"Hawke has it," he broke in.
I flashed him a smile. "I'm very purposefully not looking for it right now."
"Good, because he has a theory that stone can work as a battery for you. A reservoir of extra power. As for using it?" He glanced away.
"What?" I begged.
"Rain, he's talking."
"The Huntsman?"
Torian nodded. "Yeah, him. He never went off script - until you hit him with power. You can't keep doing that."
"But I have to do something!"
He tilted his head and looked at me. "Try using a sword. Iron still hurts the fae. All fae, Rain, even wildlings. The sidhe burn faster and easier, but wildlings aren't immune to it. Even our plants wither in it. And while yes, Jack gave you his magic, your greatest strength with the Hunt is that you can hold that fucking sword Bracken gave you."
"Oh."
Then Torian reached across the table, his fingertips brushing the top of my arm. "I can't teach you that."
"Keir has been."
Torian grunted. "I can teach you how to be a weapon."
"Please?" I begged.
"Give her a present, Rain, and it will be a deal. I will come, I will be civil, and nothing will matter but making her happy and keeping her safe. Do we have an agreement?"
My eyes narrowed as I replayed his words. "If I give her a present, you will not only come to Aspen's party, but also enjoy it - or do your best to either try to or fake it - and you will not pressure her about anything for the course of the day? Plus, you will give me the chance to fix whatever I've done to cause this rift between us?"
His lips were curling higher. "You bargain like a fae, le Fae."
"I have the name for a reason," I reminded him. "Is it a deal, Torian?"
"I agree to your terms but do not restrict myself to them." He flicked his brows at me even as the magical release of our agreement filled the room. "And so you know, I stopped being mad at you the moment you said you were sorry." He glanced away. "I am too, Rain. Mostly, I'm sorry I can't tell you the things you want to know. I'm sorry we can't be stupidly happy children forever. And I'm sorry it's all going to get fucked up."
"It doesn't have to," I countered.
"Yeah," he said softly. "That's where you're wrong. Growing up means things change. Those things fuck up the nostalgia of childhood. There's no way to stop it."
"But you can hold on to it," I said. "I think that's Aspen's problem, actually. You want to hurry to the end where you can have control of everything, and her? She just wants to stop and smell the roses while she's on the way - and maybe even take the scenic route."
"There's no scenic route through life."
"Then make one," I told him. "Because if you love your sister half as much as I do, you'll figure out how."
He laughed once. "Rain, I was wrong."
"Huh?"
"You are a good Morrigan. You're just not the Morrigan I hoped for. I think you're the one we need, though."
"Help me get better?" I asked.
Casually, he began to trace the grain of the wood on the table. "I promise."
Chapter Sixty-Eight
