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Chapter Seventeen

KEIR

Y eah, I wasn't a fan of fae myths - or nightmares - so the whole jevadu talk didn't amuse me.

But Rain had a point - and it was exactly what made her so amazing.

She didn't have the biases we did. She hadn't grown up with horror stories of monsters who could rip magic from a person, leaving them handicapped and useless.

But that was the problem, wasn't it? Fae assumed more power meant more strength. It made us better - but it really didn't. Because Rain didn't know a thing about our lore, she looked at it all with new, fresh eyes, seeing the inherent prejudices we missed because we were so used to them.

Still, her magic lesson had worn her out, so we all encouraged her to eat more fruits.

Aspen gave her pure sugar in those paper tubes the girls liked so much.

And throughout lunch, people kept looking over.

More when we were laughing, but they weren't simply curious.

Sadly, there was true concern in their eyes.

I headed to the gym after lunch, thinking about that.

Did people really believe Torian was a jevadu?

He didn't have wings! Ok, so those were supposed to be magical, and stories said they could be hidden because the jevadu walked among us to hunt.

But those were just myths and legends, weren't they?

Nothing more than faelings being scared of the stories their parents had told them?

I shook it off the moment Bracken started class. Rain wasn't in this one, which meant I didn't have an excuse to take it easy. Instead, Bracken took the chance to push me hard, and he certainly did.

So when Rain showed up to Defensive Combat, I was a gross and disgusting mess. Through that class and Offense, I managed to rest a bit, and then came Rain's mandatory last class of the day.

"You still good with this?" Bracken asked as the other students were making their way out.

I shrugged. "Not like we have a choice."

"Wrong," he corrected. "You, Keir, have a choice. Rain doesn't."

"Because wearing me out might make me less magical?" she asked.

"Morrigan!" Jack called from his perch on the training dummy, which made her flap her arms in annoyance.

"See!"

I chuckled as I looked back at Bracken. "I made you a promise. That means I don't get a choice either."

"Wait..." Rain said, immediately picking up on that. "Zez? What did you do?"

"Who?" I asked.

" Qeze got shortened to zez," Bracken explained. "Like the fae version of 'pops.'"

"Nice," I praised, looking over to make sure Rain knew that was meant for her.

Which made her glance away, a hint of color taking over her cheeks. "It was kinda my shadow's idea."

"And I like it," Bracken assured her. "So, if Keir's really invested in this - and it sounds like he is - then you two go and warm up in the private training room. I'm going to go a little easy today, because I want you both to get used to working together. Not always against each other."

"Can do," Rain said, tilting her head to invite me along.

She picked the same room we'd used that first time, back when she'd been trying to figure out if she'd liked having Aspen kiss her. Something about that felt nice, as if this was becoming our space. And when I picked up a pair of sticks, passing her one, she flapped her hand for a second.

"Zez has been making me use two," she explained. "It's my first weapon combo to master, I guess."

"Nice," I mumbled approvingly even as I passed her another.

Then we began to stretch. Halfway through the slow and methodical movements, the back of my neck began to itch. A moment later, the sensation traveled lower. It took a bit, but when I heard a woman talking to Bracken in the main area, I realized what was going on.

"Who the fuck brought iron in here?" I grumbled, dropping my sticks and heading for the door.

"What? When?" Rain asked, immediately following.

Sadly, that I didn't know. At least not until we made it up the hall and into the main training space.

There, I saw Tag, the weapons crafting instructor, first. Bracken was standing before her, but not close.

He was also scratching at his own arm, because the human woman was holding a very delicate, very iron sword between them, point down.

"What the hell?" I breathed.

But Bracken heard. "I was wondering if you'd feel that," he said, moving another step away from Tag. "Rain?"

"Yeah?" she asked, sounding skeptical.

"Would you please come get your new sword? I really do not want to touch it."

"Mine?" she asked, moving that way. "But I don't have - "

"Bracken asked me to make this for you," Tag explained. "Why do you think I was checking your grip size in class today?"

"Because you said you wanted to make sure I wasn't using too heavy of a hammer," Rain replied.

