Page 8 of The Badger in His Burrow

“Because I grew up in the north woods and have never once had a tick, and have only gotten a poison ivy rash once.” He grinned at me. “Of course, badgers don’t react to it.”

“What? How is that fair?” I wanted to know.

“You want some fun trivia?” he asked me.

“Sure?” I like trivia.

“You’re not a primate anymore.”

“What?”

“Shifters aren’t primates. I don’t know what weare, but we don’t react to poison ivy, and only primates react to poison ivy,” he told me. “The one time I reacted to it, I was little—six or seven, I think. Not a single reaction since I first shifted, and I’m sure I’ve gotten myself into it plenty of times.” Then he grinned at me. “Elves? Elves are primates.”

“Are you telling me you gave Hart poison ivy?”

He barked out a laugh. “Not on purpose, although I did get it all over him once that was particularly bad. He wascoveredin little red bumps and blisters for a week.”

“That’shorrible,” I chided him.

“I didn’t mean to!” he insisted.

“But youlaughedabout it,” I pointed out, although I wasn’t as horrified as I pretended. It still seemed mean, though.

He shrugged, but looked a little chagrined. “He’s the one who tried to pick me up,” he half-muttered.

“And how old were you?”

“Sixteen? Seventeen?”

That made a lot more sense. Teenage guys are stupid dicks. But then I frowned. “Didn’t he not get Arcana until later than that?” I asked.

“Oh, he wasn’t an elf then. He’s gotten himself into it all on his own since, though.”

“Without your help?”

“Yep. I mean, I was along for at least two later incidents, but I did try to warn him.” Elliot shrugged. “Val’s stubborn.”

I snorted, unable to help myself. “Do tell.”

He grinned at me. I smiled back, and the moment warmed a bit—maybe too much, and I shuffled, a little uncomfortable. “So I can root through your kitchen?” I said, bringing us back to the original reason I’d come downstairs.

“Yeah, of course.” The smile he gave me then was smaller, but still genuine. “And the tomatoes.”

I nodded. “Right. Great. Thanks.”

I turned, feeling a bit like the world’s most awkward roommate, and went back upstairs to start rifling through Elliot’s kitchen.

“Seth, are you serious?”Noah sounded incredulous, and that was probably not a good sign. He and Lulu were on a layover in some airport somewhere, but it was in the US, so he’d taken the opportunity to call me to yell at me about my life choices. “You just… drove all the way across the fucking country?—”

“Halfway. Wisconsin is only halfway across the country.”

“Shut up, baby brother.”

“An hour doesn’t count,” I muttered, the same way I always did when Noah pointed out that he was older than me.

“Not the time or place, Seth.”

I sighed.

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