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Chapter Three

RAIN

L iam didn't follow me into the women's section.

He went in a slightly different direction.

I could see his head over the tops of the racks, but not what he was looking at.

Probably clothes for him or Bracken. It was that side of the store, and this place wasn't exactly huge.

The joys of small-town Iowa: no big-name stores.

But then I hit the motherload. In the middle of the women's area were tons of graphic tees in the sorts of prints I'd wear.

Beside them was an entire table with jeans stacked on top.

Low-rise, mid-rise, and high-waisted. Light wash, brown-tinged, or dark indigo.

Distressed or not. Deciding to play it safe, I chose a pair of dark indigo high-waisted jeans without tears.

Yeah, Liam and Bracken had gotten me a few handy Visa gift cards, but I didn't want to spend all of it on clothes.

I might need it for other things. Or maybe, this was just me wanting to hoard it as some kind of fallback plan.

It was just that the idea of having a little something when I might need it was new, and I really didn't want to blow it all in one go.

So I quickly found jeans my size. Next, I flipped through the available shirts and tried to pick which one I liked most. Finding one with a killer bunny on it, I decided that would do, but my eyes drifted to the wall on their own.

There hung pajamas, loungewear, and more.

Never mind the racks of adorable clothes I'd love to wear.

There were so many cute things, but I was not about to become the greedy girl the Sparks had accused me of being. All I needed right now was a t-shirt. Combined with my jeans, it counted as an outfit, right? This should be more than enough. Something to wear on my days off was all I really needed.

Tucking them under my arm, I turned to find Liam, but my shadow was stretching out, looking like it was getting taller. It was also doing that shimmering thing again.

"Stop!" I hissed at it, trying to keep my voice down so none of the employees would hear.

There were a handful of salespeople wandering around in here. This was not private. I also couldn't remember the rules for talking about the fae to others! Did they even care? Was this some big secret we were supposed to protect? Was that how someone earned the title of caradil ?

I should've asked before I got out of the car, but I'd been a little focused on the shadow magic and new dads.

Now, the damned thing was acting up again, and I could only think of one way to control it.

If my shadow was anything like my crow, it should love shiny things, right?

Maybe my shadow would get interested in what I was looking at if I kept shopping? If it even worked that way!

Turning in the opposite direction, I wandered to a table with the most adorable lounge pants in polka dots of various colors.

I was trying to forget how my shadow had just gained a life of its own.

I was also fighting the urge to run to Liam and beg him to fix it.

Nope, I was trying to focus on shiny things.

And the clothes here were adorable! There was a tank-and-shorts pajama set in a flower print.

Aspen would like it, and it wasn't too revealing.

Then there were slippers and all sorts of girly things I'd never been able to have before.

Things like lingerie in a rainbow of colors.

Stuff like this was what the cool or popular kids had. Not foster kids pinching every penny.

For me, night clothes were sweats or a tank and shorts.

Matching sets? Those were always considered too expensive.

Bulk packs made more sense when stretching a budget.

I'd heard the lectures a dozen times. So many that I'd stopped daydreaming of getting such things, and now that I had what was basically cash in my pocket?

So tempting! So many very, very tempting things.

For a moment, I thought my plan was working.

My shadow came back, but it didn't bother sticking around.

The thing waved at me - yes, waved - and then flitted across the clothes and floor again, almost as if a bright light was spinning around me to make the effect.

Yeah, I turned, watching it in something between horror and awe.

In the middle of the floor, it gestured like it was summoning me toward it. Both arms curled - or at least looked like a shadow of someone doing that. Then it shifted back some more, pausing just before the wall to look at me and crook a finger.

That was when I realized this thing had eyes. Or, well, it had holes of no-shadow areas where the eyes should be. Ok, that was a little creepy, but when one of the sales girls looked my way, I gave in and headed over to stand on my shadow's feet.

"Happy now?" I grumbled as softly as I could.

My shadow simply pointed up. Naturally, my eyes followed.

There, hanging right before me, was a gothic set of pajamas.

The perfect ones for me. The shirt and pants were all black, but with a dark print on them.

The pants looked like a million crows flying - or maybe they were ravens - and the shirt had a single golden eye visible right in the middle at the top, as if the bird's portrait was judging me.

