"Guys!" I groaned. "Pascal helped Aspen."
"Doesn't mean he did it for Aspen," Wilder said.
"I actually did," Pascal told them. "Look, she's always been nice to me. Torian? Not so much. The Summer Prince is a dick, and more like his mother than I like. As far as I care, the Winter Court got the better sibling."
"He's a Legacy," Hawke told Wilder. "No magic either way."
Pascal just shrugged. "And speaking of that, I need to go share my one skill with the other groups before Bracken yells at me. Or worse, says we're not helping."
"Which means I get to spar with Rain," Wilder said, stepping up. "Babe? Give her some pointers, and stop holding back, since no one else will be listening in."
"I..."
"You can always blame a friend's abilities," I pointed out.
"Can't," Hawke said. "Rain, I still can't lie, and the only wildling I've really known is Jack."
"He was raised as one of us," Wilder whispered. "Kinda why he has the manners of a gentleman."
"But not a lord," Hawke said.
"Wouldn't be fucking a lord," Wilder said slyly.
I giggled, because they were cute. Now that I was in on the secret, I caught a lot of the subtle flirtation between them. The obvious stuff was easy, but they didn't hold hands or make googly eyes at each other like most couples I knew. Then again, most couples I knew were the boy-girl kind, or the girl-girl. I wasn't really sure if guys got all mushy like that.
"Ready when you are," I told Wilder as I took up my position.
"Wait," Hawke said, moving behind me so he could whisper in my ear. "Rain, when you call your magic, have a plan. Use it to assist you. Make his weapon hard to hold, destroy his footing or make him stick in place. Hide yourself. That can be making you hard to see or making so many moves, he can't keep up."
"Stop thinking in simple terms," Wilder clarified. "Be more inventive. Believe it or not, your magic can work like ours."
"Really?" I asked, turning to look at Hawke - only to find our faces a little too close.
He smiled and his eyes dropped to my mouth. "Um..."
"And stop distracting him," Wilder joked. "Seriously, if you're going to kiss him, then do it so he can think again."
"Shit, I'm not that bad," Hawke grumbled, stepping back.
"You're that cute," Wilder told him. "And this is me trying to make Rain realize I'm good with it."
That made me look back at him. Wilder was smiling softly, but not in a flirtatious way. He was looking at me like we were sharing a secret. Like the way my friends at other schools had when we all thought the same guy was cute.
Because we did. Ok, that was actually nicer than I'd expected.
"So," I said. "Do you even go for girls, Wilder?"
"Sometimes," he said. "I just happen to like butch."
"Like Tag?"
He shrugged. "I mean, sure. Not that I'd want to be tied that closely to Ms. Rhodes, though."
"I like pretty," I said, lifting my weapons to get ready.
"Which means I'm out," Hawke huffed, sounding like he was trying to make a joke but honestly believed it.
But I kept my eyes on Wilder. "He's pretty."
