Page 59 of Mistaken Magic

"Teachers!" hissed the girl whose nameIthought wasNevaeh.

Theentire group tried to scramble, but it was already too late.Theyturned one way and saw the brute thundering toward us.Naturally, that made them reverse course to go around the cluster of evergreens in the opposite direction.RightasHarperneared the far side,Liamjogged around the trees to block their escape.

"Andyou will all stop right there," he panted.

Whichwas when the brute blocked the other side. "Whatis going on here?" she demanded.Thevoice belonged toTag, but under her winter clothes, she was pretty androgynous. "Whohas the iron?"

Ilifted my hand with the keychainsI'dsnagged. "Ithink they all do.Igrabbed two."

Tagheld out her hands in the universal gesture for me to throw them over.Idid, one after the other, still braced up beforeAspen.Thelast thingIneeded was for someone to come at her again.Thatshe hadn't said anything yet had me terrified this was bad.Likereallybad.

"Allof you,"Liamordered, "my office.Now!"Thenhe pointed at me. "Takecare ofAspen,Rain."

"CallTorian,"Tagtold me. "I'llmake sure this herd figures out iron isn't as powerful when there are people around who don't care about it.C'mon, ladies.Let'ssee what your parents think about all of this."

Thetwo human teachers escorted the girls back toward the school andIspun around to drop down byAspen'sside. "Youok?"

Shedidn't look good.Therewere actual burns on her skin from where the metal had touched.Blistershad appeared on her cheek fromHarper'slast attack.Aspen'seyes were heavy, andthe girl was clearly in pain, but she immediately leaned into me, grasping at my shoulders for comfort.

"Ithurts," she whimpered.

"Lemmesee,"Ibegged, reaching for her face.

Shewinced away, her eyes jumping to something behind me.Suddenly, her attitude changed completely. "I'mfine."

WhenIheard a step on the dry grass behind me,Irealized her words weren't for me.Asecond later,Keirknelt down by my shoulder. "You'renot.Atleast let me do whatIcan?"

"FuckingSummerCourtgroupie," she snarled, her voice suddenly feral.

"Earth-born," he reminded her. "Neverseen a court, and never had a loyalty to one.Aspen,Ican help.Rain'smy friend and you're hers."

"Idon't want to be in your debt," she told him.

"ThenIwill be,"Idecided. "Keir, can you help her for me?"

"Rain!"Aspenwhimpered, butKeirhad already reached out for the side of her face.

Themoment his hand touched her skin,Aspensucked in a breath like it hurt.Therewas also a bit of a glow.Itwas faint and iridescent, butIknew my eyes weren't playing tricks on me, because the blisters were getting better.Thered marks weren't fading, but whatever he was doing definitely helped.

ThenKeirlifted his hand. "Yourdebt,Rain..."Hetapped his cheek. "Akiss, right there, and we're even."

Withouthesitation,Ileaned in and kissed the side of his cheek. "Youwant to help me get her back to our dorm now?Orthe nurse?Something?"

"Torian,"Keirsaid. "Aspen, we need to call him."

Aspen'sjaw clenched. "No, you need to warn those girls.Iwillremember this.Idon't care if they like me.Idon't care ifHarperthinksI'minto her.I'mnot!AndIwillnotforget what they did."

"Aspen,"Isaid, turning her face to me. "We'reon your side.Well,Iam, andI'mpretty sureKeir'son his own, not theirs.Giveme your phone, sweetie.Idon't haveTorian'snumber."

Sheweakly reached into her pocket and pulled it out.Pressingher thumb to the screen unlocked it, and then she handed it over.WhileIlooked through the contacts,Keirgestured to her arm, and this timeAspennodded.Justas he started helping with another of her injuries,Ipressed the button to dial and lifted the phone to my ear.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Toriananswered on the second ring with a string of words my mind couldn't process.Theydefinitely weren'tEnglish, and sounded worried, butIdidn't have time to deal with anything else right now.Aspenneeded us.

"It'sRain,"Isaid when he paused for a second. "Thejesters were out here shoving iron atAspen."

Silencehung for a second. "Rain?" he asked. "Where'shere?"

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