"That's also one hell of a spell," I told her. "Rain, he's probably useless now. That much magic, and oniron?"
"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 letmedecide before you do something so stupid. I might beyourkid, but I'm notakid. 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. Eitherwith 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 actuallyuseit."
"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."
