Slowly, he picked up a shirt and started folding it, almost unconsciously. "How strong are you, Keir?"
"Not," I replied. "I can block anything I want, but that's about it."
"And heal, and unlock doors, because your key is still on the bedside table in Hawke's room. Oh, and you can wade through Wild magic without even hesitating."
"For Rain."
He turned, pinning me with his dark gaze. "I still flinch from it, but you didn't. I don't care who it's from, I know what that shit can do."
"I don't."
"Keir, the shadows of Wild magic can negate ours. Completely negate, making seasonal magic turn Wild. Since our bodies run on magic, it's no different than removing our air. It can fuckingkillus!"
"And it's Rain," I said again. "I trust that she won't harm me with it. And yeah, I hesitated long enough I noticed it was obeying her. That was all I needed to see."
"Mm..." he murmured. "Yeah. Makes sense." Then he huffed out a laugh. "So have you decided if you're staying here or coming back yet?"
"I'm staying," I assured him.
"Yeah, then I am too." He reached over to gently squeeze my shoulder. "Because you're still on the court. See, you made the right friends, and contrary to popular belief, Torian isn't the one who makes the rules."
Those words made the ache in my chest finally dissolve. "Good to know. Very good to know."
"Mhm, it is, isn't it?" And Wilder kept folding.
Chapter Thirty-Four
RAIN
Lately, I hated the weekends the most. Saturday morning, I woke up and had breakfast with my dads. They both wanted to check in on me, and Jack insisted. When I finally left there, I passed by Torian's suite, but didn't stop.
Aspen was avoiding me for a reason. I was pretty sure that reason had a collection of letters which stood for something my dad would know like PTSD, or something with an A for anxiety. I also trusted her enough to give her space. She was healing, and we'd be closer if I didn't turn into one of those psycho girlfriends.
Sadly, it was easier to say it than believe it.
And sure, a trip to the atrium helped. I noticed Jeff from biology, but he was with his other faeling friends. Lynn, the girl who'd helped me when I'd first come here saw me - and then pointedly pretended like she didn't. So, once Jack was done relieving himself, I headed back up to my room.
I had studying to do, after all. Ms. Rhodes - it was still kinda weird to know I could call her Ivy - had been working to find the limitations of my shadows. In the controlled environment of our classroom, they seemed to work differently than they had with the Hunt. Sadly, my own shadow had turned normal again too.
So I picked up my tablet and checked on my literature assignment. With the proper book loaded, I lay back on my bed, grabbed the stonependant she'd given me, trying to remember where I'd left off in this story. Sadly, school-assigned novels were rarely the type which sucked me in.
And while I read, I pushed little bits of Wild magic into the stone. This was my homework for the class I was calling Intro to Shadow Magic. On my transcripts, it still looked like English Lit, but that wasn't what I was studying. My task here was to concentrate on something else - the reading - while starting and stopping my power, giving me control of its use.
Two chapters later, Jack woke up on his perch and started looking around. "Court!" he declared.
A knock sounded on my door.
For a moment, I hoped it was Aspen, but I knew that was dumb. She didn't knock. She'd just go into her own room, then come across the bathroom. So, if this was someone from the court, then maybe Keir had come to check on me?
But when I opened the door, it was Wilder on the other side. "Hey," he said.
"Um, come in?" I stepped back.
He made it halfway into the room before he paused, looking at a plant. "Whoa," he breathed, immediately moving closer to caress the thorny thing. "Hawke said it was vibrant, but this one's almost blue!"
"So, cool thing?" I asked, because the leaves looked pretty green to me.
Wilder just tipped a vine up to reveal indigo-colored buds. "This shade is the most loyal of all the Assassins," he explained. "The lighter the flowers, the more they work like motion detectors, but this kind? She'll learn who your friends are and who is intruding. Yeah, you're a beautiful lady, aren't ya?" He crooned the last part to the plant.
