt. Royal, noble, human, wildling, and everything else we've thrown together."
"Peasant," Keir mumbled, subtly adding himself into the mix.
"Knight," Aspen hurried to correct.
"Which I was counting as noble," Wilder said. "And none of us really care about any of that, do we?"
"I don't," Aspen said.
"Me either," I agreed.
