

HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS AND NOT INCINERATE PEOPLE

Devin Harnois

Smashwords edition

Copyright 2014 Devin Harnois

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For B., the one who came before.

CHAPTER ONE

They turned onto an unmarked road. Mr. Johnson said, "Almost there."

Aiden looked out the window, wondering if he would see anything strange. It was a whole town full of supernatural creatures. And he was one of them.

He glanced over at his parents, who looked as dazed as he felt. A month ago, they'd all been normal. Well, they'd thought they were normal. Now Aiden knew he was a changeling, that his parents weren't his real parents—weren't his birth parents—and they knew their real son was out there somewhere. Still, they'd taken it pretty well. At least on the outside, they were taking it better than he was. But they were probably as torn up on the inside. Aiden worried that they didn't love him as much now that they knew he wasn't really their son. He wasn't even human.

On either side of the road, the woods got denser. Maybe a supernatural town really could be hidden back here. A sign warned them they were approaching a dead end. Aiden looked at Mr. Johnson and opened his mouth to ask about it.

In that creepy way of his, Mr. Johnson seemed to know what he was going to say. "Ignore the sign. It's to keep people out."

Ahead, it looked like the trees grew right across the road. "What about—"

"It's an illusion. There are illusions and wards around Shadow Valley to make sure ordinary humans don't stumble into it by accident."

Mom drew a sharp breath as the trees loomed closer. Aiden tensed, afraid they would slam into the huge trunks. A little noise escaped him when the trees were only feet away.

The truck kept going, and in the next moment they were through. The trees thinned out, and then he saw buildings ahead of them.

"Welcome to Shadow Valley," Mr. Johnson said.

"This is so weird," Dad said.

Aiden had to swallow to get spit back in his dry throat. "You can still change your mind."

Mom reached over and gripped his hand. "No. We won't leave you to do this alone. No matter what he says, you're still our son. We love you, Aiden."

"Thanks." His throat was dry again.

"She's right," Dad said. "We would never abandon you. Don't even think that."

Aiden nodded.

They reached the first few buildings. The town looked surprisingly normal: a gas station, restaurants, shops, a bank. Mr. Johnson made a few turns and there were more houses, neighborhoods that looked like every other small town in the Midwest. Aiden studied them, looking for anything weird. A few people worked in their yards, cutting grass, planting flowers.

"I want to emphasize again that you won't be in any danger here." Mr. Johnson took another turn. "We have other humans living in Shadow Valley, generally parents of magically gifted children or spouses of nonhumans. There is some crime, just as in any town, but our crime rates are much lower than the city you were living in. Your neighbors will look out for you. I can introduce you if you don't feel comfortable speaking to them alone."

"Thank you. We'd appreciate that," Dad said.

"Here we are." Mr. Johnson pulled into the driveway of a house. It looked bigger than the house they'd lived in back in Dayton, white with brown trim, three floors—although the top floor looked like an attic and not a full level. The open porch had an overhang protecting it and even had a swing at one end.

The house looked like something out of a movie, an image of a perfect suburban home. It didn't have a white picket fence, but the lawn was trimmed.

"Wow." Mom stared up at their new house.

"The movers should be here shortly with the rest of your belongings. Would you like a tour of the house?"

"Yeah. Thank you," she said.

New town, new house, new school. Aiden's stomach turned as he thought about Monday.

* * *

Heading out to the bus stop at sunset was surreal. Adjusting to the new schedule was going to be hard, but on the bright side, no more waking up early.

On the other hand, it was his first day of high school and he didn't know a single person. And his classmates were creatures out of nightmares.

Their neighbors looked like normal people. On one side was a couple with young children and all of them were witches. Aside from their magical abilities, they were totally human. They seemed very nice too. His shell-shocked parents had been invited to dinner the following week.

The family on the other side was part djinn, and their children were young. The older girl was in elementary school and her brother was just starting preschool. Aiden wondered if Mr. Johnson had picked this house specifically because the families on either side were human and part human. Mr. Johnson seemed to think everything through and do things with intent. He was staying in town for a few days in case they needed help. After that, he would go back to his normal job, searching out supernatural beings and making sure they were certified.

Aiden reached the stop at the end of the block. An older-looking girl was already there, black hair cut short and a baseball cap turned around on her head.

"Hi there. You must be new." She smiled.

"Yeah. I'm Aiden." He held his hand out, wondering what she was. Was that rude?

"I'm Tina." She shook his hand. "What grade are you in?"

"Ninth."

"Oh, my brother is your age." She looked across the street. "If he doesn't get here soon, he's going to miss the bus." Tina rolled her eyes. "I swear he's late to everything." She smiled when, a moment later, a boy darted out of a blue house and ran down the block. "There he is."

The boy checked for cars and ran across the street to join them. "New kid?" he asked Aiden.

"Yeah. I'm Aiden."

"Toby." The boy also had a baseball cap, turned backward like his sister's.

The bus arrived. Aiden hoped to sit with Toby so he'd have someone to talk to, but the boy waved to a friend and joined him. Tina also sat with someone, so Aiden ended up sitting alone near the front. He set his backpack on his lap, nervously wondering what kind of monster would sit next to him. Everyone he'd met seemed normal, but maybe he'd just been lucky so far. Shadow Valley had all sorts of things—vampires, ghouls, shapeshifters, ghosts.

The boy who ended up sitting next to him was older and built like a tank. Aiden was squished up against the window.

"Hi."

The boy grunted and barely glanced at him. So much for conversation.

Before long, they pulled up to the school. It was huge, built of brick, and the only windows were small and soaped over. It didn't look very welcoming—sort of like a prison without the barbed wire, actually. The darkening sky didn't help, either. Streetlights lent pools of light to the scene of kids streaming out of buses and into the building.

Aiden swallowed, aware that he was surrounded by monsters. Now he could see hints of things that weren't quite right in the crowd. Extra-pale skin, eyes glinting strangely in the light, a misty form drifting through the students, someone with small horns, a flash of blue light.

A little shiver went through him, and he thought about just turning around and leaving. He had to remind himself that he wasn't normal either. He was fae, a changeling, switched at birth. The memory of the incident in the locker room got him moving again. This school was where he belonged. He had to learn how to control his powers so he wouldn't have accidents like that again.

A little voice in his head pointed out that it would be nice to do something like that when he wanted to. If he could do that on command, no one would pick on him again.

CHAPTER TWO

He looked around for Toby or Tina but didn't see them. He didn't know anybody else, and he didn't know where he was going or what he was doing. He felt very, very lost. Aiden dug his class list out of his bag. At least that was something. Wandering through the crowded halls, he checked classroom numbers until he found the right one for his homeroom.

There weren't as many desks as he was used to. Class sizes must be smaller here. A few kids were already in their seats in a little cluster at the back, chatting. Part of him wanted to join in, but he felt awkward. They looked like friends and probably didn't want a stranger interrupting. He sat in the opposite corner, a row of empty desks between them.

The warning bell rang. Other kids trickled in, the desks filling up. He hoped Toby was in the class so he would at least know somebody. Every time someone walked in, he glanced up. Aiden had to remind himself not to stare as he tried to guess what kind of monster each kid was. That pale girl, maybe a vampire. The boy with a pentacle around his neck, a witch. Another vampire—no, he had pointed ears. A werewolf?

Aiden had almost gathered the courage to say hello to the pretty girl with long blond hair next to him, but the final bell rang and the teacher got up to close the door.

"Good evening," she said.

The kids muttered a greeting.

"We have a new student. Aiden, please stand up and say hello."

Everyone turned to look at him, and he wanted to melt into his seat. He stood up long enough to wave and say hi.

"Aiden is a changeling, a fae. His family just moved here, and I hope you'll all be welcoming to him."

Low whispers went through the room as the looks turned surprised. Mr. Johnson had said fae were rare, and if a class full of monsters was surprised, it must be true. As if he didn't feel like he stood out enough already. Everyone else seemed to know each other.

"Now, I'll take attendance quickly and we'll get started. We have a lot to cover today."

