My mouth fell open in surprise, my gaze held Aspen's, and our fingers clung to each other - but here in the cafeteria, we couldn't do more. Aspen just kept pushing, and I kept taking. Every time I was sure that was it, a little more rushed in, proving I still had another layer available.
And none of it hurt.
Shit, it actually felt good. Like a glass of cold water on a hot day, a meal when I'd been without, or the way my dads hugged me. It was fulfilling some kind of need I hadn't realized I'd had - and quickly. As Aspen poured her magic into me, time seemed to slow, but the court converged around us, shielding Aspen and me from view.
Then my girlfriend sighed, sounding like the air just fell out as she slumped forward. My grip on her hands kept her from going too far, but Torian surged in to catch her shoulders.
"We got you, Asp," he swore. "Jack was right. Rain's the answer."
"I am?"
Wilder palmed the back of my neck, leaning down until his mouth was beside my ear. "We do not talk about this in public."
"Do we talk about it ever?" I turned to meet his eyes.
Black. Cold. Worried. And yet his answer was merely a tip of his head. That meant yes.
"Do we need to leave?" Keir asked.
"Aspen and I do," Torian said.
"Then I'm walking with you," Keir told him. "Gotta make sure my bestie's good, right?"
The tone was hard. There was no joke in Keir's words or the way Torian was glaring at him. The pair were at a standoff, but they also didn't look ready to throw down.
"You might be late for class," Torian pointed out.
Keir shrugged. "Bracken will give me a pass."
"And Rain?"
"Hawke will walk her to the Forge."
"Fuck," Hawke muttered, because the Forge was filled with metals he didn't like. "But yeah, I will."
"And Wilder?" Torian asked next.
Keir smiled. "He's going to go see Liam for his next class."
"Hm," Torian murmured. "Seems you have all the answers, huh?"
"This time," Keir said. "Next time, you can make the decisions. I just want to make sure Aspen can rest without someone else saying things between the two of you are cause for a rumor."
"Please, Tor?" Aspen asked.
"Aspen?" I breathed, worried about her now.
"I need to lie down," she explained. "I don't want to break the school."
"And I got you," Keir said gently, leaning in to offer Aspen his hand. Then he raised his voice. "Oh, and Rain? If another jester talks shit about my friends? See how they like Wild magic, hm?"
"Yep," I agreed. "I can make wolves now. They chase people until I tell them to stop."
Keir nodded, Aspen leaned on him, and Torian followed. Yet as those three headed towards the exit, I looked over to see the entire table of jesters was silent. They weren't even talking amongst themselves.
"Yeah," Wilder said softly. "I think I like the new guy."
"I keep telling you he's cute," Hawke pointed out.
