“No, no. Not like that. I mean if you read them aloud or follow the instructions. Not like insta-death.” Maggie shook her head. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t want to freak you out.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “Look, I’ve been down here a bunch of times, and nothing bad has happened to me.”
He assured himself that Maggie knew what she was talking about. “Okay, let’s hurry up then.”
She led the way to the back corner. Aiden glanced down the rows, half expecting to see things lurking in the shadows or the books moving by themselves. The books were stacked high enough that they almost brushed the light fixtures hanging from the low ceiling. So there was a perfectly natural explanation for why it was so dim. The books were blocking some of the light.
That might have calmed him, but there was a problem. “Do you hear that whispering?” It was getting louder as they got closer to the back of the room.
“Um.” Maggie bit her lip.
“Oh God, what is it?” A haunted book? A monster trapped within the pages? A demonic book that tried to trick people into reading a death curse?
“It’s a sorcerer’s personal spell book with an enchantment that dissuades people from reading it.” There must have been something on Aiden’s face because she waved her hands and added, “It’s not dangerous or anything. Well, no more dangerous than any other spell book. Think of it like… a lock on a diary.”
The section they needed was right next to a shelf of decrepit old tomes, and Aiden was sure one of them was the whispering book. He stayed as far away from it as he could while Maggie ran her finger down spines, looking for what they needed. She loaded Aiden’s arms with books, and they went back to the table near the door and the lamp’s pool of bright light.
They’d brought notebooks and pens with them to take notes. None of the books were allowed outside the room because they were all rare or one of a kind. Every time Aiden opened one, he held his breath, waiting for a spell to zap him. He skimmed the pages, looking for any mention of dream walkers.
“Isn’t this fun?” Maggie grinned. “I love research.”
“Um… yeah.”
He found a few bits of information and wrote them down. Everything was silent except for the rustling of paper… and that awful whispering.
“So did you really start the LGBTA group just for me?” Aiden asked, needing a distraction.
Maggie looked up, tilting her head. “You were the catalyst, but once I got the idea, I thought about all the other people it could benefit. Look at how many kids showed up to just the first few meetings. There’s a real need for a group like that and I… I guess I want to leave something behind.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, look at Hanna’s pack. Brooke’s pack now, I guess. People called them the mutt pack.” She made a face. “And treated them like dirt, but Hanna turned them into a real alternative for both werewolves and ghouls. A pack that works on support and friendship, not dominance.”
A little ache squeezed Aiden’s heart. Hanna was at a fancy college out east. They kept in touch, but it wasn’t the same as having her around, and he missed her.
“Hanna passed leadership to Brooke and left a legacy behind,” Maggie said. “That’s what I want to do. I want to leave Shadow Valley High better than it was when I started.” She wrinkled her nose. “Sounds kind of egotistical, doesn’t it?”
“No, I get it. It’s like parents saying they want to make the world a better place for their kids. But why the LGBTA group? You’re not… er…” Aiden winced. He didn’t want to sound like he was trying to exclude her. And he also shouldn’t assume, although he found it hard to believe that Maggie wouldn’t have said something by now if she was anything but straight.
“Gay or bi or any of that? Yeah, sometimes I feel weird running the group, like it’s not really my business. If anyone wanted to take over or co-run it, I’d be fine with that. But no one seems inclined to.”
“Not me.” Aiden wasn’t the leader type.
She tapped her pen against her lips. “Maybe I’ll ask next time we meet. If all I did was start the group and then get out of the way, I’d be happy with that. Like, I don’t need my name on it or anything; I’m just happy to know it exists. Does that make sense?”
“I think so.” He certainly wouldn’t consider her the egotistical or controlling type. “You just want to help. You don’t need the praise or the credit.”
“Exactly.” She grinned. “I like helping people.”
Aiden slid the next book in front of him and tensed before opening it. No spell, just normal words on paper. He could almost pretend this was a normal library with normal books. Except he could just make out that whispering at the far back. “So what are you going to college for?”
Maggie tilted her head. “I’m not sure, but it’s between sociology and neuroscience. I’m looking at colleges that have good programs in both. Too bad I can’t major in magic.” She laughed. “What about you?”
He made a face. “Well, the wardens.” Thanks to Mr. Johnson, Aiden had at least another year before he had to figure out colleges or majors. He supposed he could consider that a bright side of Mr. Johnson forcing him into the wardens.
“But you are going to college, right? After things settle down?”
“Yeah.” He looked down at the book, which had a chapter on types of fae. “It all seems so far away, you know? Like a different world. When I first got here, I was desperate to get back to the human world, but now I don’t know how I’m going to function there.”
“I know. I’ve lived here my whole life. It’s… scary to think about a life where I’ll have to hide my magic. To lie about most of my life.” She perked up. “But plenty of other people have done it, and it helps to think of the outside world as a big adventure. I’ll get to meet so many new people at college.”
And leave everyone else behind. What would Aiden do without Dylan? Without Tiago? They could see each other over summer, maybe over the winter and spring breaks, but it wouldn’t be the same.
