Page 61 of Mistaken Magic

SoItried the knob, and sure enough, the door opened.Onthe other side was nothing but greenery.Keirstepped in and paused, pulling in a deep breath.Itonly lasted a split secondbefore he was moving to the far side where she had her bed.Carefully, he lowered her down to it.

"Who'sthe hall chaperone?" he asked her. "Needme to get her?"

"Torian'scoming,"Aspenassured him.

"Ok.Rainwill make sure you're ok until then."Hestepped back. "Iwanted to help,Aspen.Icouldn't, and it fucking sucked."

"I'min your debt," she told him.

Keirjust shook his head. "Nodebt.Itwas a favor freely given.Getsome rest."

Heturned, butIcaught his arm. "I'mpretty sure kissing your cheek wasn't enough, so canIat least tell youIappreciate the help?"

Hesmiled at me. "I'mused to hearing theTword,Rain.Iactually get it, and you're welcome."Hetilted his head back towardAspen. "Takecare of her.She'sweaker than she wants to admit.Irontears us up."

Themoment he left,IclosedAspen'sdoor and hurried to her side. "Sowhat canIdo?"Ibegged.

"You'vedone it," she promised. "I..."Hereyes darted away. "Ijust liked having a friend."

"Liked?"Iasked. "Thatsounds as ifI'mbeing told to leave you alone."

"No!" she insisted. "It'sjust thatIknow humans have opinions on who people date.Imean..."Sheglanced back, but her eyes didn't stay on me for long. "Ikinda lived with humans long enough to get a few hard lessons."

"So, you're a lesbian, not bi, pan, or something else?"BecauseIwas honestly curious.Ialso knew this was a horrible time to ask, yet she'd just given me the opening to do so, andIwasn't sureI'dget another. "Justto be clear,Idon't care either way."

"Lesbian," she admitted. "Whichis not exactly common for my kind either.Butthat'snotwhyIthink you're interesting.Maybeit's part of why, butIdon't want to lose the friendship we had."

Isquatted down before her. "No, that's cool."Becausewhat couldIreally say to that? "IguessIjust figured hanging out with someone like you was,Idunno…Like, there had to be a catch.Girlslike you usually don't talk to girls like me.Addin the fae and human stuff, and it only gets weirder.It'scool, though.Aspen,Idon't give a shit if you're a lesbian.Honest!But, more importantly, how are youfeeling?Isthis like a bee sting allergy, or something worse?"

Shescrubbed one hand across her face. "No, it just makes me tired, mostly.Weak.LikeIcould go to sleep.Ironfucks with our magic, and we're made of magic.Ineed some sugar."

"PixyStix?"Iglanced back, wondering where she'd keep them in this room filled with plants. "Pointme in a direction?"

"Bythe..."Shepaused. "Bigplant, orange flowers, brown pot."Iheaded that way, and she said, "Yes.Shelfto the left, and up one.There'sa box filled with them."

Ifound it, then pulled out an entire fistful of them.Carryingthose back,Itore the top off one and handed it to her.Immediately,Aspenpoured the whole thing into her mouth, swallowing it without choking likeIwould have.Whenit was empty, she held out her hand for another.Wewent through four of them like that.

Whichwas whenToriansimply walked into the room without knocking.Behindhim cameWilderandHawkelike silent bodyguards.Torianheld something, though, making me assume that was what had taken so long.Hisgreen eyes jumped over to me, narrowed, and then his sister had his complete attention.

Themoment he reached her side,Torianoffered her a sizable vial of some brilliantly yellow fluid.Itlooked like lemonade, but thicker, like honey.Openingthe top, he pressed the whole thing into her hand.Theconcern on his face made me think it had to be some kind of medicine.

"Asp," he said gently, "drink it all, and let's not do this again, ok?"

"Isthat likeBenadryl?"Iasked.

Helooked up, piercing me with those green eyes.Therewas so much rage in them, butIgot the feeling it wasn't directed at me. "Somethinglike that.Whathappened,Rain?"

Aspengrabbed his arm, shaking her head while she swallowed all of the fluid. "Iwas looking to see if any mistletoe had berries," she said, then stuck out her tongue for the last drop. "Thejesters found me.Itwas almost like they were looking for me, and, well, seems they aren't as scared of me as they are of you."

"Idiots," he snarled.

Herfingers tightened, dimpling his jacket. "Thisone's mine."

"AndRaincan hear you."

Aspensmiled. "ButItrust her.Ourgood little friend throws one hell of a mean punch.Shealso jumped in without hesitation, took the iron right from their hands, and threatened to use it on them.She'snever once tried to thank me, and she thought you were my boyfriend."

Wildersnorted out a laugh behind me. "Kinky."

---