"And there are more than the pair of you need," he chided. "Pick a few. Five for each of you. I'll even agree that two little ones is the same as one big one. So five big ones. The rest need to go to the atrium."
Aspen groaned. "We gotta carry them down?"
"Gate," he told her. "I know you can. You know you can. Rain will think it's sexy, and you need to burn some power."
"Ms. Rhodes won't be happy if I get caught," Aspen countered.
"So we don't get caught," I assured her.
Bracken laughed once. "How about I take the blame this time, girls? To the atrium only, Aspen. I'll tell Ivy, and I'll leave a note approving it. If any other teacher has a problem, you let them see it. Think it will work?"
"Yes!" Aspen gasped.
"And I can carry plants," I said, because to me, this all sounded like maybe I could get Aspen back.
Probably not always, and it sounded like she still was working to be ok,but she was here. I'd missed her so much I would do anything to see her again. Besides, lifting some of these plants would definitely count as strength training, because my girlfriend didn't only grow tiny ones.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
RAIN
Bracken stayed long enough to make sure Aspen could not only make a gate, but also control it. I was starting to realize the conjuration wasn't an easy one. When my zez said he couldn't do it on his own, but he could mitigate the collapse of one? Yeah, this thing I'd been taking for granted was a big fucking deal.
That was why they always said it with a strange tone. There was emphasis on the veryword,like it was either bad or special. I'd just never gotten enough information to figure out which. Naturally, I'd assumed my friends were breaking one of the many school rules for fae. After all, we kinda did that a lot.
Even better, Aspen's gate took us right to the corner of the atrium where it was the most private. Overhead, a few large trees worked as a canopy. Around us, bushes served as walls. We both set down our armload of plants, then went back for more. Evidently, Aspen had been using them as a band-aid for her problem, pumping magic out so the plants could grow.
She explained it all to me as we worked, including how magic constantly built up inside her. It seemed Bracken had given her permission to let me know that much, yet when my girlfriend talked about plants? Her eyes lit up in the best way, and just thinking about growing things made a smile curl her lips upward.
But moving so many plants didn't happen quickly. It also didn'tresolve all the issues still lingering between us. Two weeks might not be too long, but it was long enough to build up a shit-ton of questions. Sometime after the third - or maybe fifth - trip, just as the rest of the building was falling silent due to the late hour, I refused to ignore it anymore.
"So..." I set down a tray with at least a dozen little pots in it. "Why has Torian been keeping you from me? Is it because he thinks I'll tell someone your control got rattled?"
"Rattled?" She laughed, and it actually sounded amused. "Rain, my control was completely shattered for a while there. I mean, it's still not good, but I thought I could come back and be ok. Hawke was saying you were getting pissed about me ditching you, and - "
"No," I said, stopping her. "Aspen, I was pissed because Torian wasn't letting me see you. Not to check up, not to help, or anything."
"He wasn't!" she insisted. "He's the one who told me to use you that day at lunch. He said he thought you could help, but I didn't want to hurt you. Don't you get it? He likes you, Rain!"
I groaned, because things had clearly gotten all twisted around somehow. "But every time I wanted to check on you, the guys said it was a bad idea. Torian was helping, and Torian was taking care of you. Things like that kinda sound like, well, abuse."
"He needed help too," she assured me. "Rain, when the Hunt attacked? It was a lot. Not just the Huntsman grabbing me, but the amount of magic we used, knowing Fin died anyway..." She shrugged. "It all added up."
"Fin was kinda dickish," I reminded her.
"He was still one of us," she countered. "For me, it's just proof it could happen to any of us."
"Seeingyoubeing dragged away did it for me," I said softly. "And then you were just gone. The Hunt showed up and my girlfriend vanished. I kept trying to tell myself it was ok, and how you needed me to be supportive and everything, but..."
"But what?" she pressed.
I turned back for the gate. "But I'm used to people getting sick of me and punting me to the next home." Then I stepped through the pair of trees which served as the frame on this side.
Back in her room, I gathered another collection of plants, trying to ignore how I'd actually said that out loud. Fuck, she must think I was a complete loser! It had only been a couple of weeks, and here I was, freaking out about it. Talk about high maintenance!
With my arms wrapped around a large pot, I returned to the atrium tofind Aspen on her knees, muttering to the plant. When she heard me - my footsteps, the gate, or who knew what - she turned, those icy eyes hanging on me too long.
"I was scared staying would chase you away," she said. "I thought I might hurt you, or scare you, or freak you out, because we're monsters! I mean, the magic you always see is the shiny happy stuff. But when it's out of control, it isn't as much fun."