Maggie laughed. “I know, you’re an introvert. There’ll be lots of new things to learn in college too. You’ll love it! Hey, you love math, right? Have you thought about majoring in some kind of math? Or maybe computer coding? I bet you’d be good at that.”
“Maybe.” Shadow Valley High had some basic computer classes, but nothing as involved as coding. Aiden hadn’t tried it, but now he thought he should look into it to see if it was something he liked.
Maggie flipped open a book. “Okay, back to work.”
Right. He had to figure out how to protect himself from the dream walker. With his witch friend. From books that might be enchanted in the restricted section of the library. The idea of leaving the weirdness of Shadow Valley behind was bittersweet.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Aiden poked at his food. Dylan was out on another date with Sakura. They did typical date stuff: going to the movies, eating at a nice restaurant, wandering up and down Main Street. They went to each other’s houses for dinner, watched movies cuddled together in the living room.
And Aiden was jealous. He wanted that with Tiago. Whose fault is it that we can’t do those things? That’s right, mine. Tiago kept their relationship hidden for Aiden’s sake. He hadn’t even mentioned it in the LGBTA group.
All because Aiden was a coward. It wasn’t fair to Tiago.
It’s not fair to me either.
Tiago was so good to him, made him so happy. It wasn’t right to keep that hidden.
“Aiden, is something wrong?” Mom asked.
He looked up at her, then over at Dad. They were the main reason he hadn’t come out. They’d given up their whole lives for him, left everything behind and came to Shadow Valley right after learning he wasn’t even their biological son.
He didn’t want to burden them with yet another thing. But on the other hand, he was lying to them by pretending Tiago was still just a friend. And he was already lying to them about what Dyl
an did freshman year. Aiden told them Dylan hurt him by accident, that they’d gotten into a fight. He left out that Dylan had let a dark fae loose and Aiden had been trying to stop him.
That he absolutely couldn’t tell anyone. Even Tiago didn’t know. If anyone found out, Dylan would go to prison and be locked up right next to those extremists.
“Aiden?” Dad frowned at him, and Aiden realized he hadn’t answered his mom.
“I…” He swallowed, heart slamming against his ribs. “I think I need to tell you something.”
Now they both looked really worried. “You can tell us anything,” Mom said. “You know that, right, honey?”
They hadn’t abandoned him when Mr. Johnson told them Aiden wasn’t human. Compared to that, this was nothing. But it still felt like a big deal. Once the words were out, he could never take them back. Aiden drew in a long, slow breath and almost lost his courage. His mind supplied a list of reasons to keep quiet, wait for a better time. But they were all excuses.
Wouldn’t it be a relief to stop carrying one of his secrets?
“I’m bisexual.”
His parents blinked in surprise, but both of them let out a little sigh, shoulders sagging. Aiden realized they must have braced themselves for the worst. Terrible things had happened to all of them in Shadow Valley. He was a jerk for making them worry like that.
“Oh, Aiden. You know that’s okay, right?” Mom said.
Dad reached across the table to grip Aiden’s arm. “We love you no matter what.”
Aiden was a little shaky. It was out now, and he couldn’t take it back. “I knew you wouldn’t hate me or throw me out or something like that, but I didn’t want to pile this on top of everything else. I ruined your lives—”
“Don’t even talk like that.” Dad squeezed his arm. “You didn’t ruin our lives.”
“It’s been hard living here,” Mom said gently, taking his other hand. “But it’s been hard for you too. We’re all in this together, because we’re a family.”
Aiden’s throat tightened. He didn’t deserve them. “I’m not even your real son. He’s out there—”
“Aiden.” Mom cut him off again. Pain darkened her and Dad’s eyes. “I wish he was here with us. Not instead of you, but all of us together.”
Looking down at the table, Aiden said, “Me too.” Somehow he’d find a way into Faery and find his brother. And his fae parents as well. Then he could ask them why they’d abandoned him in the human world.
“I feel bad that you thought you needed to keep this from us,” Dad said.
Speaking of hiding things… “Um, there’s something else. You know Tiago?” Which was stupid to ask. Of course they did. “Well, um. We’re sort of… dating.” The little food he’d eaten sat heavily in his stomach.
They stared at him. Then Mom made a soft sound that was almost like a laugh. “That makes so much sense. You’ve been so much happier lately I wondered if you had a new girlfr— if you were dating someone.”
She’d asked him a few times last year but had stopped when Aiden kept denying it.
Dad looked thoughtful. Was it hard for him to digest? Knowing his son liked boys in theory was one thing, but knowing that his son was going out with one might be more difficult to take.
“Dad?” Aiden wondered if he was upset. Disappointed? Struggling not to say something that would hurt Aiden?
“I think you should invite him over for dinner.”
“He’s eaten over here lots of times.”
“But not as your boyfriend.”
Aiden’s heart jumped to hear that word coming out of his dad’s mouth.
“I think that’s a great idea,” Mom said. “Tomorrow maybe? Or the day after? Whenever he can.”
So soon? But it was normal for Tiago to come over once or twice a week. “I’ll ask him.” Aiden was somehow relieved and more nervous at the same time.
Mom got up and went around the table, holding her arms out. “Come here.”
