"Try it, dipshit," I taunted.
A flick of his wrist was all it took, but the air around us was growing colder. Before the magic even left his palm, the windows had iced over.Jayden's green blob slammed into my chest, Aspen sliced her hand through the air, and I shoved both of mine forward.
Reapers. That was the only word which came to mind to describe the shapes, because they looked like hooded forms made of darkness, but they rocketed towards Jayden, stopping at the last minute to brace. A wave of ice slammed into them, leaving spikes that pierced the shadows before evaporating into mist within a fraction of a second.
And yet I'd seen it. Jayden had too, because his smug smirk was gone and the asshole's eyes were wide as he slowly shifted his focus from me to Aspen.
"Oh, that's it!" he breathed before lashing out.
This time, there was no warning glow. There was little more than a rush of power in the air, invisible except for the wave of movement it made. I jumped over, putting my body in the way and pushed more. Then a little more.
Darkness poured from me. Jack launched into the air, screaming, "Morrigan!" The magic slammed into my gut, forcing the air from my lungs with its intensity, but my body accepted it all and immediately turned back into shadows.
Yet in all the darkness I was creating, a flash of white, then another lit the walls and ceiling. Snow began to fall. A warm breeze pushed it all towards the jester guy who'd started this, and then there was the brightest flash. I couldn't even identify the color due to the intensity, but everything slowed.
"How dare you touch her!" Torian's voice rang out, echoing in the halls like it was larger than life.
Green began to shine. I noticed the girl's shirt at the side. There was a backpack on someone else. A few people had eyes that seemed to glow with the color before an eruption of it burst from Jayden's chest. The guy was moving at half speed, but his face still reacted to whatever Torian was doing.
I turned in time to see Hawke closing a pair of gates. His attention was on them, as if he was unweaving the very fabric of the air. Wilder was removing the ice and snow from the school. Aspen had moved behind me, one overly warm hand resting against my shoulder blade. I knew that was her power, ready to fuel me if I needed it.
And yet the green kept coming. From an intensity of color to what looked like glitter levitating in the air, the particles quickly coalesced into astream that rushed straight for Torian's hand, returning to roost with him the same way Jack always did with me.
But that was when I heard, "Stop!" And the voice belonged to Keir. "Torian, no!"
Pushing aside students caught in the slow-magic, Keir shoved his way to the front and grabbed Torian with one hand. The other gestured in Jayden's direction - and the green vanished.
"Fucking idiot!" Keir snapped - atTorian!"Just because you can doesn't mean you should!"
"He touched her!" Torian snarled.
So Keir pushed up in his face. "Does it look like I care? You can protect her without harming others, and taking our magicdoeshurt. So learn to be better!"
"I will - "
"Torian!" Ms. Rhodes bellowed, making the boys fall silent.
Aspen and I spun. She was now in front of me, so I clasped her upper arms, making it clear I was still shielding her. Wilder lifted his hand to snap his fingers, and the spell slowing everyone was gone, causing people to stumble as they returned to full speed without warning. Hawke simply waved away the last traces of what must be the gates they'd used to get here, pulling the excess power into his chest - where it vanished.
And shoes clicked loudly on the hard tile floors. "What the hell is going on here?" Ms. Rhodes sounded like a general in that moment. "I want to know who was involved!"
Someone pointed at Jayden. More pointed at me, Aspen, Torian, Hawke, Wilder, and Keir. Without slowing, Ms. Rhodes looked at all the fingers declaring our guilt, then to her watch.
Tapping it twice, she said, "You all have five minutes to get where you belong. Jayden, that doesnotinclude you." Then she looked at me. "Or your court, Miss le Fae."
"Morrigan!" Jack cawed. "Shadows. Rain-Morrigan. Court, Rain!" He ruffled his feathers.
"Try. Harder," Ms. Rhodes snapped at him.
"Morrigan!" Jack screamed at her. "Morrigan, Morrigan, Morrigan, Morrigan!"
Ms. Rhodes sighed. "Someone had best tell me what happened here," she warned us.
Jayden was busy looking at his hands. Following them all the way up tohis arms and shoulders, then checking his waist before starting all over again. "My power!" he gasped.
Torian laughed once. "Didn't you hear? I'm a monster."
"Office. Now!" Ms. Rhodes ordered before turning to look at me. "And you! Do you think this is funny? He was draining this boy's power, and what did you do?"