"Fine, you win," I breathed, snagging a set in my size. "Now can you behave until we're out of here?"

The thing lifted its arms like a shrugging emoji, but when I stepped back, it stayed attached to my feet. Hoping that would be enough to keep me from getting noticed, I took my clothes towards the other side of the store where Liam had gone.

"Liam!" I called softly, hoping he'd look up, but he was focused on something else. "Dad!"

That made his head snap up and a smile took over his face. "What?"

"I need a third opinion. About the cute jammies I found. They have crows."

The wistful look was still on his face. "Crows? Then I think you need those. If you don't want to spend the money on them, I will. Oh, and come here when you're done."

So I quickly made my way over. Evidently, the man was in the middle of the shoe section.

This time, he wasn't looking at heels for my uniform, but rather athletic shoes.

A lot of them. There were basketball shoes, skater shoes, running shoes, cross-training shoes, and others with just a brand name on the tag.

"Uh..." I dropped my haul on the closest chair. "I just need the cheap ones. Oh, and my shadow found the crow jammies. You know, hence the third opinion."

His head immediately dropped to check out my shadow. "Ok, missed that when you called me 'Dad.' So it talks? "

"Points," I corrected. "Waves too, it seems."

"Uh-huh." Looking around quickly, he checked to make sure we were alone, then bent down to the ground. "Please be good until we get out of here? I'm trying to spoil my daughter."

"So it does listen?" I asked.

"No clue," he admitted, "but most fae things do, so I figure it's worth trying. Now let's find you some shoes real fast and take your shadow home?"

"Good plan," I agreed. "Which ones are the cheapest?"

"Uh, no." He gave me an exasperated look.

"Rain, don't worry about what my brother thinks.

You're going to be fencing for days on end.

Brack said kneeling, jumping, and short bursts.

I figure that sounds like a few sports, right?

So, how about we just find the ones you think are comfortable and not worry about anything else? "

"What does Bracken wear?" I asked as I pulled off my shoe and tried on the closest option. Yeah, and I checked my shadow. It was still there.

"Military-grade combat boots," Liam admitted. "A very old and very well-worn set - and do not mention replacing them." He shook his head to make the point. "They're just right, and I wouldn't understand."

I giggled at that. "How long have you two been together now?"

"Twenty-two years," he said. "Met in the fall when I was in eleventh grade.

We broke up for the summer, but that was because of my parents.

About halfway through, he came by and asked if I wanted to join the archery team with him.

Never mind that he'd already graduated, but that was all it took.

He'd made an excuse, my father could accept it, and I had a reason to disappear with him into the woods as much as I wanted. "

"And I'm sure you were perfectly behaved in those woods," I teased.

Liam just laughed. "There's a benefit to hanging out with guys like him.

They know the softest grass and can always find it.

" He winked. "Which you will not be doing for a while.

You have to wait until school is back in session before we can sign for you to have an exam with the school nurse and a birth control prescription filled. "

"Liam," I groaned. "Pretty sure Aspen can't get me pregnant."

"Pretty sure it's not Aspen I'm worried about," he countered.

"You've been spending a lot of time with Keir too, and wherever Aspen goes, so do Torian, Wilder, and Hawke.

How about we plan ahead so you don't have to ask first, ok?

Believe it or not, I'm not stupid about what teenagers do. I was one when I met your other dad. "

I paused at that. "I'm gonna need better names, huh? I mean, Dad and Dad? That won't get confusing at all!"

"You could use our names, I guess," he offered, but it almost seemed like he deflated a bit.

Underneath me, my shadow was vehemently shaking its head. This time, I actually agreed with the thing. And hopefully, if I didn't piss it off, it would continue to behave? Worth a shot, at least.

"What's the Faeril word for dad?" I asked, having an idea.

He offered me another shoe. "Father is qeze ," He pronounced it keh-zeh . "Most kids say 'zeh' or 'zeze' informally, though." The second sounded like z ehzeh . "You know, like dad and daddy instead of father. Although you'll have to call him Bracken in class, or Brack."

" Zeh and Dad," I mumbled, trying it out.

