Noble blinked. "Of course you are. If you are worried about the length of the trip, don't be. You see…"
"I'm not worried about how long it will take to get there," Rain interrupted. "I…I can't just disappear like a thief in the night. Clan Sorrow has been so kind to me, and I won't abandon Tamar without saying goodbye."
"We can leave a note." Noble could see in the girl's eyes that it would never suffice.
The mother felt a knot in her throat. If she had had the chance to say a proper goodbye to Flint, she would not have missed it for two worlds.
However, things were complicated.
"Tamar doesn't know your real name, but if she was with you when you Awakened, then she does know a very big secret about you. I have to get you out of here before she tells…"
"She won't!" Rain covered her mouth, realizing she was louder than necessary. She continued in a quieter tone. "She told me not to tell anyone. Tamar will keep my secret."
"Even if that were true, home is safer while we figure out how to proceed." Noble was surprised by her daughter's certainty, but really, it didn't change much. They needed time to regroup.
"Is it?" Rain raised her eyebrows in challenge. "Is it safer? You said you have no proof to show I'm innocent in the Skinwalker incident. What do you think will happen when I show up out of the blue?"
Noble was taken aback. She had expected Rain to be relieved to come home.
"We will figure it out. I think Ki Song has moved on, and if she hasn't, well then we will just hide you until she has…"
"Hide? Like changing my name and pretending to be someone else? I'm already doing that here. If you are suggesting that I hide in our home, I don't want to be a hermit. I can't stay cooped up without a purpose." Rain shook her head. She was too stubborn to let the world pass her by like that.
"Rainy, I know it seems like the end of the world, but this is only temporary until your Dad confirms you are no longer a person of interest," Noble assured her. "Come home and we can…"
"Mom, I want to fight."
Noble frowned. "There are plenty of Nightmare Creatures around Ravenheart for you to eliminate."
"I mean, I want to fight in the war." Rain sat up a little straighter.
"War?" The mother blinked.
Rain nodded firmly.
"I can see the signs. War is here, Mom. And I want to go. We have too many good people in the Song Domain. I can't just sit idly by and let Tamar, Fleur, and Ray head out to war when I am able to contribute."
"Contribute to bloodshed?" Noble pressed her lips together. Had her daughter gone crazy?
"I want to contribute to the defense of our home and keeping the people we love safe."
Rain didn't want to go to war out of anger, but love. The irony!
Noble took a deep breath.
"Your heart is in the right place, my love. But let's be realistic for a moment. How much of a difference will one newly awakened soldier make in a war of two Sovereigns?"
Rain didn't hesitate. "Compared to staying home and hiding in my room? A world of difference. And to the person on my right and left on the battlefield? Two worlds of difference if I can save their life even once."
'So naïve.' Noble sighed. There was no way to argue about the horrors of war with someone who hadn't experienced it.
"And what if the person to the right or left doesn't save your life when the time comes?"
"Then I'll just have to trust that my shadow has my back while I handle what's in front of me." The meaning behind Rain's comment was not lost on Noble.
It wasn't just some flippant remark.
'SUNNY!' Noble glanced at the girl's shadow with fire in her eyes. It was no wonder that the man had fled like his life depended on it.
He knew!
He knew, and he hadn't warned her!
The man was right to run. If Rain went, the shadowy Saint would be fighting against himself in a war—on one side in the shadows and on the other in an open conflict as a Dark Lord.
What kind of sense did that make?
None at all, but then again, when had that man's choices ever made sense to her?
Rarely.
Rain's choices, on the other hand, made far too much sense. The young woman wanted to use her newfound power for the good of others.
Noble could sympathize. Hadn't she and Fort been working for years to do all they could for humanity? Rain was following in their footsteps the only way she knew how…
Rain coughed.
"It was a joke, Mom. You look like you are about to murder someone. Please say something."
Noble realized she hadn't spoken since her daughter had mentioned her shadow. Part of her probably did want to strangle Sunny, if only for throwing her into this situation blind.
'He still acted like a coward…but I get it.'
"Mom?"
Noble stopped her swirling eyes.
"I don't want anyone to die, especially not you. If anything, I was wishing I hadn't been such a good role model all these years…"
"I don't understand…"
"And you probably won't until you are a parent." Noble shook her head. "Do you at least have a solid combat Aspect?"
Rain averted her gaze. "I don't know yet."
"Come again?" Surely Noble hadn't heard right. "You want to go into a war of Awakened without an Aspect?"
The younger woman hesitated before answering. "Yes. It's not any different than others who have non-combat Aspects. Your Aspect isn't combat-related, and you proved you could hold your own in the Dreamscape without it."
Noble mentally winced.
'Yet another thing I suddenly wish I were not good at…'
"I will learn it soon enough. I will figure it out like I did with Awakening; it's only a matter of time. Who knows? I might discover it tomorrow, and it will be so powerful that the Sovereigns will have no choice but to stop this senselessness and listen to me." Rain shrugged. "Unlikely, but I can hope, can't I?"
"There's always hope." The mother took a deep breath.
Noble could feel Rain's determination, and despite her hesitation in answering her final question, the girl's resolve was virtually unshakable.
The mother sighed.
"You've made up your mind, haven't you?"
Rain nodded. "I have."
That left Noble with two options. She could force Rain to go home. Noble was more than powerful enough to contain her daughter even as an Awakened.
However, the idea of abduction left a bad taste in Noble's mouth.
That left the second choice. Rain was going to leave, most likely for a Death Zone. Foolish and misguided as it might be, it was the daughter's call to make what she did with her life.
'There was only one thing to be done, then.' Noble's eyes began to swirl once more.
"Fine. Go be a hero."
"Really?" Rain lifted her head.
Her mother nodded.
"Yes. But I'm going with you."