The door opened and a handsome boy stepped in. Aiden's stomach did a little flip. The boy wore a black shirt and jeans, and his short hair stuck up every which way, as if he hadn't bothered to comb it.

"Dylan," the teacher said, "so nice of you to join us."

Dylan ignored her and kept walking. There were only two empty desks, one at the very front and the other just in front of Aiden. Dylan slid into the seat closest to Aiden, his disinterested gaze shifting to slight surprise for a moment when their eyes met. Then he turned and slumped into the chair, backpack dropping to the floor.

The class was a normal one, at least. It was U.S. History, and Aiden could almost pretend he was at a normal school. He'd missed the first three weeks of class, but he knew a little bit of history from middle school and he was confident he could catch up. The teacher gave him a textbook and Aiden took lots of notes on the reading he'd need to do.

With dismay, he headed off to his next class: Minor Magical Control. Mr. Johnson had explained that it was classroom-based practice to control simpler, less dangerous types of magic. Things like glamours, levitating small objects, and accelerating plant growth. The day Mr. Johnson had appeared to tell Aiden he was a fae changeling, Aiden had made the tomatoes in the backyard go from tiny nubs to almost ripe.

He wanted to learn how to control his power, but he knew the other kids had years of practice. He was going to look like an idiot.

The history teacher pointed out his locker so Aiden could drop off his book. As he was closing the locker door, he saw the blond girl he'd sat next to.

"Hi there."

The girl gave him a look and rolled her eyes. With a little sigh, she turned and walked away. So much for making friends.

The teacher in Minor Magical Control greeted him right away. "Hello there. Aiden, right? I'm Mr. Kecskemeti, but you can call me Mr. K." He pointed out a seat. "I'll have Maggie sit with you. She'll be able to help you out. Don't worry about being behind the other students. I want you to concentrate on making progress, not comparing yourself to anyone else, okay?"

Aiden nodded, but he knew he'd compare himself anyway. Maybe he couldn't catch up right away, but he'd have to eventually. He didn't want to be held back. If he didn't graduate with the rest of his class, he'd be stuck in Shadow Valley for an extra year, and so would his parents. Once he graduated and was certified, he'd be able to go anywhere he wanted.

Maggie arrived and introduced herself. She wore a pink headband and a Hello Kitty T-shirt, not at all what he expected. Most of the kids here wore black or gray. "Aiden, nice to meet you." She shook his hand, a wide smile on her face. "This must all seem really strange to you."

He nodded. "A month ago, I thought I was a normal human."

"What are you, if you don't mind me asking?" She smiled again. "I'm not trying to be rude, but it helps to know what you are so I understand what kind of magic you might be able to do."

"I'm a changeling. Fae."

Her eyes widened. "Wow. Full-blooded fae. No wonder you feel so strong. You have major mojo, mister."

"Yeah, but I have no idea how to use it."

She patted his arm. "That's what I'm here for. I'm a witch, by the way. From a very long bloodline. Oh, sorry, that sounded like bragging. I didn't mean it like that; I just mean that my family has been practicing magic for a long time, so I have experience."

"Okay." Aiden didn't know what else to say.

The class was a failure, as he'd feared. The assignment was to lift a piece of paper from another desk and onto their own. Some could do it, some had partial success. Aiden couldn't even get the paper to flutter. He was used to doing well in school, so this made him feel stupid.

"Don't worry about it." Maggie nudged him. "You can try again tomorrow."

She'd demonstrated lifting the paper, and it had looked so easy. Aiden was so focused on his failure that he barely thought about how weird this was.

The next class was math, a welcome relief, although he was having trouble staying awake. In the normal world, it was almost bedtime. Here, it was almost time for lunch. It was going to take a while to get used to this new schedule. When the bell rang for lunch, all he could think about was how much he wanted to sleep.

He followed the mass of students to the lunchroom. Seeing the food woke him up but did nothing for his appetite. Do I even want to know what that stuff is? Piles of meat, some of it not cooked, tall bottles full of red liquid, roasted insects. Aiden put a hand to his mouth and started to turn away.

"Hey, new kid." It was the handsome boy from homeroom, Dylan. "I think you want that side." He pointed to the other end of the lunchroom where kids were filling their trays from a different buffet line.

"What's over there?"

The corner of Dylan's mouth turned up. "Human food."

A pale boy with hunched shoulders pushed past Aiden and grabbed a tray, filling his plate with raw meat. Aiden's stomach rolled again, and he tried hard not to breathe in the smells. He followed Dylan to the other side of the room, sure he wasn't going to be able to eat anything no matter what was over there. Still, he let out a sigh of relief when he saw a pile of salad.

"There's nothing weird about this, right?" he asked Dylan.

"Nope. Regular human food."

"Why are there two different lines?"

Dylan shrugged. "Food safety or something. And for the squeamish ones like you." He smirked again. God, he was handsome.

Aiden thought he should try to eat something, so he got salad and an apple. Dylan got a cheeseburger with a huge pile of fries, and the sight of the meat made Aiden queasy. At the end of the line, he expected to see a cashier, but there wasn't one. That's right. Mr. Johnson had said meals were free.

Dylan sat down at an empty table and Aiden set his tray down across from him.

"Who said you could sit there?" Dylan snapped.

Feeling cold, Aiden lifted his tray. So much for making friends.

As he turned, Dylan said, "Hey. I didn't mean that. You can sit if you want."

Aiden hesitated. Dylan probably only felt sorry for him. What kind of sad puppy face was he making? Glancing over the room, he looked for Maggie. She was too energetic, but at least she was nice. He didn't see her, and the tables were filling up. Everybody already had friends, probably ones they knew from middle school, even elementary school.

Holding back a sigh, he sat down across from Dylan. He thought he should say something, but didn't know what. Thank him? Tell him not to be a jerk? Dylan picked up his cheeseburger and started eating. Aiden poked at his salad.

Some other kids sat at the far end of the table, giving them odd glances. As more and more kids found seats, the side where Aiden and Dylan sat stayed empty. Kids walking by gave them odd looks.

Finally, Aiden had to say something. "Why isn't anyone sitting with us?"

"It's me, not you," Dylan said between bites of fries. The cheeseburger was already gone.

"Why?" Aiden started to worry that he was sitting next to something so dangerous that other monsters didn't want to get near it.

Dylan shrugged. "People don't like me."

Aiden rolled his apple around on his plate. "Why? What are you?"

Dylan gave him a look and there was something in his eyes, a glint or a glow. It made Aiden feel like something small and helpless, a mouse standing in front of a lion. Then it faded and a slight hint of a smile touched Dylan's lips.

"You'll find out."

CHAPTER THREE

English and biology were after lunch. By the end of biology, Aiden could barely keep his eyes open. It was the middle of the night and the only thing keeping him awake was the fear of being teased if he fell asleep in class. Taking notes helped and he wrote down the chapters he'd have to read to catch up to the rest of the class.

The last class of the day was called Major Magical Control, the room listed as A-1, which he couldn't find. The warning bell rang and he stopped a fellow student to ask where it was.

"Go out the doors at the far end there." She pointed. "The annex is the building out back. There're three rooms; A-1 is the first."

"Thanks." Aiden ran, hoping he would make it in time. He got there just before the final bell.

A-1 looked like a gym, but there were no basketball hoops or any sign of sports equipment. The walls and floor were all painted white, weird symbols drawn all over them. High above was a gray ceiling. The room smelled strange, like ozone with a hint of burning.

Aiden was surprised to see Dylan there, wearing torn-up jeans and a ratty AC/DC T-shirt.

"Aiden Spencer?"

He turned to the teacher. "Yes, ma'am."

"Welcome. I'm glad to have you. Did you bring any clothes to change into?"

How many times today was he going to feel like an idiot? "No. I didn't know this was a gym class. It says Major Magical Control—"

"Don't worry about it. Tomorrow bring old clothes that you won't mind ruining. I was going to have you observe today anyway. Have a seat." She pointed to a long bench.