Aiden stood, and Mom wrapped him in a hug. Dad joined them, embracing Aiden from behind. Surrounded by his parents’ love, Aiden let out a sigh that seemed to come from deep inside him. “I love you.” Maybe they weren’t quite as okay as they seemed to be. Maybe they would need time to adjust, but Aiden had no doubt they accepted him.
They held him tight, murmuring how much they loved him.
After a while, they pulled apart.
“So,” Mom started carefully. “When you stayed over at Tiago’s house instead of going to prom…”
Aiden felt his cheeks go bright red. “Uhhh…”
* * *
Aiden’s parents had bought a second car over the summer. It wasn’t Aiden’s car, but they’d bought it in part so he could use it. Dylan still drove Aiden to and from school so Aiden’s dad could take the car to work instead of his mom dropping him off. The little blue Honda was nothing like Dylan’s fancy sports car, but at least Aiden could drive places on his own now.
Like to pick up Tiago to have dinner with his parents.
Dylan had offered to drop Tiago off at Aiden’s house after school, but Tiago had wanted some time to get ready. Aiden tried to convince him it was no big deal, but he and Tiago both knew it was.
“You… dressed up,” Aiden said as Tiago got in the car. He wore black pants, and a dark blue button-up shirt peeked through the gap in his unzipped jacket. Aiden had only ever seen him in jeans, T-shirts, and hoodies.
“I want to make a good impression.”
“You’ve had dinner at my house like a hundred times.”
Tiago looked at him out of the corner of his eye. “But that was before your parents knew about us.”
Aiden gripped the steering wheel. “You’re not mad at me for telling them, are you?”
“Of course not.” Tiago leaned over to grip his shoulder. “I’m glad you did. I wanted you to. I’m just… nervous.” He laughed. “I want them to like me. I guess they already do. But it’s…”
“Different,” Aiden finished. It wasn’t his friend Tiago coming over to dinner, it was his boyfriend Tiago.
“Yeah.”
Aiden pulled away from the curb. In a few minutes they’d walk into his house. “I wish I wasn’t so nervous about this.”
“Me too.”
It was oddly comforting to know Tiago was freaking out about it too. “It’s stupid to be worried. They were totally fine with me liking guys and with me dating you.”
Tiago was quiet for a long time.
Aiden glanced over to see him staring out the passenger window. “Tiago?”
He swallowed. “I’m worried that I’m not… that they’ll think I’m not good enough for you.”
They reached a stop sign, and Aiden hit the brakes harder than he should have, making the car jerk. “Of course you are. Why would you even think that?”
“I’m not good enough for my parents, so…”
“They’re wrong,” Aiden snapped. He took a breath and reminded himself to look both ways before pressing the accelerator. “You’re wonderful.”
Tiago smiled, but it quickly faded. “Damn, they really messed me up.”
“And yet you turned out to be a great person.” Aiden reached out to take his hand. “I couldn’t have asked for a better boyfriend. And my parents will see that too.”
“Thanks.” This time the smile reached his eyes.
“Besides, they didn’t invite you to dinner so they could interrogate you. They did it to welcome you and to… I don’t know, prove they’re okay with me dating a guy.” Heat rose in Aiden’s cheeks. If anything, his parents were going to go overboard with being nice to Tiago.
Aiden pulled into the driveway and took a deep breath. “Here we go.”
He was right about his parents being super nice. They were all smiles when Aiden and Tiago walked in. Within minutes, they were all seated around the dining room table as they had been dozens of times before, only now Aiden’s parents knew the true nature of his relationship with Tiago.
“You’ve made Aiden happier,” Mom said. “It’s been wonderful to see that after everything he’s been through. Everything you’ve both been through.”
Aiden wanted to point out that his parents had been through a lot too. Not the least of which was being attacked by a dark fae in their own house.
“I actually feel bad for not noticing there was something between you.” She smiled.
“We were trying to hide it,” Tiago said.
“For my sake.” It was Aiden’s fault, so he wanted to take full blame for lying to his parents. “I didn’t want you to know.”
“Well, that’s all past now,” Dad said. “We’re not upset about it. We understand.”
Mom cleared her throat. “And we understand that you might… want some private time.”
Aiden dropped his head into his hands. “Oh God.” Kill me now.
“I know this is embarrassing to talk about with your parents,” she said. “But you’re both almost-legal adults, and I want to put this out in the open.”
“We were teenagers once too, and we haven’t forgotten what that was like,” Dad said.
“We aren’t encouraging you to… be intimate.” Mom’s face tightened a bit. “But we want to be realistic.”
Aiden wished he could melt into the floor. Or maybe he could make the floor rise up and wrap around him like a cocoon so he wouldn’t have to listen to this. He could stay in there until he stopped being embarrassed. Ten years ought to do it.
Dad added the cherry to the embarrassment sundae. “Just remember to be safe, that’s all.”
“Dad…” Please stop.
Tiago started laughing. They all looked at him in surprise.
“You guys are the best.” He smiled at Aiden’s parents. “My parents…” As soon as the words were out, his expression darkened. “They hate that I’m gay. They hate me for being gay.”
Dragonkin Are from Mars, Changelings Are from Venus Page 5