Which made Tag smile. "Still human, Rain. I can lie, and while every other student in class could feel it, you couldn't." Then she thrust out the sword, hilt first, towards Rain. "I've been working on this for days now. I hope it meets your approval, Morrigan."

Rain mumbled a few sounds, but her hands found the sword out of habit. And once Tag let go, Rain tested the blade, swiping it through the air. Slowly, a smile grew on her face.

"It feels better than yours, Zez!" she laughed. "I mean, it's heavier, but like, in a good way."

"Zez?" Tag asked.

I was struggling not to scratch at the back of my neck. "It's Rain's version of dad."

"Oh, now that is cute," Tag crooned. "You are definitely a zez, Bracken. Maybe even a zezzy."

Rain gasped. "That's what I said!"

"Then it's gotta be true," Tag teased. "Hey, Brack, does Liam call you that? "

"I am trying to train my daughter!" Bracken pointed out. "She's supposed to be in a lesson."

So Rain fake-whispered, "That means yes!"

I snorted out a laugh and turned, trying to hide it. "Yeah, so is this why we don't have too many humans here?"

"Exactly why," Tag laughed. But she waved that off. "Brack, did you want a matching blade to go with this one?"

"Nope," he said. "She's going to use one eltam and one iron."

"What?" I asked.

So Bracken turned to me. "And you are going to get used to it," he said.

"That's why I asked Tag to bring it now.

She will practice with that in her right and my eltam in her left.

You, Keir, will use sticks. If she marks you, I will make sure it's handled, but think of this as incentive to keep your guard up. "

"But why?" Rain asked. "Zez, I know this much metal can't feel good. And I think Keir's extra sensitive."

"Not used to it," Bracken countered. "His parents are both fae. He's avoided all human spaces with iron, or put enough between him and it to manage. This? He's adamant he's going to help train you, so that means he gets to learn how to deal with iron."

What he didn't mention was the conversation we'd had right after Rain had found her power. When he'd asked me if I was in love with her and I couldn't make myself deny it. That meant there was some truth there. Maybe not only truth, but enough that my body refused to say the words.

I'd also promised to protect her with my life. This? It was merely a part of that, but possibly one of the least comfortable ones I could imagine.

But Brack was still looking at the sword. "Keir, how good is your healing ability?" he asked out of the blue.

"Not the best," I admitted. "I can reduce a burn, remove iron blisters, but not rejuvenate at all."

"Well, this has to be done," Bracken said - and then the man grabbed the base of the blade, right where it met the hilt.

"Bracken!" Rain gasped, trying to pull the blade away.

Bracken just held on, but even from this far away, I could hear the sizzle of his flesh as the pure metal burned the skin of his palm. What the man didn't do was scream. Instead, green light flared, covering the entire blade, as well as Rain's hand where she held it.

And suddenly, the feel of the iron faded. It didn't vanish, but it softened enough I no longer wanted to scratch at my own skin. Instead, it was no more annoying than the hum of a fluorescent light. There, quiet, and the sort of thing I could ignore if I tried hard enough.

The moment Bracken pulled his hand back, I rushed in. "What the hell did you do?" I demanded, easing the man down to his knees so I could start to heal him.

Bracken laughed once. "I shielded it," he panted. "A barrier around the blade. Around the iron, but one that will avoid her touch."

"Why?" Tag asked, reaching over to clasp Rain's shoulder, holding the girl in place. "And did you even think to warn your kid? Seriously, Brack?"

The man laughed once more. "I didn't want her to refuse," he muttered, clearly hurting. "The enchantment will keep us from itching when we're around it. Won't stop the thing from being lethal though - or burning us if touched. I also won't turn down some nectar, Tag."

"Oh, I think you need to suffer for this.

I'm definitely going to tell Liam what you did while I'm getting that.

Then he can give you a little lecture about the responsibilities of parenthood.

" Tag gently shook Rain with that hand on her shoulder.

"This? This is your daughter, and your job is to teach her, not do for her. "

"Zez?" Rain asked. "Is it bad?"