On the bench already. It was almost funny. A tingle went through him just before he reached the bench and he stopped, blinking.

"Make sure you stay behind the wards," the teacher called.

Wards? He looked down at the symbols on the floor. A circle surrounded the bench with glyphs both inside and outside. He leaned closer, noticing they weren't painted but rather metal pounded into the floor. He touched part of the circle and drew back at the shock. It was like that time he'd stuck his finger in a wall socket. Frowning, he sat on the bench.

"Dylan, we might as well start with you. You won't wait your turn anyway." The teacher pointed at a girl with straight black hair. "Riko, you face off against him."

"Why me?" the girl squeaked.

"Because I think you've been holding back and he might scare you into using your full strength."

Dylan rubbed his hands together and smiled. Not a smirk, but a full smile with teeth. It was creepy. Swallowing, the girl moved to stand opposite him.

"Remember this is practice, Dylan," the teacher said. "She needs to stop holding back, but you need to learn control. You're not trying to hurt her."

"Right. I know."

"Get ready. One, two, three... go!"

Fire erupted from Dylan and streamed toward Riko. Aiden let out a choked cry. The girl, eyes wide, held up her hands and the fire seemed to hit a wall. The air crackled and iced formed in a rough circle around her feet.

Aiden's heart pounded, and he fought an urge to run. This was definitely not floating a piece of paper across the room. What the hell was he doing in this class?

"Stop."

The fire disappeared and the girl dropped her hands.

"Excellent job, Riko," the teacher said. "I knew you could protect yourself."

Dylan snorted. "Yeah, because I was holding back."

The teacher gave him a look. "Which is what you need to learn. When you're in the outside world, you'll need to control yourself. Your first reaction can't be to burn things."

Dylan's mouth turned down.

"All right. Next pair."

Dylan's frown deepened as he walked toward the bench on the opposite side of the room.

For the rest of class, students came up two at a time to hurl magic at each other. Two girls who could have been sisters raced around the gym hurling fireballs at each other. One of the fireballs headed straight for the bench and Aiden ducked. It hit the wards and disappeared in a shimmer of blue light.

He kept wavering between fear and awe, and yet it still didn't feel real. It was like watching TV or a movie in 3-D. Nothing in his life had felt real since Mr. Johnson showed up at his house. Aiden felt like he'd been stuck in a dream for over a month. He kept thinking he'd wake up.

In his notebook, he wrote "bring old clothes" so he wouldn't forget. He had four pages of notes from the day, and most of them were mentions of things he needed to read in his textbooks. That was on top of the homework. There wasn't much of that, but combined with trying to catch up, it made him groan.

His backpack felt like it weighed fifty pounds. The sooner he caught up, the less he'd need to haul all his books back and forth. With any luck, tomorrow would be better.

* * *

His parents were asleep on the couch when he got home, an old movie playing on the TV. He shut the door quietly and headed for the stairs.

"Aiden?" Dad asked in a fuzzy voice.

"Yeah," he said quietly and stepped into the living room.

"How was school?" Dad yawned.

"Fine," he answered automatically. No, he should be honest. "Weird."

Dad got off the couch carefully, trying not to wake Mom. "Were you scared? No one tried to hurt you, did they?"

Aiden shook his head. "It's just... weird. Really weird."

"I know what you mean. I keep wondering what my new boss is, what my coworkers are. If they think of me as lunch." Dad sighed. "And I'm afraid to ask because it might be rude." He laughed, a strained sound.

"I'm sorry." Aiden looked at the floor. This was when it felt most real, when he thought about how he'd thrown his parents' lives into chaos. They'd left their jobs, their home, and they couldn't explain why to the rest of the family.

"It's not your fault. You didn't choose this."

His stomach went cold and tight as he wondered if his dad would say the same thing if Aiden told him he was bi. Or would that be different? Aiden didn't want to say anything about it because his parents had been through way too much already. Maybe in a year or two. Or a hundred.

"I know, but I feel like I ruined your lives—"

"Hey, we told you. Never, ever feel like that. It doesn't matter what you are or where you came from. We raised you. You're our son. We'll get through this together because that's what families do."

Aiden's throat went tight, eyes burning with the threat of tears. All he could do was nod. Dad gave him a hug and for just a second, Aiden could pretend everything was okay.

"Geez, what do you have in there? A whole library?"

Aiden shifted his heavy backpack. "All my textbooks. I have to catch up on three weeks' worth of class."

"Well, don't think about starting on it tonight. You look dead on your feet."

"So do you," Aiden said with a little smile.

"Yeah. I'll wake your mom up, and we should all get to bed. I'm getting too old to stay up all night."

Bed. That sounded so good. "Okay." Aiden covered a yawn and went upstairs. He set his backpack down next to his desk and stared at it for a moment. No, he'd start on his homework tomorrow. Even if he was really behind.

CHAPTER FOUR

"Dylan Galloway." The teacher sighed. "You realize class is half over. You wouldn't happen to have a pass, would you?"

"Nope." His usual seat in the back corner was taken up with the new kid again. Huh, he didn't know his name. The desk in front of him was empty just like yesterday, so Dylan headed over, giving a slight nod of greeting to New Kid.

"If you're late to class one more time, I'm giving you detention and I'm calling your parents."

"Okay." He really didn't care. The rest of his classes were just things to sit through until he could get to Major Magical Control. New Kid had been put in that class for a reason, and he couldn't wait until he found out what he could do. Maybe New Kid would be a bigger challenge than the fox sisters.

The teacher sighed again and went back to her lesson. Blah, blah, Revolutionary War something. Dylan glanced back at New Kid. The dork was taking notes like it was the most important thing in the world. Dylan thought of how lost he'd looked in the lunchroom yesterday. The guy had turned as pale as a vampire when he was staring at the carnivore buffet. Dylan still wasn't sure why he'd helped him or why he'd let the kid eat lunch with him.

Because I'm lonely. He clamped down on that thought. He wasn't lonely. He didn't need anyone.

He got proof of that in the hall after class. A girl walked by, stopped long enough to toss her hair and glare at him. He frowned, not recognizing her. Then he caught the flash of the necklace hanging just above her boobs, INDIRA spelled out in gold letters.

"You got a new body."

"Do you like it?" She flipped her hair again, long and blond. Her eyes were blue, skin flawless and white. "Well, too bad. You'll never get any of this." She set a hand on her hip.

Dylan rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He walked away. They'd gone on a few dates last year, held hands and kissed a few times. Then he'd realized she was annoying and dumped her. They hadn't really done anything, and she acted like it was a big deal.

"Whatever yourself, asshole."

Several kids looked at him, then quickly looked away. Even as annoying as she was, he had to give Indira points for not being afraid of him. Her and the fox sisters... and New Kid. But New Kid didn't know what he was.

At lunch he claimed his usual table and looked around for New Kid, arguing with himself about whether he cared. Then he started to worry he'd scared him off with all the fire he'd thrown around yesterday. The poor guy was new to town and had probably just found out about all this weird shit.

Then he appeared, carrying a tray and heading toward Dylan's table. He hesitated, glanced around the lunchroom like he hoped to find someone. Had he made a friend since yesterday? After a moment, New Kid set his jaw and came over. His tray made a soft clack as he set it on the table.

"So you can throw fire. And so can those girls," New Kid said.

"Did you guess yet?"

He frowned. "Guess what?"

"What I am?"

New Kid waved a hand in the general direction of the room. "I don't know what most of these people are." Then he ducked, like he was afraid someone had overheard him.

"What's your name?"

The change of subject seemed to confuse him. "Aiden."

"Well, Aiden, those are vampires." He pointed to a group at one end of a table. "There and there are witches. Some like to use different names, like spell-caster or mage. Humans with magic powers. Over there are ghouls." He shifted to point at the far side. "Werewolves. And over there are a selkie, a kappa, a harpy, two werehyenas, and a tengu." He turned back to see Aiden staring.

The boy blinked a few times. "Um, so... what are you?"

