this.”
He pretended to nibble on my arm, like the critters in some of his favorite anime did. “I trust you. I told Jamie that.”
Jamie didn’t trust me?
“Besides, I like you. You’re my best friend, other than Gabe. You don’t look at me like you’re waiting for me to explode.”
“But you don’t like, like me.”
He shot me a wary look. “Do you want to have sex with me?”
“No. I’d rather have sex with Jamie.” It was the first time I’d acknowledged the desire out loud. Apparently he didn’t trust me, and that stung. “That’s like, the taboo of taboos. Wanting to have sex with my best friend’s brother.”
“Why?”
“’Cause if something goes sour on either side of the relationship it’s hard to keep seeing them around.”
“Oh. But you’ll stay friends with me, right?”
“You’d have to find wild dogs to drag me away. Or maybe a slew of naked football players.”
“Fantasy football?” The hopeful tone of his voice made me laugh. Maybe he could pick a winning team by attraction alone.
“If we get out of here I’ll show you how it works.”
He sighed and went back to drawing, body snug against mine. “I’d like Jamie to have someone. You’d be good for him. That girl has been all over Jamie. I don’t know if he does boys. But he could pick a better girl. That one’s so fake she’s plastic.”
“Which girl?” Did Jamie have a girlfriend I didn’t know about?
“Cat. The one with the tall, brooding gay guy, Connie. He’s hot with all those tattoos. But he’s got something dark in him that reminds me of Matthew.” Sei’s eyes darted away, as if the memory caught him unaware. Matthew had abused Sei as a child, then came back to haunt him a month ago.
“Constantine told you he’s gay?”
Sei gave me his famous “duh” stare. “He came on to me the moment Gabe went to bed this morning.”
And here Con had been talking about how he’d changed. “Really? Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”
“Last name Opal, like the gem. They’re Dominion. Not first wave like me, but still high enough to matter.”
“They? Is Cat related to him?”
“They’re brother and sister. Sort of look alike, don’t you think?”
Hmm. What was Con doing up here on vacation with his sister? He’d never spoken of having a sister, though to be honest, we hadn’t talked about anything not related to sex or sports. Teenage boys and hormones. I was happy I’d mostly outgrown that stage.
“Jamie said you needed to tell me something.”
“Yeah. About the storm. It wasn’t normal. I felt a lot of malice in it. Panic too. It’s starting again, the pressure building. Though deep inside the lodge it doesn’t feel as bad as it did at the cabin.”
“But you’re the water witch. Why tell me?”
“I don’t know. Something in my head just kept saying you had to know. Do you ever feel stuff like that? An element with pure malice in it?” He’d been studying magic longer than I had. Set a new bar for all male witches to reach. I hoped he had some answers.
“At the witch levels exam, Bernie made the river rise that way. By forcing her element to do something it didn’t normally do.” He turned away, keeping his eyes down. “There wasn’t malice in it, but it wasn’t natural. Anyone higher than a level one would have felt it.”
And since both Sei and I were level five witches, all that stuff set off our radar. “We saved the day, you and I.” I rubbed his soft hair and pulled him into my arms like I could save him from the memories. “I thought I could hold the water back, but I’m just human. There’s no way to stop nature in all its glory. You’d think years of competitive swimming would have beaten some sense into me.”
“I never got to see you swim. But you’re an amazing runner. I loved watching you pace yourself and shoot ahead in the last few seconds.”
“The days of competitive sports are behind me.” Ever since enrolling in the magic studies program at the U, I’d had
He pretended to nibble on my arm, like the critters in some of his favorite anime did. “I trust you. I told Jamie that.”
Jamie didn’t trust me?
“Besides, I like you. You’re my best friend, other than Gabe. You don’t look at me like you’re waiting for me to explode.”
“But you don’t like, like me.”
He shot me a wary look. “Do you want to have sex with me?”
“No. I’d rather have sex with Jamie.” It was the first time I’d acknowledged the desire out loud. Apparently he didn’t trust me, and that stung. “That’s like, the taboo of taboos. Wanting to have sex with my best friend’s brother.”
“Why?”
“’Cause if something goes sour on either side of the relationship it’s hard to keep seeing them around.”
“Oh. But you’ll stay friends with me, right?”
“You’d have to find wild dogs to drag me away. Or maybe a slew of naked football players.”
“Fantasy football?” The hopeful tone of his voice made me laugh. Maybe he could pick a winning team by attraction alone.
“If we get out of here I’ll show you how it works.”
He sighed and went back to drawing, body snug against mine. “I’d like Jamie to have someone. You’d be good for him. That girl has been all over Jamie. I don’t know if he does boys. But he could pick a better girl. That one’s so fake she’s plastic.”
“Which girl?” Did Jamie have a girlfriend I didn’t know about?
“Cat. The one with the tall, brooding gay guy, Connie. He’s hot with all those tattoos. But he’s got something dark in him that reminds me of Matthew.” Sei’s eyes darted away, as if the memory caught him unaware. Matthew had abused Sei as a child, then came back to haunt him a month ago.
“Constantine told you he’s gay?”
Sei gave me his famous “duh” stare. “He came on to me the moment Gabe went to bed this morning.”
And here Con had been talking about how he’d changed. “Really? Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”
“Last name Opal, like the gem. They’re Dominion. Not first wave like me, but still high enough to matter.”
“They? Is Cat related to him?”
“They’re brother and sister. Sort of look alike, don’t you think?”
Hmm. What was Con doing up here on vacation with his sister? He’d never spoken of having a sister, though to be honest, we hadn’t talked about anything not related to sex or sports. Teenage boys and hormones. I was happy I’d mostly outgrown that stage.
“Jamie said you needed to tell me something.”
“Yeah. About the storm. It wasn’t normal. I felt a lot of malice in it. Panic too. It’s starting again, the pressure building. Though deep inside the lodge it doesn’t feel as bad as it did at the cabin.”
“But you’re the water witch. Why tell me?”
“I don’t know. Something in my head just kept saying you had to know. Do you ever feel stuff like that? An element with pure malice in it?” He’d been studying magic longer than I had. Set a new bar for all male witches to reach. I hoped he had some answers.
“At the witch levels exam, Bernie made the river rise that way. By forcing her element to do something it didn’t normally do.” He turned away, keeping his eyes down. “There wasn’t malice in it, but it wasn’t natural. Anyone higher than a level one would have felt it.”
And since both Sei and I were level five witches, all that stuff set off our radar. “We saved the day, you and I.” I rubbed his soft hair and pulled him into my arms like I could save him from the memories. “I thought I could hold the water back, but I’m just human. There’s no way to stop nature in all its glory. You’d think years of competitive swimming would have beaten some sense into me.”
“I never got to see you swim. But you’re an amazing runner. I loved watching you pace yourself and shoot ahead in the last few seconds.”
“The days of competitive sports are behind me.” Ever since enrolling in the magic studies program at the U, I’d had
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