“Want to share? I’ll never finish all of this. Mom packs these like there’s two of me.”
Ha! I knew he hadn’t made it. Thank the lord for charitable fae. “Yes, please.”
A snap of his fingers turned a disposable fork into another pair of chopsticks for me. Then a gorgeous little plate appeared, upon which he passed me two of the longest shrimp tempura sticks I’d ever seen and a spring roll. More food followed, and I had to wonder if his mother utilized the same glamour Pilar used to pack our Mongolian grill bowls.
“Thank you, thank you.”
“I don’t mind feeding cuties.”
Heat rushed to my face. I cleared my throat and reached for a glass of water I didn’t have. Shit. That’s right. I’d sat down instead of buying anything to eat or drink. Jiro handled that too and poured me a cup of oolong tea. Where the fuck was that tiny tea kettle a second ago?
I sipped and let the smooth flavor roll through my mouth, startled by the hint of honey that lingered on my tongue. “So, do you think they’ll figure out what happened for that doomshade cactus to grow in the Shadow Thicket?” I dipped one of the three gyoza he’d given me into sauce then lifted it to my mouth. Perfect.
Jiro’s shoulders lifted and fell. “No clue. I heard the provost was speaking to someone from Tir na Nog, but that’s about it.”
“Any guesses?”
“It would have to be someone skilled with plants,” Sai said. “Someone who can freely cross the border and move within the faerie realm without fear.”
“Yeah, you’d have to be skilled to move something that big and dangerous.” Jiro shoved a rice ball into his mouth. “We’re lucky to come out with only a few injuries. Doomshade is known for viciously guarding its feeding grounds.”
No help there. They were as clueless as I was, not that I could blame them.
“Ah well, anyway, thanks again for the food. All that pizza we had earlier was burned off by Coach Bregman.”
Jiro shrugged, his bright green eyes practically glittering with amusement. “Like I said, I don’t mind feeding a cute girl. You’ll just have to pay me back somehow.”
Oh crap. After sipping down the rest of my tea, I jumped up and fumbled for my bag. Intro to Cybercrime didn’t begin for another forty-five minutes, but putting space between us seemed like a good idea. I didn’t want to lead him on.
“Gotta run. I’m expecting a quiz in my CJ class. Bye, guys.”
Sai inclined his head to me, respect personified. I smiled at them both then hurried off. Somehow I’d have to figure out a way to make it clear I wasn’t interested in anything more than friendship, but for right now, I really did have a quiz to cram for.
7
Manufactured Happiness
Nothing sounded better than a day away from PNRU, even if Gabriel and I were using Sharon’s concert downtown as a cover for leaving together on a Saturday. In the month since school had started, I’d finally adapted to the schedule, learning to catch naps whenever I could and how to hog the tub and soak the aches from my muscles.
And since I looked damned good lately thanks to Bregman kicking my ass, I’d borrowed a galaxy-themed mini skirt from Liadan and a flowy, off-the-shoulder, gold blouse from Pilar. I hurried across the quad toward the school parking lot to meet with my boyfriend.
Ben jogged up beside me and took an immediate hit off his inhaler. “Hey, Skylar. Where are you headed?”
“Checking in on Sharon. She’s performing with the symphony tonight, and I figure she could use a pep talk.” It wasn’t a complete lie. Lately, my charge had been brimming with her own confidence, so more than likely she wouldn’t need me to do a thing.
“And that’s what you’re wearing? Have you ever been to the symphony before?”
“I’m not staying for the whole thing, and no one’s gonna see me anyway. Besides, I’m a fae. I can glamour my outfit into something appropriate.”
“I’ve seen your clothing glamours. You’re about as likely to end up naked in the audience.”
I scowled at him. It wasn’t that he was lying, but that he told the damned truth too much. “Shut up. I’ve been practicing.”
Ben grinned. “I’m just tellin’ it like it is. Anyway, you have fun.”
“Thanks.”
I’d nearly made it to the garage, when I crossed paths with Julien. Other than my embarrassing tumble during Tristal’s lesson, I hadn’t run into him again.