"I want you to guess." Dylan held up a finger. "No cheating. You can't ask anyone. You have to figure it out some other way."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "Because I'm bored."

Aiden took a bite of his pizza. His plate was full today, no more rabbit food. "Do you know what I am?"

"No. But I bet I can figure it out before you figure out what I am." The list of possibilities wasn't too long if this guy had been put straight into Major Magical Control and yet didn't know the first thing about magic.

"Bet what?" Aiden looked skeptical.

"Winner's choice."

"No way. I'm not betting anything unless I know what it is."

Man, this guy was no fun. "Fine. The loser has to run through the hall in his underwear."

"I don't want to do something that will get me in trouble."

"You won't be naked. Just from the bathroom at the end of the hall"—he gestured in the general direction—"down and around and back in. Two minutes, if you're fast."

Aiden poked at his food. "I don't know." His cheeks were slightly pink.

"Well, you already sound like you've given up. If you're so sure that you're gonna lose—"

"Okay fine, I'll do it." Aiden looked up. "Are you a demon?"

"Nope."

"What if somebody says what I am? And you overhear them?"

"Then nobody wins. Same thing if you overhear what I am."

"How do I know you'll be honest about it?" Aiden frowned and picked up his pizza again.

"Guess we'll just have to trust each other." It was nice to have someone not know what he was. Maybe that's why he was bothering to talk to Aiden. Of course, now that Dylan had made a game out of guessing, that might not last long.

* * *

Aiden stopped in front of the locker room door, thinking about what had happened a few months ago. The way everyone had stared at him like he was going to go Carrie on them or something. Cold fear twisted inside him. What if it happened again?

No, it was different here. That kind of thing was normal to these people. They'd probably think it was lame. Dylan and those girls could throw fire, that other girl had formed ice around her feet. One boy had summoned things of smoke, all the way from swords to a pair of snarling dogs.

Taking a few deep breaths, Aiden made himself push through the door. He almost crashed into Dylan.

"Whoa!"

"Sorry." Aiden stepped back.

"Can't wait to see what you can do." Dylan's eyes weren't glowing, but there was an eager light in them. He was like a different person from the boy who slouched in front of him in homeroom.

"I don't think you'll see much." Aiden was nervous all over again, thinking about what he'd seen the day before. He couldn't do anything like that and if someone threw fire or whatever at him, he'd be toast.

Dylan left, and Aiden had to face a locker room again. It was different than the one at his old school, and that helped. There it had been bright white and blue. Here it was dim and gray. Creepy, like a scene from a horror movie. Aiden bit back a laugh. Everything about this school was like a horror movie.

Someone shuffled around farther back, and a locker door slammed. Shouldn't there be more boys in here? Aiden shook off the creepiness and found an empty locker. He changed as fast as he could and hurried into the gym.

Dylan stood in the middle of the room, bouncing on his toes. Right, the possibility of getting roasted.

Aiden went to the teacher. "Ms. Yang, I don't think I can protect myself if anyone throws... stuff at me."

"Don't worry. We're not having matches today." She pointed to the far side of the room where a row of targets leaned against the wall. "We'll be working on precision. I won't put you in matches until I believe you're ready."

"Thanks." He let out a little sigh of relief, but a moment later he felt guilty. So now he was holding the whole class up?

Ms. Yang had them all line up opposite the targets and told them to work on accuracy. They let loose while Aiden stood there like an idiot. The boy who used smoke magic was next to him, firing smoke arrows from a smoke bow. The first arrow hit the edge of the target and disappeared, leaving a mark. Then the target shimmered and the mark was gone. Farther down, one of the fireball girls made her target burst into flame. A moment later, it shimmered too and looked like nothing had happened.

Magical regenerating targets? That was... neat.

Ms. Yang came over to him. "So, what have you been able to do so far?"

"Nothing. I don't know what I can do."

She smiled. "Don't be nervous. I'm here to help you learn. Focus on the target."

Aiden stared at the red rings and the circle in the center. The ozone smell was sharper when he wasn't sitting on the bench behind the wards, and the air tingled, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. It must be all the magic.

"Dig deep inside yourself. Find your center, where your power is. I want you to throw it at the target, just the raw energy. Don't worry about the form it takes. It might help if you use a physical motion." She put her hands up, palms out at chest level, and pushed like she was shoving someone away from her.

He copied her. "Like this?"

"Any way that helps. Try different things. Do your best to ignore everything going on around you and focus."

For the rest of class he made shoving motions, kicking motions, punching motions. He tried closing his eyes, staring at the target, yelling. All he got was frustrated and sweaty.

"You can try again tomorrow, Aiden." Ms. Yang half-turned and shouted over her shoulder, "I said that's it, Dylan. Class is over."

"What am I doing wrong?" Aiden asked. Everyone else made it look so easy.

Ms. Yang turned her attention back to him. "You're not doing anything wrong, except maybe putting too much pressure on yourself. I can't tell you exactly how to do it; it's something you have to feel. Somewhere inside you, you know how to use your magic. It's subconscious, instinct."

"So I just keep trying until something happens?"

"Yes."

"What if nothing happens?" Even as he said it, he thought of all those doors opening and closing, the shocked looks on the boys' faces.

"You're full-blooded fae." Ms. Yang smiled. "I put extra wards on the room just for you and Dylan."

He opened his mouth to ask what Dylan was, but he remembered the bet.

"It'll happen. Now hurry before you miss your bus."

CHAPTER FIVE

He should have been reading to catch up. He'd done a bit after he woke up yesterday and had made an attempt last night, but staying up all night was too hard. He could barely get through the school day—no, night. He'd crawled into bed again as soon as he got home. Maybe it would get easier next week.

He'd woken up just before noon, and instead of going for his books or his notes, he'd opened his laptop and started searching. Dylan wasn't a demon, so he had to look for other things that could control fire. The Internet was all too happy to provide information, but Aiden couldn't be sure any of it was right. Still, the more he looked, the more one thing stood out.

Aiden smiled. "I think I got you." He closed the laptop and opened his history book.

The excitement of his guess kept him from thinking about the disappointment of Major Magical Control. Dylan was late to homeroom again, so Aiden had to wait all through the class, feeling like he was going to burst. He kept having to drag his attention back to the lesson instead of picturing Dylan running through the hall in his underwear.

The bell rang, and Aiden almost jumped out of his seat. "Djinn," he told Dylan.

"What?" The boy arched an eyebrow.

"That's what you are. You're a djinn. They're creatures of fire—"

"Nope." Dylan smirked.

"What?" Aiden deflated, shoulders sagging.

"I'm not a djinn. Good guess though." Dylan walked out, chuckling.

Aiden watched him go. "Crap."

At lunch, he set down his tray and asked, "Are you a witch?"

"No." Dylan took a bite of his barbecue sandwich and licked sauce from his lips.

Aiden stared at him for a long moment. "Are you going to guess what I am?"

"Waiting for some more evidence."

"What kind of evidence?"

"I'll know it when I see it." Amusement brightened his eyes. Good God, did he know how handsome he was?

A girl walked up to them, scowling at Dylan. "Is that why you dumped me, so you could go be gay? Is this your new boyfriend?"

Aiden blinked. Was this girl actually bullying Dylan?

Dylan didn't just roll his eyes, he let his head flop back. "Jesus Christ, you're obsessed. Give it up."

"I'm not obsessed." She crossed her arms, making her large breasts even more noticeable. Aiden looked away before he started staring. "I just want to know why you're hanging with this kid when you won't even talk to anybody else. Was it love at first sight? Did your gay heart fill with gay rainbows? Do you touch yourself while thinking about—"

Dylan stood up, and the lunchroom fell silent. The hair on the back of Aiden's neck rose and the air felt suddenly heavy. Aiden's heart thudded in his ears as he looked up at Dylan. Eyes blazing with a green glow, Dylan growled at the girl. "Shut. Up."

She shrank back, like a balloon deflating, and walked away without taking her eyes off him. She stumbled into a table, caught herself, then kept going until the door swung shut behind her with a thud that echoed through the lunchroom.

