Chapter Seventeen
HAWKE
Everyone was staring at Rain. Most of them were smiling, acting like they'd watched our little match for a bit. And while that was good for her, it made my guts clench. If they paid too much attention to my magic, they'd notice it wasn't like anyone else's - but hers.
My magic had always been tinted by the power used to fuel it. If I took from a Summer user, it came out a deep, dark green color. If I pulled from a Winter user, like usual, it turned a pewter-grey color. In the rare event I drew the source from both, it was more of an olive shade.
It wouldn't take much to realize there was Wild magic involved. Maybe mine wasn't exactly shadow magic, but it was still tinted with black. Only Wild magic had that darkness, but my friends were convinced Keir's iridescent mess would prevent any questions. Sadly, with four new sets of eyes in the room, I wasn't as convinced.
And I'd used a lot more power than I'd expected.
Deep in the back of my mind, there was a hollow spot. It was similar to the feeling of being hungry - like some sort of basic need, but different, although just as persistent. The longer I went without feeding on power, the weaker I'd become.
I couldn't stop thinking about that as we finished up our lesson. On the upside, Aspen had gotten inspired a bit by Rain's show of force. She was now swinging her swords with more determination and stronger wrists. It looked to me like she wasn't quite as worried about looking cute or pretty, and more worried about keeping up.
Then again, I thought Rain was absolutely gorgeous when she was fighting. There was a seductive power about it, as if this woman was so far out of my league. Granted, she was the Morrigan, so that was just a fact.
But she'd kissed me.
She wasn't scared of me.
And she thought I was attractive.
I wasn't sure which term she'd use - hot, sexy, or cute - but she'd made it clear she didn't think I was ugly. Me, the sharp-edged monster! The prettiest girl I'd ever met wasn't disgusted by me, and I was definitely calling this a win.
There was just one tiny problem with all of this. In here, we were completely safe. Out there, someone had already tried to attack Aspen, and I was pretty sure they were waiting for a chance to come at the rest of us. Torian had made it clear he wanted both me and Rain kept fueled up at all times, but in my quest to impress a girl, I'd drained myself down too much.
"Hey," I said to Wilder as the sentinels made their way around, cleaning up after our session. "I'm gonna need a hit."
"I need to eat first," Wilder said.
"Shit," I breathed, snagging his practice swords to put them away. "I'm basically useless if shit hits the fan, babe."
"What?" Rain asked, catching the end of that.
I just shook my head. "Nothing."
"He needs some magic," Wilder told her softly.
"I'm still full," Rain said, moving to stand chest-to-chest with me. "How do I help?"
"Uh..." I glanced around the room. "Not in front of them."
"So we dawdle," she said. "Easy enough. I need to go tell Aspen I'll be a minute."
Ok, that helped. What I didn't expect was for her to agree so easily. Then again, she had no clue how I filled my reserves. Fuck! Ok, this was going to be awkward as fuck, and I couldn't exactly back out now. Dammit!
"Kiss her," Wilder said, tossing a sly smirk my way.
"Uh, no," I said.
"I mean, it would distract her from the pinch," he pointed out.
"And make a whole mess," I hissed. "Her and Aspen? Her and Keir? Yeah, if some faelings realize I'm trying to make that her and me as well? Wilder, they'll start calling her a slut!"
"Hawke, she doesn't care," he said. "Besides, you're cute when she gets you all flustered."
"You kiss her," I shot back, hoping to change this conversation enough that I was no longer the brunt of it.
