Ms. Rhodes waved that off. "They're all gone. Not even the trees outside have shadows right now."
"Is that why it looks off?" Liam asked.
"Yes," Ms. Rhodes breathed. "I simply don't know if she used them up or sent them away. The problem is that I'm sure she doesn't either."
"I don't," Rain admitted. "I just wanted to push the Hunt as far from here as possible."
"But she's using too much magic," Torian said. "She burns through it like it's unlimited."
"She barely knows what she's doing," Ms. Rhodes countered. "We've been working on her transfer of - "
"The stone!" Rain said, sitting up. "It glowed!"
"This?" Aspen leaned back to pull the crow-shaped thing from the bedside table. "It's a rock."
"It'sreuci," Ms. Rhodes said. "It can hold Wild magic the same way crystals hold seasonal. I was hoping to charge it enough so she could create a bond with her weapons and armor."
"She was wearing shadows," Bracken pointed out.
"Hawke and me too," I told them. "The Huntsman took a swing at me and Rain's shadows just..." I made a gesture of something flying at my chest. "And it formed, encasing both of us."
"Took a full-on hit from the Huntsman with it," Hawke added. "Rain, next time we need helmets, ok?" And he pointed at the side of his face. "Pretty sure this is going to bruise, because it still hurts."
"I'll heal you later," I told him.
Hawke nodded, but Rain reached out for Ms. Rhodes' arm. "Is everyone ok? Did they get anyone this time?"
"The staff is doing a head count right now," Ms. Rhodes assured her. "Nevaeh said Lukas kept dodging, which was the only reason they hadn't been hauled off, and then you were there."
"So those three are ok?" Rain asked.
"Yes," Ms. Rhodes assured her. "And yes, you saved them, Rain. You are getting to bequitethe Morrigan."
"Yeah, but I didn't do it right," she said. "It never feels like I'm doing it right! I push and pull, and it's like I'm struggling to even touch them!"
"Because they are the Hunt," Torian said. "They are seasonal sidhe wrapped in Wild magic. Your powers cannot break that. Rain, they're the same thing you are."
"So why are they killing fae?" she demanded.
Torian licked his lips. "Because they answer to the crown."
"Is that what he said?" she asked.
"It is," Torian confirmed. "The problem is there's only one crown right now."
"Ok," she muttered, thinking hard. "He also said he doesn't want Hawke. Why?"
Torian smiled. "Now that I didn't know." And he looked at his friend.
"He still smacked me off my feet!" Hawke grumbled. "Asshole."
"But he does want Aspen," Torian said. "And that is a problem."
"A big one," I agreed.
Rain just huffed. "Over my dead body."
"No," Liam said. "Rain, hewillkill you. Don't even think that's a threat, because to the Wild Hunt, destroying anything in their way is the goal. They are not your battle!"