Dylan sat down and picked up his sandwich again. Between one blink and the next, the green fire was gone.

Aiden had to tell himself to breathe.

People started to whisper, then to talk, and the noise level went back to normal. But at their end of the table, it was silent. Aiden imagined that anger turned on him, and it made him feel like peeing his pants.

"Are you sure you're not a demon?" he choked out.

"That was Indira. She's my ex-girlfriend, although she was barely my girlfriend at all." Dylan finished his sandwich and reached for his cookie.

Aiden looked down at the food that was getting cold and made himself take a bite of lasagna. "Oh."

* * *

"There's no need to strain," Ms. Yang told him. "Your magic is there, waiting. Remember to keep breathing and focus." She moved away to talk to one of the other students.

At least this gave him something to think about beside how terrifying Dylan was. Aiden stared at the target and did the stupid push motion. He tried to keep his mind on it. But he kept thinking about Dylan and his blazing eyes. How scared he'd felt. The look on Indira's face.

It was the look the boys in the locker room had given him when they realized he was the one moving the locker doors. Aiden hadn't even tried to do it, he was just so scared of Billy Hughes threatening to beat him up, backing him against the wall. The fear had been alive, clawing inside his ribs and trying to get out, and then—

Something escaped.

With a shock, Aiden was back in the present, staring at the fallen target.

Ms. Yang hurried over as the target reset. "Excellent! Good job, Aiden."

"I did that?" His voice sounded weird, distant.

"Yes. Now do it again."

* * *

Dylan turned toward the far end of the room where Aiden had just let loose a blast of magic. He took a deep breath, filtering all the other scents out. It wasn't too hard. The smell of Aiden's magic was strong—damp earth and growing things. A forest smell with a hint of sweetness that he'd only smelled a few times before and never so strong.

"Holy shit," he said to himself. This was the evidence he'd been looking for, and it was completely surprising.

For once he wanted class to hurry up and end. He wanted to talk to Aiden and win their bet.

Dylan burned several more targets, stealing glances at the boy several times. Aiden managed one more blast of formless magic before the bell rang. Dylan went straight for him, ignoring the nervousness on Aiden's face.

"You're fae."

The nervousness turned to surprise. "How did you know? You cheated, didn't you?"

"No. Your magic smells like fae."

Aiden's brows drew together. "Is that what you were waiting for? For me to use magic?"

"Yeah. Every kind of magic has a certain scent, at least to me. I knew I'd be able to figure it out, or at least get close, if I was around when you used yours." Dylan shook his head. "Now I know why they put you in this class."

Aiden rubbed at his arm. "People keep saying that, but I suck at magic."

"Maybe right now, but you'll be able to kick pretty much anyone's ass before long." Maybe even mine. It made him a bit nervous to think of this dorky, skinny kid out-fighting him, but he was also excited at the idea of having a real challenge.

"You really think so?"

Dylan snorted. "Hell yeah."

"So I guess that means you win." He pressed his lips together, probably thinking about what losing the bet meant. "So what are you?"

The game was over. "Dragonkin."

"What's that?"

He shouldn't be surprised Aiden didn't know what that meant. It wasn't the kind of thing that showed up in movies or TV. "My grandfather was a dragon."

"So... what was your grandmother?"

"A human." He hated talking about it, hated even thinking about it, but he couldn't escape it. Better to tell Aiden and get it over with. "You know in the stories where they would sacrifice a virgin to the dragon? The dragon didn't always eat them."

"Huh?" A second later, Aiden's eyes started to widen. "Oh. Ohhh..."

"Yeah." The other kids had left the gym and Ms. Yang had disappeared into her office.

"So your dad is half-dragon?"

"My mom."

"And that makes you one-quarter dragon. That makes you really powerful, then? That's why everyone is afraid of you?"

"Yeah. Dragons are one of the strongest creatures around. Or were. There aren't any left, at least in this world. It's possible they went to another world like the fae."

Aiden shifted his feet, frowning slightly. "Mr. Johnson said something about that, the fae leaving this world. He said people like me were rare."

"Since you know jack about magic, I'm guessing you weren't raised by your parents. That makes you... a changeling, right?"

Aiden sighed. "Does everyone know more than me?"

"Probably." He realized they'd been standing there for a while. "C'mon."

After changing out of his gym clothes, Dylan found Aiden waiting for him outside the locker room.

"That thing you did at lunch today. It was really scary." His face was pale, and a faint scent of nervousness hung around him.

"Indira pissed me off." Annoying him was bad enough, but trying to push his buttons like that... Maybe she'd learned her lesson to stay away.

"You looked like you could explode and take the whole school with you." Aiden met his eyes before looking down.

"I wasn't mad at you or anything."

"That's not the point..." Aiden shook his head. "See you tomorrow." He shifted his backpack and walked away.

For just a second, Dylan had an urge to apologize. He didn't want Aiden to be scared of him like everyone else. But maybe Aiden was too much of a wimp to hang out with him.

I don't need anybody, Dylan reminded himself.

CHAPTER SIX

Toby bounced up from his seat as soon as Aiden got on the bus. "You sat with Dylan Galloway? Are you nuts?"

"I've been sitting with him for three days." He dropped his backpack into an empty seat. Aiden didn't know what to think. Dylan seemed proud of how tough he was and that everyone was afraid of him, and it didn't seem to bother him that Aiden was one of the people he'd scared today.

"I know. Blaine told me, and Max told me, but I thought they were like, making it up or imagining things or whatever, but I saw you today." Toby leaned over the seat, ignoring the two kids sitting there. "What happened today? What did he do to Indira?"

"He scared her off, that's all. She said some horrible things and it made him mad."

Calling them gay. It made his insides twist to think that was the worst thing she could come up with. Or because she knew it would make Dylan mad? Did Dylan hate gay people? Was this town a bad place for gay people?

I want to go home. Aiden wanted all this to go away, to have his old life back.

"I can't believe you sat with him. That he let you."

"Could you please sit down?" the bus driver asked, starting the bus.

Toby nudged his backpack aside and sat next to Aiden. "Do you know he's dragonkin? My parents think he's too dangerous. That he shouldn't be allowed to go to school."

"Really?"

"Yeah, they talk about dragons—well, Western dragons—like they're at the top of the list of bad things. Worse even than some of the demons or full-blooded djinn."

Maybe Dylan was just living up to expectations. "He hasn't been mean to me. Sort of... friendly, actually."

"Why?"

"I don't know." Maybe Aiden was the first person who hadn't treated him like something dangerous.

Toby tried to get more information out of him for the rest of the ride home. Aiden didn't think it was right to share the details of their conversations, so he kept things vague, which only made Toby more curious.

"What are you, anyway?" Aiden asked. He didn't know a way to ask that didn't sound rude, but he wanted to know, and he wanted to distract Toby from his line of questions.

Instead of being offended, Toby smiled. "I'm a kappa."

"A what now?"

"A type of water yokai. Er, demon. But not like horns and a red tail demon. It's a broader term. Make sense?"

Aiden was going to do more searching on the Internet when he got home. If he could manage to stay awake. "Not really. It's going to take me a while to understand all this stuff. I'm trying to keep an open mind."

"That's good."

The bus pulled up to their stop and they got out, Tina following just behind them. She gave him a curious look but didn't say anything. Maybe she'd get her brother to fill her in.

"See you tomorrow." Aiden waved.

"Bye." Toby and his sister hurried across the street.

Aiden covered a yawn as he reached the house. It was so weird coming home in the middle of the night. He walked in to find Mr. Johnson sitting at the dining room table with his parents.

"Hello, Aiden."

"Hi."

"Why don't you have a seat? I'd like to talk to you for a bit about how things are going," Mr. Johnson said.

"Is anything wrong?" He set his backpack by the door.

"Not at all. I'd just like to make sure you're settling in. I know it will take you some time; it's quite a lot to absorb." Mr. Johnson folded his hands on the table.

