Page 177 of Pixie Problems

"It's an Elysian Burst," Torian grumbled. "They're native to where I grew up."

"Mm." Keir just nodded, coming over to pet the plant before me. "Do they run out of bubbles?"

"Nope," Torian said.

"Always in colors?"

"Mhm," Torian admitted.

So Keir just raised his voice. "Aspen! We all need these!"

"Ok!" she groaned. "I'll make those all next week, ok? They should be ready right around the Spring Equinox." She jerked her chin at Torian. "Which means you're probably getting another one for your birthday, you know."

"So you need to grow yourself one for yours," he teased. "You know, since you're so much older than me."

"Fuck off!" Aspen laughed.

"Oh! We need one by the tub," I decided. "A long soak after Hawke abuses me and Keir in practice, and giggles to go with it? Kinda sounds like date night, hm?"

"Oh, Hawke!" Wilder teased. "I didn't know you had it in you to handle both of them!"

"Fuck off," Hawke mumbled, and yet the tips of his ears were getting red.

So I nudged Keir in the ribs. "You should try kissing him. He's pretty good at it."

"You most definitely should not!" Torian huffed, turning away just to head back towards his sister.

Keir and I shared a look, and then I checked with Aspen. She rolled hereyes, making it clear what she thought about her brother's moods, but now I was curious. Did Torian just not want Keir around, or was he jealous of someone else getting time with Hawke? Did he have a problem with Wilder too?

"Yeah, so..." I said, desperately trying to think of something to change the conversation. "Aspen, do we need to plant these anywhere in particular?"

"You point," Wilder told her, picking up a small pot, "and we'll dig."

"Oh, I like this!" Aspen joked. "Ok, Wilder, yours goes..." Her words trailed off as her eyes went wide. "Nevaeh?"

Standing at the edge of our little secluded area, the girl in question was wringing her hands together and looking like she was about to bolt. Her eyes jumped from Aspen to me, then over to Keir before flicking across the rest of the guys.

"Um, Torian?" she said, her voice cracking with anxiety.

He looked back, and the expression on his face was nearly a snarl. "What the fuck doyouwant?"

"My magic back," the girl whispered. "I came to trade."

"No." As if he'd closed the door in her face, Torian turned back to Hawke and began handing out plants and tools. "We can put these by the pond."

"You want to trade me!" Nevaeh said, raising her voice. "I'll even promise never to harm you or your sister again, but Ineedmy magic back. They say you can give it. That if a jevadu pulls magic from a person, it doesn't just go away. That it can be given back if it hasn't been used, and - "

"That is not how it works!" Torian snapped.

"Oh." Nevaeh's entire body slumped, but she still didn't leave. "Will I ever have magic again, or am I just human now?"

"It'll come back in the fall," he grumbled. "Seasonal magic ebbs and flows with the seasons. I'm not yet strong enough to remove your ability to touch it. Otherwise, you'd be dead, because I would've." Pulling in a breath, he turned, those eyes of his somehow feeling more glacial than his sister's. "You were going to destroy things I care about, so I destroyed the one thing you do!"

"I never wanted Winter magic!" Nevaeh hissed at him. "Don't you get it? I didn't ask to be this thing! I didn't - "

"Oh, he gets it," Hawke said, cutting her off. "You're also doing nothing but digging your hole deeper, you idiot!"

Nevaeh bit her lips together and took a step back. "Fine! So you know, Ididn't want to attack you, but Harper said I had to. She said that if I didn't, her mother wouldn't let me stay anymore, since I'm just a worthless Winter bitch, so I tried to stun, not kill."