Page 44 of The Tree of Spirits
“No way.” She shook her head. “All right, so Elves can be pretty arrogant. Most of the races just let that wash right over them because, well, the Many Realms is a tightly-interconnected place, and we all have to kind of get along and work together. But not the Metamorphs. Oh, no, they always have to take everything personally.”
“What about this war between Metamorphs and Elves?” I asked her. “That sounds like more than just a personal matter.”
“In truth, that war is only between one Metamorph clan and one Elf clan. It’s totally stupid, and the Court has been trying to get them to sort things out for months, but people can be really stubborn, so, yeah, that’s not happening anytime soon. Of course, in the grand scheme of the Many Realms, their tiny war affects like hardly any people.”
“So wars aren’t common in the Many Realms?”
“Not really.” She flicked one of her tiny ponytails over her shoulder. “The six races pretty much just mostly hate each other in silence from a comfortable distance.”
“So supernaturals aren’t allowed to make friends with people from other races?”
She chewed on her lip. “Sups don’t typically do that, though I don’t think any race explicitly forbids it. Of course marriages across magical races are a big no-no.”
“Wow, I didn’t realize supernaturals were such a xenophobic bunch. They’re always preaching about the unity of the Many Realms.”
Rane snorted. “Yeah, so that’s a big load of crap.”
“So what you’re saying is the six races don’t actually get along all that well?”
“Not as well as we should,” said Rane. “People tend to concentrate on how different they are from one another instead of focusing on all the things we share. There are the big lines they draw between the different races. And then there are the smaller—but no less noticeable—lines they draw between different branches of the same race. It’s so stupid.”
“You’re thinking about you and Storm,” I guessed.
“Yeah, my parents didn’t like him because he’s the wrong kind of Nymph. I mean, seriously, what is up with that? Thankfully, theyeventuallygot over that, mostly thanks to you for helping them see him as the good person he is, not as some deviant kind of Nymph.” She shot me an appreciative smile. “But there is still a lot of prejudice out there, as you’ve seen today with the Metamorphs and Elves.”
And here we were, back at the Metamorphs and the Elves.
“There is definitely something really weird going on here.” I took a deep breath, squaring my shoulders. “I don’t know what it is, but I am going to find out.”
“Hopefully, you can do that before my family gets evicted.”
“We are going to fix this, Rane. I promise,” I assured her. My brain was churning so fast, I was starting to get dizzy. “But to do it, we’re going to need a little help.” And just like that, an idea took root in my mind. “Luckily, I know just the person to help us out.”
CHAPTER 7
THE BAIT
Rane tossed a grape into her mouth. “How long do you think this will take?” she asked when she was finished chewing it.
“Just a little longer,” Ansel said.
He, Rane, and I had gathered around a fold-out table in Rane’s family’s greenhouse. The tabletop was hardly sturdier than a piece of cardboard, so it was a good thing that Ansel’s tablet was so lightweight. And that he’d had it with him when I’d messaged him, asking him to meet us here.
“Annnd…I’m in,” Ansel declared.
“Just like that?” I asked hopefully.
“Just like that,” he confirmed, flashing me a grin.
Rane leaned over, glancing at his screen. “So you hacked intobothRaytan’s and Isidora’s company network thingies or whatever they’re called? And you did it in like, what, five seconds?”
Actually, he’d been here closer to five minutes than five seconds. But it was still impressive. Dante had told me Ansel was good with tech, but this was really something else.
“So.” Rane looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. “Any chance I could, like, hire you to break intomy parents’ phones? I’m sure there are lots of embarrassing gems tucked away on them, and I could really use some leverage the next time they go all crazy-controlling-parents on me.”
“I think Ansel wants to use his powers for good, not evil,” I told Rane.
“Good, as in hacking Raytan’s and Isidora’s businesses?” she said, smirking.
