Page 17 of Tasteful Anarchy and Tangled Auras
Without my realizing it, Bryn has led me to the Chubby Sheep.
“I heard it was your favorite,” he says.
Damn Rory. I knew them getting friendly would lead to no good. I pull the door open before Bryn can and head in. Sunlight drifts through the high windows, and Bryn smiles at the bartender, nodding towards the taps as he leads me to a corner booth. He sits next to me, instead of across. I am getting tired of pretending infatuation while actually being infatuated with him. I hate how proper he’s been. It feels...cold. Impersonal. Distant. When what I want is the touch of his bare flesh to mine.
Bryn
ADELAIDE IS SO RELAXEDand beautiful, laughing into her beer. I adore this. I want to see her like this all the time. I want to see her at her coffee shop in Boston. I keep my chatter light, though, court-polite.
I clear my throat. “I have something for you.”
“What? For me?” But she grins widely, obviously pleased.
Adi’s a little magpie. I smile internally and tuck away the knowledge that she loves gifts.
“Here.” I hold out my hand to her. Now is the time. I can’t let her notice. I shift my sight as she extends her hand. Just as our hands touch, I peel back her outer aura, pushing it up her hand so the core is without protection.
Still holding the chain, I let the amulet slip into her hand. It’s a beautiful raw quartz crystal, clear on one side and a rich pink on the other. It’s wrapped in delicate copper wire, hanging on a copper chain. She inhales, clearly surprised.
But I’m focusing on the cores of our auras. An aura has layers, and the core is the color you are born with. The outer layers are more like the personality you develop, major emotional wounds and whatnot that happen over time.
Her core is violet: playful, charming, creative, stubborn. Of course it is. I had pulled back my outer layers and shields on my hand earlier. My core is green. Peace, devotion. I’ve never really understood it.
Most Fae don’t see auras effortlessly. It takes focus. So, I am not worried much about her seeing what I’m doing. But it’s generally impolite to peer at someone’s aura without leave. It’s rather personal. It reveals so much.
“It’s gorgeous, Bryn.”
As I start to speak, I see our cores begin to merge, and my breath hitches. “I’ve noticed your mirror magic isn’t particularly strong. This will help. I spelled the chain with an extending charm, so you can use it without removing it,” I say distractedly. Her violet and my green merge, blend, dance. I drop the necklace into her palm and pull my hand back. Without my force, our outer layers roll back down over our fingers.
“That is...incredibly thoughtful, Bryn,” Adi says softly, staring at the necklace. She meets my eyes. “Thank you.” She puts it over her head immediately.
“It’s nothing,” I say, still reeling, and when her face falls, I want to reveal how much time I spent searching for the right stone, to tell her the details of the magic I imbued it with, but I bite my tongue.
I order us another beer, and we return to safer, less personal waters. We talk of tree lore, a shared interest, and she gently touches the amulet absentmindedly. But I can’t stop thinking about the bad news I need to drop on her. Eventually, I cast a strong illusionment spell.
“What?” Adi asks, brows furrowing.
“What, what Priestess?” I smile.
“What did you want to talk about?”
“Am I that transparent?” I ask, pretending hurt.
“Yes.”
I chuckle, but sober quickly. “I’ve gotten orders from EA. I think you need to know. They are...repugnant. This will destroy our aims.”
I EXPLAIN THE PLANSthat have come from the heads of the EA. Adi is shocked; she thinks it's a terrible plan. She stammers about how it doesn’t move any of their goals forward, about how many innocent lives will be lost, about how it will rally people against them. And she’s right. But the heads have become more and more radicalized over the recent years. I let her know the problem with refusing this mission, though. It’s pretty simple. She knows about them and is untrusted. I’m their head captain, incapable of refusing an order. And if we don’t do it? They’ll kill us. That’s it. That’s all there is to it.
