Page 28 of Mistaken Magic

"Glamour.London."Sheturned her attention back to me, then pointed toward the table next to my bed. "Igot you a housewarming gift."Thenshe spun right back around, her short skirt flaring with the motion, and marched back to her side of the suite.

Theshutting of the door was like a slap to the face, pulling me from the shock of what had just happened.Iwas still breathing too fast, the terror of being trapped on a busy street a bit too real.Mymind was trying to reject the truth of me being in my room.Liamjust watched me, a worried look on his face, soIgave up.Makingmy way back to my bed,Isat down and looked at the "housewarming gift"Aspenhad brought.

Itwas a plant.Astrange one, to be sure.Italmost looked like an orchid and aVenusflytrap had been mixed together.Therewere large leaves that grew from the bottom.Theywere a deep, almost blue-green color.The"flowers" that reached up were what reminded me of theVenusflytrap, though.Theylooked like little mouths clamped down around something.Itwas actually a pretty cool little plant, even ifIwould most likely end up killing it.

"Isgardening a magic skill?"Iasked, unsure what else to say.

"Canbe,"Liamadmitted. "Itfalls under enchantment, mostly.Thestronger a fae's magic, the more control they have over nature, and that includes circumstances.ActsofGod, if you will.Thereare also potions, spells, and all the things you'd expect.Theproblem is youwillsee it in the halls of this school.Youwill be expected to understand and identify all types of magic.Youwill also be trained in defending against them and avoiding them."

"BecauseI'mnot magic?"Iasked.

"Youare not," he admitted. "Youseem to be completely human.Nofae ancestry anywhere."Thenhe murmured a noise, stopping himself. "Ishould also explain that a person is a fae,F-A-E.Theirworld isFaerie,F-A-E-R-I-E.Weusually see theA-I-R-Yversion in books, but to them, that kind of fairy means gay.Believeit or not, some can hear the difference."

"Great,"Ibreathed. "So,IguessIget to learn a second language too?"

"It'san option," he said. "Unlessyou're ready to go back, call all this off, and take the group home option?"

No,Ididn't want that.Ialso wasn't completely convincedIbelievedLiam, butIcouldn't doubt it either.Myquick trip toLondonhad left a lasting impressionIwas trying very hard to ignore.Rightnow,Iwas just completely and totally confused.Mymind was spinning, the smell ofLondonstill so fresh in my memories, yetI'dnever been there.

Ididn't know whatIwas supposed to do or what was expected of me.Ihad no clue howIwas supposed to pass my classes in a magic school ifIdidn't have magic.Ialso couldn't quite accept this magic thing wasn't just a big joke.Iwanted to check the walls for a projector.Itried to think of anythingImay have ingested that could've been drugged.Therewas nothing.Thishad to be real, yet my brain wanted to reject it as impossible.

ButLondonhad been real.Soterrifyingly real.

Thebigger question was ifIcould do this.Granted, that put me right back to whereI'dbeen this morning.Italso made me realize whyLiamhad told me to think about this.Ialready had my arguments for and against fleshed out.This?Itreally changed nothing.EitherIcould figure it out and muddle through, orIcould go back, go to the state home, and grow up to have some minimum-wage job that wouldn't even cover my bills.

"I'mnot going to get very good grades,"Iwarned him.

Liam'sshoulders relaxed and the man breathed a sigh of relief. "Soyou're staying?"

"Mightas well try, right?Worstcase,I'mno worse off thanIwas a few hours ago."Ishrugged. "Butthis isn't some kind of joke, right?"

"I'msorry, but it's not," he told me.

"AndAspen?"Igestured in the direction of her door. "Isshe... safe?"

"Shelikes you," he said. "That'snot going to mean the same with her as it does with most people, though."

"Why?"

Liam'smouth opened, paused, closed, and then he tried again. "She'sa purebred,Rain.Thereare five pure-fae students in this entire school, and she's one of the strongest."Hetipped his head at the plant she'd left for me. "That?It'sa fae flower.Noone else can get them to grow on our world.WhenAspenplants them, no one can make them die.Verypowerful.Verydifferent set of standards.Benice to her, stay interesting, and you should be just fine."

"Idon't even knowhowI'minteresting,"Ipointed out.

"Meeither," he admitted, standing up to head for the box of my stuff. "Andone last thing?Yourtie marks your class type."Hedug in the box and pulled one out. "Diagonalstripes are forLegacies.Anyoneelse with this pattern has no magic."

"Andthe rest?"Iasked.

"Enticerswear plaid.Glamourshave vertical stripes.Upand down.Enchanterswear horizontal stripes.Sideto side.Thenthere's theConjurers.Theirswill be solid black.It'sthe most versatile type here.They'rethe ones who can actually throw spells."

"Andkiss all their asses if they're not in diagonal stripes,"Isaid. "Gotit."

"Don't," he told me. "Instead, find a subject in your course type that makes you just as good as them.EvenLegaciescan make a name for themselves here.Nothaving magic isn't thesame as being worthless,Rain.Itjust means you can handle some things the others can't.Liketouching iron, for instance."

Ifinally felt likeIcould smile a bit. "Yeah,Iguess that's a good point."

Hewalked over, then gave me an unexpected hug. "Fromone human to another, trust me whenIsay it's worth it to live in this world."

"How'dyou get involved anyway?"Iasked.

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