There was no time to prepare for it, and perhaps that was what made his passive faerie talent so effective. Seconds after coming within a few yards of him, the full brunt of his selkie aura hit me like a punch to the face.
“Skylar, you are looking lovely, mon amie.”
A summer away from him had dulled my resistance, and for a moment, I forgot all about meeting Gabriel. Julien was six feet of gorgeous, breathtakingly beautiful man with glossy silver-blond curls and eyes bluer than the sky—eyes I could get lost in with glorious hints of green and silver shimmers like waves cresting the Mediterranean Sea.
An internal struggle took place between my brain and my ovaries until some intelligence returned to my head and I could treat him like a normal person. Tristal’s asskicking had distracted me the last time and dulled his effect beneath a barrage of pain. “Hey there. How was your summer?”
“It was nice. I spent most of it on the beach. You?”
The beach. Maybe in a Speedo, all cut and tanned to hell under the sun, because it felt like a crime to cover that magnificent body in dull board shorts. “I, uh…”
“Sorry.” His apologetic smile only sent my heart into a gallop. “I will wait a moment.”
Gabriel. Abs. Shifter abs. My boyfriend would look amazing in a swimsuit too. I dragged memories of his feather tattoo into my head along with visions of golden eyes and dark scruff. The attraction to Julien died down and faded. “I’m good now. Thanks.”
“I forget. I am still not so used to it myself at times.”
I could only imagine. “Well, it sounds like you had a good summer. I think I spent maybe three days total at the beach, if that.”
“You should come to France after school lets out. I will show you Deauville.” He smiled and looked me over. “You look fantastic by the way. Where are you off to?”
“Visiting my charge. She has a concert tonight, so I’m meeting Gabriel at the garage.”
“Ah, I imagine you will be out late then. Pity. I had hoped you might join me for dinner.”
My heart did a little double thump. Dinner? “Oh…” An excuse hung on the tip of my tongue. This was exactly the sort of thing I hadn’t expected and hadn’t planned for.
“Maybe another time. Your sentinel is waiting.” His gaze focused on something past my shoulder. A quick look confirmed my suspicion that Gabriel had come looking for me.
“Enjoy your weekend,” I said before I beat feet and retreated without addressing the dinner topic. Gabriel waited a few feet beyond the garage doors.
“Everything all right?” he asked.
“Yeah, sorry. Ben caught me, and then I ran into Julien.”
He led the way through the lot to his assigned spot and let us into the car. “Yeah? Let me guess, his sex aura got you.”
“My head goes all fuzzy when he’s around, and I’m totally reminded of that one Harry Potter novel with the veela, except I don’t have a dick. Does that happen with the girls too?”
Gabriel snorted. “Nah. There’s been about five female selkies through PNRU since I got here, and it’s not so bad. The unnatural attraction happens with the guys only. They’re rarer.”
“Huh. I wonder why that is.”
Without missing a beat, Gabriel replied, “Full-fledged selkie males make harems in the wild, that’s why. Then the sex appeal gets them laid to make a lot of little selkies,” as he clicked his seat belt into place. Selkies were one of the few faerie races with a higher chance of hereditary Ascendency. “Not sure if you noticed, but the whole consent thing is a new concept for humans
and fae.”
“You’re not serious.”
Gabriel reversed from his parking spot and slid out onto the university street. “Dead serious. Mages weren’t any better with their love potions. You’ll learn about it this semester in Magical Ethics.”
“Ugh. That class.”
A big grin spread over his face. “Professor English is pretty fair and doesn’t hold back about your kind and the stuff fae used to do back in the day. Kinda treats everybody equal.”
“I get it. We all need to know how to be responsible supernaturals. But you should see the way everyone stares at me in that class.”
“Well, they don’t usually have fae in the night classes. I guess they figure they can’t talk smack with you there.”
“So what, it’s one big faerie bashfest?”