Aiden took the seat across from him, next to his mom. "Um, what would you like to know?"

"How is school?"

He frowned. "It's hard. I'm behind in all my classes. I've never been behind before. And the classes with magic... I feel like I'm at kindergarten level and everyone is so far ahead of me." Although he'd made progress today. The feeling of tapping into his power had been frightening and thrilling at the same time.

"Don't worry about measuring yourself against the others in your magical classes. The board considered putting you in the elementary classes, but they decided that would be more awkward for you."

Going to class with little kids? Yeah, that sounded much worse. "Ms. Yang seems to think I belong in her class and that I'll get to the same level as the others. Dylan said I'll be able to kick anyone's... butt before long."

Mr. Johnson's eyebrow arched. "Dylan? Do you mean Dylan Galloway?"

"Yeah." He tensed, wondering if that was a bad thing.

Mr. Johnson leaned closer. "Are you friends with Dylan?"

"I... I'm not really sure. We talk, but I don't know if I'd call him a friend." Aiden wasn't sure he wanted to be Dylan's friend. He didn't want to be friends with glowing-eyes, terrifying Dylan, but when he wasn't being scary... maybe. Mysterious, lonely Dylan.

"Hmm." Mr. Johnson nodded. "You'll need to be careful around him."

"Is he dangerous?" Mom asked.

"Everyone at school is dangerous." Aiden regretted it as soon as he said it. He didn't want her to worry.

"Including you," Mr. Johnson said. "That's the whole reason you're here. You're one of them, Aiden. One of us. Once you accept that, really accept it, things will get easier for you."

Aiden glanced over at his parents. Adoptive parents. They kept repeating that they loved him no matter what, but did they secretly hate him? Did they wish they could trade him back for their real son?

* * *

All morning he wondered what he should say to Dylan, whether he was mad at him for not caring about how much he'd scared Aiden yesterday. He'd acted like nothing had happened when he talked to him in Major Magical Control and seemed to think that because his anger hadn't been directed at Aiden, it shouldn't bother him.

But the fact that Aiden cared so much about this meant he had to say something.

Dylan walked into class late yet again, and the teacher wrote him up for detention. They were so different. Aiden would have a heart attack if someone gave him detention, and it would be even worse when he had to explain that to his parents. Dylan acted like this happened all the time.

After class ended, Aiden leaned closer. "Hey. I want to talk to you."

Dylan turned in his seat as the other kids walked out, giving them curious glances. "Yeah?"

"That thing in the lunchroom yesterday... I know you weren't mad at me, but seeing you like that..." It had sounded fine in his head, but out loud it sounded stupid. Too late now, he'd already started. "I was afraid of you, and I didn't like that feeling. I don't want to be afraid of you." Despite what he'd told Mr. Johnson last night, Dylan was the closest thing to a friend Aiden had in this town.

Dylan's expression turned guarded, but Aiden saw that what he'd said had affected him. "You should be. Everyone else is."

"Is that what you want?" It was uncomfortable, but Aiden made himself hold Dylan's gaze as the room emptied and things got quiet.

Dylan looked away first. "No."

"Okay then. See you at lunch." Aiden grabbed his stuff and walked out.

The hallway buzzed with activity. Something cut through the crowd, and kids made surprised noises. It pushed past a cluster of girls near Aiden, and he stared. What was a dog doing in school?

Its eyes had a milky sheen and its fur was gray. Was it old? It walked stiffly but with purpose. It stopped for just a second when it reached Aiden, looking up at him. Then it shuffled away.

"Marcus!" A teacher yelled as he stepped out of a classroom and saw the dog. "Get that thing out of here. No pets in school."

An older boy appeared with a little smile on his face. "Sorry. Come on, Digger." He patted his thigh and the dog heeled.

"He's showing off again."

Aiden turned to see Maggie. "What?"

"That's his zombie dog. He brings it sometimes so we can all see how great his powers are."

"A zombie... dog? So his dog died and he brought it back?" Plenty of people would love to have that kind of power.

"It wasn't his dog when it was alive. He zombified it afterward."

Marcus and the dog had disappeared into the crowd, but Aiden gave a wary glance in their direction. "He doesn't eat people or anything, does he?"

Maggie tilted her head. Today she was wearing a purple My Little Pony shirt. "I suppose he could if Marcus ordered him to, but otherwise, no. It's not like movie zombies. They don't go around eating brains. They do their master's bidding."

"Oh." Zombies were another thing to add to the long list of creatures he had to do research on.

Maggie was just as perky as usual in helping him through the assignment in Minor Magical Control. Today they were supposed to light a candle. Aiden sighed as he stared at the wick, expecting yet another failure. Maggie kept encouraging him to concentrate until he gave her a look.

"Sorry. I'll be quiet now."

Aiden took a long, slow breath. Let it out. Focused on the candle and imagined it lighting by itself. Minutes ticked away, and he thought about yesterday, how strange and wonderful it had felt to tap into his magic, even for a second. The target falling over.

A little tingle flickered in his chest, a little bit like the feeling from yesterday. Fire, he thought, moving that energy toward the candle. A bright yellow flame appeared. "Oh! I did it—"

The whole candle burst into flame, the heat of it hitting his face as he drew back in shock. The teacher was suddenly there, the fire disappearing as he held his hand out toward it. A lump of wax oozed onto the table.

"I'm sorry. I didn't try to do that." Aiden looked up at him, afraid he would get in trouble.

"It's all right," Mr. K said. "Things like that happen sometimes, especially early on. You don't know your own strength, so you don't know how much to use."

Aiden shifted in his chair and realized he was shaking. "Are you sure I should be in this class? That it's not too dangerous?" He had a little bit of an idea of what Dylan must feel like.

The teacher patted his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. You're exactly where you should be. Back to work, everyone!"

The rest of the class had stopped when he'd accidentally immolated his candle. With a bit of shuffling and whispering, they turned back to their tasks.

CHAPTER SEVEN

When Aiden got to their usual table, Dylan said, "Let's go eat outside."

"Can we do that?"

"Yeah. It's a warm night, and it might be the last one we get. Come on." He lifted his tray and went out into the hall. The other kids did a poor job of pretending they weren't watching them. Aiden followed him a short way down the hall and out one of the exit doors. They were at one of the sides of the building, a large space of grass between them and an outdoor field. A few trees lined the edges and there were a few tables, most of them occupied. Dylan went straight for the empty one.

"Did you want to talk or something?" Aiden asked. Short, ornate streetlamps cast enough light on the area for him to see by.

"They were staring at me more than usual. Got on my nerves," Dylan said with a shrug.

Aiden was starting to get an idea of just how much this bothered him. "If you don't like people being afraid of you, why do you act the way you do?"

"Everyone made up their minds about me before I was in kindergarten." He picked a chicken nugget off his ridiculously huge pile.

"But why not prove them wrong?"

"It's easier this way."

Aiden frowned. "Easier not to have any friends?"

Dylan gave him a look, eyes glowing with a tiny spark of green. "I don't need anyone."

Now Aiden was annoyed. "You can drop the tough-guy act. I get it—you're a badass, a rebel, a lone wolf. Everyone stays away from you because they're afraid of you and you act like a jerk."

"You think I'm a jerk?" His tone wasn't angry, just curious.

"I think maybe you're not, but you sure act like it. Why do you even talk to me?"

Dylan was quiet for so long Aiden gave up and started eating his lunch. Today he'd picked a cheeseburger and fries. The food here was surprisingly good, not like any of the school lunches he'd had before.

"Because you didn't know what I was, so you didn't look at me like everyone else," Dylan said quietly. "It was a nice change."

"What about now?"

"You mean after I freaked you out yesterday?"

Aiden nodded.

"It... bothered me. But it's still not the same. I mean, you're still talking to me. You didn't look like you wanted to hide when I sat in front of you this morning."

Aiden stared at him and suddenly laughed. "Is it really so hard for you to admit you want a friend?"