That brought the wistful smile back to his face. "You don't have to call us that until you're ready. If you're ever ready," he assured me.

But his smile made it clear he was just trying to be nice.

And yet, I actually liked this idea. I wasn't quite sure about the word I'd use for Bracken, but Liam was definitely a "Dad.

" The Faeril words, I'd have to figure out.

Everything about that language was still new to me, so it felt strange when I tried to use it.

Granted, it would take me a bit to get used to saying "dad" to either of them!

I'd been calling Liam by his name for months now, so I had the whole habit thing going on.

Plus, he had a point about Bracken being my teacher.

I couldn't just bust out the "dad" without someone screaming favoritism - yet I was enjoying this as much as they were.

That was when my shadow started waving again. Dramatically, with both arms extended as far as they would go. When Liam's head snapped over, I wanted to breathe a sigh of relief. I wasn't losing my mind! He could see it too.

"What?" I asked it.

Before me, the silhouette drew out a zigzag with one finger.

"Huh?" What the hell was it doing now?

It shoved both hands over its head, then repeated the gesture before adding another. Oh, that looked like an E? Then it did the zigzag again.

"Zez?" Liam asked.

The shadow made a production of nodding, then pointed to me.

Which was when I understood. "Not Zeh or Zeze , Liam. Zez. Like, I dunno, humanize it a bit? "

Hopping in place - flat against the floor - my shadow pointed at me and clapped over its head.

Liam just stared at it with his mouth open. "Holy shit, it has its own personality?"

"Seems so," I agreed. "I just hope it's, I dunno, good?"

"It's fae," he reminded me. "Fae things aren't good or evil, Rain. They're just fae."

"But do you think it's right?" I asked. "Would Bracken be ok with Zez? I mean, he's too pretty to have a normal term. He needs something to remind him he's old and should be grey - not looking like he's in his twenties."

"I am not complaining about how he looks," Liam teased. "I'm also pretty sure he'll be thrilled with anything you want to call him, even his name."

"Well, I kinda like Zez," I decided. "You're definitely stuck with 'Dad,' though. Sorry, Liam. I've been wanting one for a long time."

He surged up and wrapped his arms around me. "And I've wanted to be one, Rain. More than you can ever guess." He squeezed a bit harder and leaned back. "Now let's get you some good shoes and a whole lot more clothes so we can take your genius of a shadow home."

"I don't want to spend all my money," I muttered.

"Which is why I'm buying this," he assured me. "And there's no reason I can't get a few clothes or other things too."

"I don't want to spend your money either," I admitted. "I mean, it's just stuff, right? I don't exactly need it."

He just leaned back to look at my face. "This is our money - the whole family's.

Brack and I have a joint bank account, and he's not a poor man.

I'm not broke, even if I am a social worker.

We're doing ok, Rain. Completely middle-class.

That means he and I can buy our daughter clothes for her adoption day, right? "

Holy shit. He was right. Today was my official adoption day! Sure, a magical one, but that no longer seemed weird to me. With things like plants that enjoyed being petted, a shadow that had opinions, and a talking crow? How my adoption happened didn't matter as much as that it actually had.

I had a family now. A real one. A crazy one that didn't necessarily fit into most people's rules.

One of my dads was human, the other was fae, and I was the friend of a wildling.

If that didn't make this feel like it was meant to be, then I couldn't imagine what family I should be with.

These two men wanted to be my dads. I wanted to be their kid.

I'd probably change my mind the first time I got grounded, but still.

So I hugged him again. "Be careful what you wish for, Dad. Hasn't anyone warned you about teen girls and shopping?"

"And foster kids never have enough," he countered.

"Shoes, Rain. If you're going to become a real Morrigan, then you're going to need footwear that will keep up.

After that, a few more clothes, because you did not get nearly enough.

" He pointed at the stack of shoes and lifted a brow.

"And your shadow will make sure you don't look at price tags today.

We can set limits tomorrow, ok? This is all three of us celebrating. "

My shadow jerked its thumb up in obvious agreement, which made me giggle.

"Deal," I relented, because if both my shadow and my dad were on the same side, this was definitely going to happen.

Plus, I'd already looked at the tag. I knew how much they cost, but I also really wanted these shoes.