“Nah. Professor English doesn’t let it go on for long. Trust me, he’s an equal opportunity shit talker when it comes to all of our races’ fuckups. Y’all just get more of it, because the fae kind of… let’s just say that if there’s a law, it’s usually in place because a fae did it first.”
“Gee. Thanks.”
He reached across the center console and laid his hand on my knee. “Don’t worry. I still like you—even if you are predisposed to making trouble.”
His warm palm raised goose bumps over my arms, and when he returned it to the wheel, I missed the heat of it against my bare skin.
It wasn’t a long drive to the Chicago Symphony Center. Once Gabriel parked, we skipped the enormous line with our talents, my sentinel using his unique illusion skills to get us past security and the coat check since he was armed.
Finding Sharon wasn’t hard when our time together had formed a bond between us. She shone like a bonfire beneath a starless night no matter the distance between us or the obstacles in the way. When I peeked at Sharon backstage, she was glowing vibrant gold, unshakably resolute as ever to give the performance of her life.
Then I spotted a dark smudge against her aura no bigger than a thumb print.
Weird. Maybe she’d argued with someone prior to the event. I wiped away the murky stain, and from across the Veil in the Twilight, I hugged her.
“Your grandfather would be proud.”
I hung around for a little while in the Twilight, observing until I was satisfied that she wouldn’t have any last-minute nerves. It helped that Oliver was in the audience with her parents.
Gabriel and I watched from the uppermost balcony, where no one looked twice at us. Blending in with our surroundings came naturally, or maybe it was his gift at work again. I closed my eyes and let the music wash over me. Then his fingers twined with mine and everything felt perfect in the world.
We stayed through the first performance and the intermission, granting me one last opportunity to peek in on Sharon and bask in her happiness. She was pure radiance now, concentrated bliss, the stuff fae needed to recharge and continue to work our magic. Just a few minutes in her company sent energy coursing through me, melting away the stress of the previous three weeks.
I flitted back to Gabriel through the Twilight, traveling farther than I ever had before. The other viewers in the balcony remained oblivious to my reappearance.
He leaned close, whispering, “How’s she holding up?”
“She’s doing awesome.”
“You ready to leave then, or did you wanna stay for the whole thing?”
“We can go. Crap. I’m just gonna pop into the ladies’ room a sec before we get going. Meet you out front?”
“Sure.”
After we split up, I hurried down the hall to one of the nicest bathrooms I’d ever been in. They even had scented lotions set out on the counter by the sinks. With the performance back in full swing, I figured I could cross the Veil without anyone seeing me, but I wasn’t alone in the bathroom.
A faint shine winked around the woman standing at the vanity mirror, the telltale sign of a mortal with a destiny, a human watched by a fae.
I wondered if it was another student like me. It had to be, because the big guys—the powerful full-blooded fae from Tir na Nog, never guided anyone shy of royalty, presidents, and world-class physicists these days. Her godparent had to be a student or an alumnus.
She rummaged through her purse, darted her gaze around the room, and then pulled out a small silver compact. While I watched, she cut a line of white powder across the mirror with her credit card. It didn’t make sense to me until she rolled a dollar bill into a tight tube.
The woman leaned down.
“No, don’t do that.”
Technically, it was against the rules to mess with anyone else’s charge, but if it was me, if she was my charge, I’d want someone to help her. I touched her mind and skimmed the surface of her thoughts, plucking irritation and jealousy from a tumultuous storm of emotions.
Cassie. Her name was Cassie, and her older sister played in the orchestra. Their parents were sitting in the audience, and all that mattered was their oldest child, their perfect daughter, and her many dozens of accomplishments.
She paused and glanced around again before eyeing the cocaine.
“Don’t. It’s not worth it. They love you too. They’re just bad at expressing it. But they love you, and going back to rehab won’t punish them. It’s going to punish you, because you’re bright and so strong and smart, and you have everything ahead of you if you stay off drugs this time.”
Cassie paused, spine straight and so damned stiff. I waited with my breath held until her shoulders quaked, and I thought she’d throw the shit away.