Dylan glared. "I don't—"

"Need anybody. Yeah, I get it." Aiden rolled his eyes and realized he really wasn't afraid of Dylan anymore. He took a bite of his burger and swallowed before saying, "Well, I guess I'm a badass rebel too, just for talking to you." He smiled. He hadn't been accused of anything like that his whole life. "Even Mr. Johnson warned me you're dangerous."

"Who?"

"The guy who first told me I was a changeling. He came to my house and dumped all this on me about a month ago. He said he's a... what's the word? Warden."

A glint of green. "Hm. One of those. Did he tell you what his real job is?"

"He said he makes sure people like us don't hurt humans, that he's like a cop for supernatural beings."

Dylan snorted. "He means he kills any monster he finds that isn't certified."

Aiden's insides gave a cold twist. "But he didn't kill me."

"He's supposed to warn them first, and he probably gave you a lot of leeway because you're a changeling and had no idea you were fae. But if you left here tonight, tried to go back to the human world, you'd get one warning to come back and earn your certification. And if you didn't..." Dylan mimed a gun to his head and made a shooting noise.

"Oh." Not arrested and brought to some kind of monster jail. No trial, just the one warning and that was it. "But... it's to keep people safe, right? They can't just let vampires and werewolves and whatever else go around killing people."

"It's not just about killing people. We're not supposed to let humans see us using our powers. That's why we get certified, so we can prove we can control our powers. Once we leave here, we're shackled. We have to hide what we are, pretend to be human."

"And you don't want to do that?"

Dylan put his elbows on the table, leaned closer. "Here, I get to be exactly what I am. No hiding, no pretending. I can use my powers. I'm free, but I'm trapped in Shadow Valley. So I can stay in town and be dragonkin, or I can leave and pretend to be an ordinary human." He put one hand out. "Freedom of self." Then the other. "Or freedom to roam."

"Don't you want to control your powers?" That was the entire point of Aiden being here, so he wouldn't have another incident like what happened in the locker room last year.

"Control, yes. Bottle up, no."

A light breeze ruffled Aiden's hair. It really was a beautiful night, and winter would be here before they knew it. "So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know." Dylan poked at his chicken nuggets.

"Is that why you come to school late all the time, why you don't care about getting detention? You really don't care about graduating, do you?"

He shrugged. "Not really."

"You know what I want to do?" It was something he hadn't admitted to anyone, not Mr. Johnson or even his parents. "I want to graduate so I can go find my birth parents, the fae ones. And my brother. I mean, we're not blood related, but I still think of him as my brother. He's out there somewhere, in the human world or the fae one. If I learn to control my powers, maybe I'll be able to track him down."

Dylan looked at him thoughtfully. "So you really had no idea of what you were?"

Aiden shook his head. "Not until Mr. Johnson told me. I don't know why my birth parents took a human child, why they left me in his place. And I wonder if my brother knows he's human, if he feels as out of place as I do." It was painful to talk about, but it also felt good.

"Huh. I guess I'd want answers too if I was in your place. So you're not just being a goody-goody; you have a reason." He dunked a nugget in ketchup and tossed the whole thing into his mouth.

Aiden's food was once again getting cold. "I'm not a goody-goody. I've just always done well at school, and I care about getting good grades. I care about learning."

"So you are a goody-goody."

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to learn. Being ignorant isn't something to be proud of."

"You think I'm ignorant?" His eyebrow went up.

"I think you're smarter than you let on, and I think it's a waste that you don't apply yourself."

"Shit, you sound like my mom."

"Well, she's right." Aiden could understand people who struggled with school, who found it difficult. He'd never understood people who just didn't care.

"Are you going to start nagging me too? Tell me I should think of my future and not give up before I've even started?" His tone was teasing, but there was a shadow in his eyes.

Aiden shrugged. "No, I just don't think it would hurt to try. There's no reason to fail school even if you don't want to leave Shadow Valley."

Dylan stared down at his plate. "You don't understand."

"No, but I'd like to." And just like that, he realized Dylan was his friend, that he cared about him. Aiden wanted to help him, to ease the darkness that hung over him.

Dylan didn't say anything else until the bell rang and he muttered, "See you later."

* * *

It was a pleasure to burn. That was from a book, and it wasn't supposed to be a good thing, but that was how he felt. Those words were so true. Even if a part of him felt guilty, knowing that his greatest power was to destroy. But it felt so good.

Dylan sent another stream of fire at the huge pile of wood. The flames danced, bright orange-yellow, and lit the huge gravel pit. This was the only place he could really let loose, and still he felt like he was capable of more. He dreamed of setting a forest on fire and watching it burn, just for the sheer pleasure. Or a city. All those buildings, sending pillars of smoke and flame into the sky, an orange haze lighting the horizon from one end to the other.

It was almost an ache, a need to push his powers to their limit and revel in the aftermath.

He'd tried talking about this with his mom. She was more dragon than he was, and surely she felt the same thing. But she was so damn Zen about her dragon side, telling him he needed to learn to live with the other side of his nature. The way she said "live with" sounded like "repress."

With more practice, he might be able to manage a full-size dragon shape. He imagined flying over a large city, New York, or LA, fire streaming from his mouth. Of course, the wardens would come for him. It might take a lot of them, but they'd eventually kill him. They went after uncertified people that hadn't even hurt anyone. Burning a city like that would bring all of them together to take him down.

The fire crackled and popped, shifting in the breeze. Would it be worth it?

The magic inside him yearned for it. Going out in a literal blaze of glory, but God, would it feel good. Everyone was right to be afraid of him. A monster among monsters.

The sharp scent of smoke filled his nose. Dylan lifted his hands, pouring more fire onto the blaze. It released some of the pressure, but the deep urge never went away.

He didn't want to die. He didn't want to kill tens or hundreds of thousands of people in a citywide fire. He didn't want to enjoy burning things so much. He wanted to be human, and yet he didn't. He loved his magic, and yet he was afraid of it.

He wanted friends, and yet he wanted to stand alone.

He didn't know what he wanted, and he had a few more years to choose. Graduate high school, be certified to go out into the human world but hide his magic and use it only sparingly. Or stay in Shadow Valley and be who he really was.

Do I even know who I really am? Deep inside the fire, wood turned black and crumbled to ash. Was that what his power would do to him, burn away every other part of him and leave nothing but black dust?

Dylan lifted his face to the dark sky and roared.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Aiden opened his locker to put a book away. His fingers slipped, and the book dropped with a thud.

"Let me get that."

He turned to see a brown-haired girl lean down to retrieve the book.

"Here."

She was pretty, and he couldn't help a smile as he took it from her. "Thanks."

"No problem." She smiled back and joined the flow of students in the hall.

Aiden stared after her, noticing how nice her butt looked in those jeans.

Something slammed into the locker just above his head. Aiden jumped and looked up to see a tall boy with broad shoulders, his hand pressed against Aiden's locker.

"Don't even think about it," the kid said, a gleam of yellow in his eyes.

"What?"

"That's my girl. I saw the way you were looking at her."

"I didn't—" His heart raced.

"Stay away from her. Don't talk to her. Don't even look at her, or I'll make you sorry." The boy glared down at him, and his expression was so much like Billy Hughes's that day. The locker room, the threats, the fear.

Something shifted inside Aiden while he thought of how much he wanted this boy to go away. The air between them shimmered with a greenish-gold light and the boy went flying. He hit the lockers on the far side of the hall, making a huge dent.

Everyone stopped, staring. The boy slowly got to his feet, groaning.

"Break it up! Break it up!" A teacher pushed through the crowd and stood between Aiden and the boy he'd thrown.

"I—I didn't..." A different kind of fear filled Aiden. All of them staring, just like the locker room, like they were wondering what he'd do next. If he was going to hurt them.

"All right. You"—the teacher pointed at the boy—"go to the nurse. And you"—he turned to Aiden—"principal's office, now."

"Yes, sir." Aiden's voice was barely above a whisper. He was in trouble, big trouble. Would they call his parents? They'd be so disappointed. He'd put them through so much already, and now this.

