Page 145 of Mistaken Magic

Mymouth hung open. "Whosaid that?"

Helifted a hand. "Youdid,Keirhinted, andI'mnot stupid.Keirmade a few comments, which made me curious.Thefact that he's even trying to be nice to the court was the first hint.Thathe foughtHawkefor the right to wait for you after detention was another.Thenhe hesitated before callingAspenyour best friend."

"Sheis,"Iinsisted.

"Uh-huh,"Brackensaid. "Rain,Ican hear that lie.It'snot a complete untruth, but that doesn't mean it's a complete truth either."

"AndBrackentold me,"Liamadmitted. "So, are you datingAspenFox?"

"Yeah,"Isaid. "Pleasedon't make us change rooms."

"Leftthe teacher hat over there,"Liamassured me. "Thisis my caseworker one, remember.Imight have the counselor one ready if you need it, so spill."

Yeah, spill.Therewas so much, though, andIwasn't sure where to start!Ramblingwas the bestIhad. "So,I'venever liked a girl before,"Itold him. "Iwanted to talk to you, butAspensaid the rules would make one of us move.Probablyme, since she's, well, her."

"Andwe want her close to the chaperone,"Brackenagreed.

"Why?"Iasked.

"Powermanagement,"Liamexplained. "Rain, we've had magical accidents before, and with someone as powerful asAspen?It'snot a risk we want to take.So, yes.Youwould be the one to move - but so long as there's not a problem,Idon't think it needs to be an official thing, does it?"

Ipulled my legs up under me. "No, but, um..."Thiswas the hard part.Ireally wanted to trustLiam, butIwas used to not saying anything toanyone.Still,Ineeded advice, and he was kinda in the same situation. "So, that's kinda the thing.Imean, dating, you know?"

"Notat all,"Liamsaid, turning to lean againstBrackenso he was facing me a little more. "Stilldon't have on the teacher's hat,Rain."

SoIjust blurted it out. "I'mdatingAspen, andIreally like her, but she thinksIshould flirt withKeir, and he kissed me yesterday when we got our grades.She'shappy about it, and they keep saying it's a fae thing, butIkeep feeling like this is too good to be true.Sinceshe's my first girlfriend, it's not likeI'mdoing so good at this.Idon't even know how to show her howIfeel, so what ifImess it up?WhatifI'mnot what she wants?Whatif she gets tired of me trying so hard to figure all this out?Imean,Iknow you don't like girls so it probably doesn't make any sense to you, butI'mjust worried because she is the whole reasonI'mhere, and - "

"Breathe!"Brackensnapped. "Holyshit,Rain.Breathe."

Ipulled in a long, deep breath, but that torrent of verbal vomit had felt so damned good.Allthe thoughts in my head had finally been given a path to work themselves out, and these two men sat there, looking at me with a mixture of awe and amusement on their faces.

"Igot this,"BrackentoldLiambefore he got up and moved to my side. "Rain, it's a fae thing.Morespecifically, aFaeriething.Myown father was my mother's lover.Therewas no marriage, but there's also no shame in such things.Childrenare rare and should be treasured.Sinceyou're surrounded by kids, you have no idea how many childless relationships there are.Takinglovers often was a way to havesomekind of family, and it became habit."

"But..."

Helifted a finger, then knelt down before me. "Onething at a time.Loveis love is love,Rain.Faewill move slower than the boys you're used to, so stop worrying about that part.Theconnection is mental, not physical.Don'tget me wrong, we hook up too, but it's treated differently.Loveis part of whatLiamandIhave.Amarriage is something like a day job.Afriendship, however, is love and trust combined.It'sa connection that is deeper than flesh.Tohave lust with it?Itonly makes sense to act on it - and to share the wealth.So, if you have a girlfriendanda boyfriend, it's fine."

"That'swhat they both told me,"Iadmitted. "Butis this the kind of thing that will cause a wave of slut-shaming?"

Hecanted his head. "Unlikely, butIcan't rule it out.Thebigger issue is that you're aligning yourself with the most obvious users ofWintermagic.WilderandAspencan't touchSummermagic like most others," he explained. "Theyalso don't care if anyone else approves because they're strong enough to hold their own."

"ButI'mnot,"Irealized.

"Notmagically,"Brackenagreed. "Buthere's the thing,Rain.There'snothing wrong withWintermagic.Manyof the fae who escaped came from theSummerCourt, but that's becauseWinternobility were killed.Theirlovers, children, and distant relatives were all hunted down and killed.Therearen't many left, and so the thinking became that it was becauseWintermagic was worse, or weaker, or inferior in some way."

"Butit's not,"Iguessed.

"It'ssimply another season,"Brackenassured me. "Forthe fae born onEarth, like many of the students here, it's a way to divide themselves.Asimple manner to say they're better.Aschism between our culture that was caused by theMadQueenand carried over.Noneof that means it's inherentlytrue."

"Butit's a reason to come after us,"Irealized. "Allof us?EvenTorianandHawke?"

"Eventhem,"Brackenagreed. "Although,Ithink you have no problem with handling your bullies.IknowToriandoesn't.Hawkehas his own methods.WilderandAspenaren't weak, they aren't vulnerable, and they aren't trying to get approval for being what they are.Butyou?You'rethe odd one out in that group.Now,LiamandIare here to help.Thatdoesn't mean tolerating the social dance of my kind will be easy, but you shouldn't refuse to do something simply because it might be hard."

Mynext question was almost too soft to hear. "Anddating a girl?"

"That'snot what you're really asking, is it?"Brackenasked.

"Kinda,"Iadmitted.

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