Just when it seemed I was getting through to her, she bent down and snorted the first line. Euphoria crashed through her in patterns of molten teal, pink, and neon orange, all merging, rolling, blending together, and flooding out again in rippling waves of ecstasy.
At that moment, I understood the temptation of the darkling leanansidhe, and I wondered if her happiness would taste the same as Sharon’s or better.
It wasn’t worth finding out. I threw my hands in the air and sighed before slipping from the restroom and across the Veil again to find Gabriel. I’d pee at the movie theater.
8
My Unhappy Dream Box
Tristal’s course syllabus claimed Channeling would be where we learned to get the best bang for our magical buck. The bullet list beneath the class description promised we’d learn to conserve energy, hoard faerie dust for large-scale glamours, and imbue objects with temporary enchantments.
Basically, it was Advanced Glamours on ’roids, a course to teach us life-changing shit like turning mice into coachmen. Next semester, we’d have her for Enchantment Permanence, where she’d expect us to take all our knowledge from it and Magical Artifacts to create actual objects useful to our charges these days. Except this class was only for the fae. Mages like Ben had their own courses in magic.
The moment I stepped into the lecture hall, my ears picked out a loud, “Skylar was there.”
I jerked toward the sound of my name to see Radha huddled among a group of fae. Now that she was a senior, she’d taken a job as Tristal’s teaching assistant. “Skylar was where?”
“Nothing bad. I was only saying, I heard you were there when Gloria Stoltz decided to snort cocaine in the women’s restroom during her sister’s performance.”
“So? I mean, I tried to stop her. It’s not like I just stood there or passed her the dollar bill.”
A big-mouthed fae named Julia leaned closer and lowered her voice. “Do you think it was the Scary Godmother?”
“The what?” I asked.
“The Scary Godmother,” Pilar said. “There is a rumor going around that there is a darkling faerie in Chicago now, and that is what all the seniors are calling her.”
“That sounds like a story to scare us into doing our jobs,” I muttered.
“Why?” Radha asked. “Is it so hard to believe a leanansidhe could be in the area?”
“I…” It sounded like stupidity to me, with the university in the
area, but last year had taught me evil didn’t always fear PNRU or its sentinels. After all, someone had placed a black magic curse in my bedroom. “Well, I didn’t see anyone there, if that’s what you’re hoping to hear.”
“Too bad you couldn’t sway her to stop. After you reported it, Emma had to hustle all weekend trying to fix shit.”
Pilar frowned. “We cannot be expected to fix everything, can we? I mean, human will must be factored into account. It makes me wonder how they decide if we pass or fail with our charges.”
“We have to do our best by them—not because we want a good grade, but because it’s the right thing to do,” Liadan said. “It’s the effort that counts.”
A few heads nodded until Julia snickered. “Not always. You can try your best until you’re blue in the face, but if you don’t have the magic to sway a mortal loser from his plans of robbing a liquor store, what business do you have being a godmother?”
“Hey. I have plenty of magic, and I couldn’t stop her.”
“That’s different,” Julia said. “You were fighting against years of addiction in a person you’ve never influenced before. Emma is a senior and expected to have a grasp on her charge by now.”
Our professor strode inside, and everyone quieted. She adjusted her glasses up on her nose and cleared her throat.
“Dream Boxes. You should all know what they are, and I will assume you’ve all seen one.” Professor Tristal paused a beat to see if anyone contradicted her. No one did. My parents each had one of their own, plus one they shared like a joint bank account for faerie magic. “Good. Today you all will fashion your own box, and for the rest of this semester, you will work on filling it.”
One by one, we went to the front and selected wood from several unlabeled bins, tasked with discovering which woods “spoke” to us. I paused by a container on the end with pale planks stacked inside, positive I’d heard a subtle tinkling noise. When I leaned forward to investigate them, comforting warmth pulsed from the pile and bathed me in the very essence of hope and confidence. I plucked a plank from inside and turned it over in my hands, mystified by the subtle notes that seemed to play for my ears alone when I ran my fingers down its sanded surface.
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