Page 86 of Pixie Problems

She nodded. "Tor gave me some, and I gave it to you, and you made shadows."

"Wait, you can trade magic?"

She made a face and rocked her head from side to side. "Not trade, and most people don't, but because we're siblings, it's not a big deal."

"Ah." Yeah, that made sense in a way. I also didn't really want to think too hard about it.

Summer magic, Winter magic, and Wild magic. The lines were starting to get very blurry, and the reasons were clearly part of those things she didn't want to talk about, so I wouldn't ask. I trusted her, and I knew she'd tell me if I needed to worry, so I refused to let myself dwell on it.

"How long will it take you to recover?" I asked instead.

That made her smile. "Hawke will get a whole gallon of nectar, and I'll go to Tor's to drink it. We'll probably sleep like the dead all night, but Hawke and Wilder will crash in Tor's spare room."

I sucked in a breath, sitting up. "Sothey'rethe ones together?"

The look Aspen gave me was almost disappointed. "Uh, yeah. Tor's straight."

Duh. When she put it like that, I felt stupid. "I mean, Hawke saidsomething about being with someone, but Wilder never has, and I just wasn't sure and didn't want to get anyone in trouble."

"Rain, those two hooked up as soon as Wilder got here. And they'recute!"

My mouth was hanging open. "Hawke said something to me today about how he'd kiss Keir, and I thought he was joking, but..."

Finally, a true smile found Aspen's face. "Oh my god! Hawke said that?"

"Yeah, when he was apologizing for saying he'd kiss me and freaking me out." I shrugged. "I mean, I'm trying to get used to everyone being into everyone, but I'm used to gay being weird. No, not weird. But like, not common? The norm?" I groaned, knowing I was only making it worse.

"Statistically speaking," she said, "humans tend to be heterosexual. Fae tend to be pansexual, caring more about the person than their gender. But 'tend to be' is not the same as 'always.'"

I nodded, making it clear she really was getting through. "I know. It's just that some things are so ingrained, you know? Half the time, I forget there's anything weird about being here. Everyone is so normal, just like people!"

She tittered, and while it wasn't her usual giggle, this was the exhausted version. "Rain, we're still people."

"I mean humans!" I groaned, letting go of her to flop onto my back. "My brain's fried, ok? And no, I don't want to think about all of this, or how Keir might be feeling, or how I am. I'd rather screw up the words I'm using and make you laugh at me, ok?"

"Hey," she breathed. "It's going to be ok. It's all over now."

"But they'll come back." I turned my head without lifting it. "What if they come for you?"

"Then you will save me again," she said, sounding so very confident about it. "My girlfriend's a badass, right? I'm datingthe Morrigan."

I bit my lower lip in a bad attempt to hold back my smile. "And I'm dating the prettiest faerie on Earth."

"Yeah," she breathed, leaning in so she could kiss me. "And thank you, Rain. For saving me, for being my girlfriend, for helping all of us, and I can't even think about what else. Mostly, thank you for being here when I needed you most."

"Always," I whispered against her lips, and something washed over my skin with a faint tingle.

She pulled back and sucked in a breath. "Rain! You're not supposed to make a vow!"

"But I will," I told her. "I don't care if I hate you. I didn't like Fin and I still tried to save him. Isn't that what I'm supposed to do? Aren't I supposed to be the one to fix all of this?"

"No," she soothed. "No, that's not what you're here for. You, Rain, bring balance. The fight you're supposed to stop isn't something you caused. It's not your fault. You're just the hero who stops it."

"But I didn't stop it, and now Fin's dead!" I shot back.

Which made her caress my face, and then lean back. "You made them leave. You made the Huntsman let me go. That counts, Rain. Believe it or not, it does." Then she scooted off the bed and offered her hand. "And I think we need to go see the guys."

"Uh..." I wasn't following along.