Page 120 of Mistaken Magic

Thebird nodded his head vigorously.

"Wereyou trying to help the king?'Liamasked.

Thistime,Jackshook his head no. "Rain!"

"Youwere warningRainabout theHunt."Liampushed out a breath. "Youknow they won't come after her, right?"

Jacknodded, but this time it was only one bob of his beak. "Hunt.HuntHunt!JackHuntHunt."

Liamjust looked up at me. "Ihave no clue what that means, but one thing is very clear.Itseems you have a familiar.Evidently, you aren't only interesting toAspen.You'reinteresting to the crows as well.Now, c'mon.Weneed to check the other doors, andIthinkJackwill keep up."

"Jack!" the bird agreed, flapping up so he could land on my shoulder. "RainJack."

AsIfollowedLiam,Ireached up to pet him.He'dearned it, after all, because theHuntwas a lot more terrifying thanI'dimagined.Imight not be able to see them any longer, but the wind was still blowing, there were still crows on the roof, andIhad a feeling we'd be in lockdown for a little while longer.

AndthenI'dmelt down.Notuntil this was over.Imight be scared shitless, but right now, this was somethingIcould do and my friends needed me.Myenemies too.

Chapter Forty-Eight

Therest of our classes were canceled after that.Noone wanted to go back outside, and the exterior doors remained locked.Therewas a subtle anxiety running through the student body, yet headcounts showed we were all accounted for.Becauseit had been lunchtime, even the teachers from the outbuildings had been inside to grab a meal.

Evidently, we weren't usually this lucky.Iheaded to my room to check onAspen, but found our suite empty.WhenIstarted asking others in the halls if they'd seen her, one girl said she was pretty sure she'd been with her brother.Ididn't know what rooms the guys were in, andIdidn't care.Runningdown the hall,Ifinally used the double doors separating the boys’ side from the girls’, and kept going.

"Where'sTorian'sroom?"Iasked the first guyIsaw.

"Nearthe elevators," he told me. "Idon't know the number!"

SoIkept going, andJackflew behind me.Sincethe doors were locked, he was still inside, and it seemed no one was upset about that.Someonejumped out of the way, not expecting a bird to be trailing me, but that was about it.WhenImade it halfway up the hall,Istarted asking again.

"WhereisTorian'sroom?OrHawke.Wilder?"

"Lastones on the atrium side," the guy said. "Lasttwo suites before the elevator."

Ireached the first one and banged on it.Whenthere wasn't an immediate answer,Idid it again, thumping my fist against the wood until it was finally opened, revealingWilderon the other side.

"Rain," he breathed, pulling me in.

"Jack," my crow said, slipping through the gap in the door.

"Jack!"Aspencalled out excitedly, proving she was in there.

Istepped aroundWilderto see her sitting in the middle of the floor.Torianwas beside her, sprawled like he'd been hugging her.Bothof his legs were bent, one behindAspen'sback, and his chest faced her shoulder.Shewas turned toward him just enough so it was personal, but not that kind of personal.

Hawkewas lying on his side across from them, and a game ofMonopolywas spread on the floor between them.They'dbeen gaming while that went on?Seeingit,Isighed in relief, moving over to sit on whoever's bed this was.

"Youweren't in your room,"ItoldAspen.

"Ididn't want to be alone," she admitted, climbing to her feet. "Torsaid you were helping."

Inodded. "Thatwas the most terrifying thingI'veever been through."

Aspencame over and kissed me gently. "Thankyou," she breathed against my lips. "Theglass is enchanted to keep them out, but they've cracked it before.Itnever lasts too long, but it always feels like an eternity.Areyou ok?"

Ihugged her waist, not caring if the guys were watching. "Yeah.Jackhelped.He'skinda my hero right now.Ithink he got the other crows to attack them, but that's probably stupid, huh?"

Thewords were no more out of my mouth beforeJackdecided to land in the middle of their game, scattering all the pieces.Hoppingin place, he turned to inspect the three boysaround him.Wilderstood there, his hands out - which made me think he'd been winning.TorianandHawkejust watched the bird.

ThenJackturned toTorianand lowered his beak to the ground.Inresponse,Toriandipped his head.Asif that was a signal,Jackturned toWilderand did the same, but he didn't bow quite as low.Probablybecause he was exhausted.Wilderdipped his head respectfully.Finally,Jackturned toHawke, swiveling his head as he inspected him.

---