"I'm fine," he assured her. "Just a little burn. I've had worse."

"That's also one hell of a spell," I told her. "Rain, he's probably useless now. That much magic, and on iron? "

"Fae nobility," Tag grumbled. "All your arrogant asses.

I think you deserve what you get." She huffed, but finally let Rain go.

"Do not baby him, Rain. That will only feed his pampered ego.

Set your boundaries, set them clearly, and do not give in.

Same is true for Keir as much as Bracken.

Trust me, I've been dealing with these pompous pricks long enough to actually start to like them. " And she flashed Bracken a smile.

Yet I felt the dissonance in her words, proving they weren't quite true.

Sarcasm. Yep, I wished I could use it, but it was too close to a lie for me to say it.

But while I continued to push magic into my instructor, Tag left, grumbling about dumb men and fatherly pride. It was actually sort of cute.

Rain had a different worry. "Zez, this isn't going to work. As soon as I touch it..."

"I made the enchantment avoid you," he explained.

"Like magnets with opposite poles, it will shift out of your way, only to reform on the other side.

That means Keir will feel that blade, but he won't want to crawl out of his skin because you have it.

I also want you to keep that weapon in the same room as your other blade. "

"You mean yours," she corrected.

He looked up and smiled. "No, kiddo. I mean yours. My father gave those swords to me. Now I'm giving one to you and ordered the iron one - "

"Steel," I corrected. "Brack, that's hardened steel."

"Fucking felt like pure iron," Bracken admitted as he finally turned his hand over to look at his own palm.

The skin was whole, but very red and irritated. Raw almost fit, but in the new skin sort of way, not abraded. I had a feeling it would get worse over time, though.

"You need to see Ms. Hawthorne and get that fixed," I warned. "I'm not strong enough to stop the burn completely."

"The nectar will help."

Rain just lifted her chin. "I'll tell Dad!"

I had to press my lips together, because this girl clearly already had her fathers figured out.

"Ok!" Bracken relented. "I'll drink the nectar, find Liam, and do whatever he wants. Fair enough?"

Rain's eyes narrowed. "No. Next time, you'll let me decide before you do something so stupid. I might be your kid, but I'm not a kid. I also could've waited until we figured out a better way. I mean, I can use the sticks!"

"No," he countered, "you can't. You need to learn what a real weapon moves like. You need to get so used to this sword that it becomes an extension of you."

"And when it's in here and she's in her room?" I asked.

Letting out a sigh, Bracken hung his head. "I know, but this much steel isn't allowed in the main building."

"Which means she's right," I pointed out. "You just suffered for something that isn't really going to help."

"Oh, but it will," Bracken assured me. "I made it possible for you to keep your focus when you watch her back. That means you'll get used to being near it too. I touched it so you don't have to, Keir."

"Morrigan," Jack said softly, sounding almost worried. "Dad-Morrigan. Dad!"

"I'm ok, Jack," Bracken said. Then he looked up at me. "That's as good as it's going to get. So go practice."

I let go of him and stepped back. "Fine, but I'm also locking up when we're done, and you are going to spend the night getting treated. Either with the nurse, Ms. Hawthorne, or Liam. I don't care which, because your partner gets to decide."

"Do not teach her how to use words against me?" Bracken begged.

Finally, Rain allowed herself to smile. "Too late, Zez. I've already figured that out." Then she turned the blade, looking down the length of it. "And I love the sword, but it would've meant more if you hadn't hurt yourself."

"No," Bracken countered. "Rain, I hurt myself so you will never be scared of hurting a friend with that. So you'll actually use it."

"So you'll protect him with it," I added.

Her eyes dropped to the blade again. "And Liam, huh?"

"Definitely Liam," Bracken agreed. "Because unlike us, he has no way to defend himself."

"Ok," she relented. "No pressure or anything."

But I could already hear the guilt starting to weigh on her. It sounded much too heavy for a girl her age, let alone one with her very limited experience.

"No pressure," I told her, "because I'm going to help you carry it. Right?"

She shrugged. Evidently, that was the best I was going to get.