The teacher escorted him down the hall, saving him from the further embarrassment of having to ask where the principal's office was. Aiden slunk into a chair and sat there, feeling sick. He could hardly bring himself to look at the principal.

"So what's this all about?" she asked.

"I didn't mean to. I swear I didn't mean to." He glanced up at the woman, who had her hair pulled back and wore a dark suit. "He was threatening me and I just got so scared." The locker room all over again, except he hadn't gotten in trouble for that because no one had talked about it.

"Why did he threaten you?"

He explained what had happened in as much detail as he could remember. "Will he be okay? He hit the lockers hard enough to dent them." He'd been able to get up, but that didn't mean he wasn't hurt. The boy might have a concussion or internal bleeding.

"I think I know who you're talking about, but I'll call the nurse to make sure." She picked up the phone and dialed. "Yes, I'm checking on the boy who just came in... Conner Mays, okay." The principal gave Aiden a look, eyebrows raised. Was that name supposed to mean something? "How is he doing? ... Good. ... Okay." A slight smile. "You can ease his ego a bit by telling him it was Aiden Spencer, the new changeling boy. ... Uh-huh. And tell him to come see me when you're done. Bye."

Aiden swallowed and waited for her to speak.

"The boy you hurt is Conner Mays. He's a werewolf. They're fairly durable, and they heal fast. You didn't do much more than bruise him a bit and hurt his ego."

He let out a breath. "Good. I didn't mean to hurt him."

She held up a hand. "I know. You recently found out about your powers, and you haven't had training since childhood like most of the other students here. And Conner already has a reputation as a troublemaker. I believe your claim that he started it."

What if it had been worse? What if he'd attacked someone who couldn't take as much damage as a werewolf? It hit Aiden like a punch, the realization that he could seriously injure or even kill someone. A lump formed in his throat, and he was afraid he might cry.

"Aiden... I hope this made you realize how careful you need to be. You're more powerful than most of the other students here. You need to be the responsible one and not get into any fights, for their sake more than yours."

"I know. I'm so sorry." His vision blurred and a wet drop ran down his cheek. "I don't know how to control it. I wish I could, but I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know anything." Even in a school full of monsters, he was the dangerous one.

The principal walked around the desk to put a hand on his shoulder. "We're here to help you. I'll look for a tutor to help you get some basic control of your magic. And of course you need to do your best in Minor and Major Magical Control."

"I am doing my best." He thought about the candle he'd incinerated. He couldn't do anything right.

She patted his shoulder. "Then keep doing it. This won't be easy, but as long as you try, that's all I'm asking of you." She pulled a small green pad from her desk and started writing. "I'm going to give you a pass. I want you go outside for a while and try to relax. Sit somewhere quiet and take slow breaths." She tore off the top sheet and gave it to him.

"For how long?"

"Until you feel like you can handle school again."

Honestly, that might be never. "Okay. Thank you." He looked at the scrawled note giving him permission to be out of class. "Is that it? I'm not in trouble?" He'd expected detention or suspension for fighting in school.

"Consider this your warning. Good luck, Aiden."

* * *

"Want to eat outside again?"

"Sure," Dylan said.

Aiden was looking a little weird, glancing around the lunchroom like he was afraid of something. Had someone picked on him?

They picked up their trays and headed out to the square. All the tables were occupied, but Dylan headed for one with a pair of sophomores. They looked at him like Please don't come over here. Dylan reached the table and said, "Move."

They grabbed their lunches and scrambled away.

"That was mean," Aiden said.

"So?" Dylan sat and started eating his pizza. If anything, it was even nicer tonight, warmer.

Aiden stared at his food, a little wrinkle between his eyebrows.

Finally Dylan couldn't take it. "What happened? Was someone mean to you? Do I have to kick someone's ass?" He hoped so. Not that he wanted Aiden to get picked on, but he'd love an excuse for a fight.

"I used my magic to throw a boy across the hallway today."

Dylan arched an eyebrow. "Impressive."

"No it's not. It's awful. I could've seriously hurt him, maybe even killed him." He clutched his head, fingers digging into his hair.

"So why'd you throw him?"

"I didn't mean to. He scared me, threatened me, and I panicked. And it just... happened."

He might get to kick some ass after all. "Who was it?"

"Conner Mays. He thought I was flirting with his girlfriend or something." Aiden picked up his fork and poked at his noodles.

Dylan snorted. "He deserves being thrown across the hall. Repeatedly." Guy was an asshole.

"He was being a jerk, but he didn't deserve it." He shifted noodles around. "I should apologize."

"To him? Dude, no. I should go beat him up to make sure he gets the message to never pick on you again." Dylan pictured slamming his fist into Conner's face and how good it would feel.

Aiden's eyes went wide. "No! Please don't. I feel bad enough about hurting him."

"He threatened you. You shouldn't feel bad about defending yourself."

"It was just words. He didn't attack me." He put his head in his hands. "I can't control my power. What if it happens again? What if I hurt somebody else?"

"Well, sometimes shit happens."

Aiden dropped his hands and glared at him. "That's not funny. Are you really this much of a jerk or is it an act?"

Aiden was the closest thing he had to a friend and those words actually stung. "A little of both, I guess."

They were quiet for a while.

"You might enjoy people being afraid of you, but I don't," Aiden said. "I don't want people staring at me like I'm a freak. I had enough of that at the end of last year." He finally took a bite of his food.

"What happened last year?"

Aiden told him about being bullied in the locker room at his old school and having his magic lash out, making all the locker doors slam over and over. Back then he hadn't even been aware he was different. It was as shocking to him as it had been to the other kids.

And then, suddenly, Aiden started to cry. Not just tears running down his face but actual sobbing. Dylan leaned back on the bench, fighting the urge to run away. He didn't know how to deal with this, and it was making him incredibly uncomfortable.

"I'm a freak and a monster and I hurt people," Aiden wailed. "I don't know what to do. I'm horrible."

Dylan swallowed. "You're... not horrible. We're all monsters here."

"But I even scare them!" Another sob as Aiden mopped his face with his sleeve.

"You don't scare me." Please stop crying. Please, please, please.

"What if I hu—hu—hurt you?"

"I'd like to see you try."

A long, watery sniffle. "You're not afraid of anything, are you?"

"Nope."

Aiden kept crying, but his sobs had become soft hitches. "Doesn't it bother you that you can hurt people with your magic?" He wiped at his eyes again. "That a school full of monsters is afraid of you?"

That I like it so much? Yes. "No, not really. Who wouldn't want to be the toughest kid in school?"

"Me."

"You'd rather get picked on?"

"No. I'd rather be normal."

Dylan couldn't help a laugh. "I think you need to adjust your idea of normal, dude."

"I'm trying." Aiden sighed, then looked up at him, hope lighting his eyes. "Will you help me?"

"What?"

"With my powers. Can you help me control them?"

He'd never considered teaching anyone. "Well I... I guess I can try. But shouldn't you be asking teachers that?"

"I will, but I need all the help I can get."

A little spark of fear lit inside Dylan. Aiden already knew he liked using his powers, but he didn't know how much or how dark his desires really were. If he helped Aiden learn control, would his own slip? Would Aiden find out just how bad Dylan really was?

CHAPTER NINE

"Have a seat, Aiden. You're not in trouble," the principal said. "I just wanted to let you know that we found a tutor for you. Her name is Phoebe Rowland. She's part fae, and her children go to elementary school here."

"Part fae?"

The principal smiled. "Yes. We're lucky to have one in town who's also willing to train you. She's willing to meet with you two or three times a week after school."

Although he was relieved to have someone of his own kind to train with, he felt a little twinge of disappointment. After school? He had a hard enough time staying awake as it was.

"You can discuss details with her." The principal handed him piece of paper with a phone number and address.

He noticed the lack of an e-mail address. Shadow Valley seemed to be lagging behind in the technology department. He supposed having magic or being a monster might make things like technology seem less important.

"Thank you, ma'am." He stuck the paper in his bag. "I also found someone else to help me. I wanted to make sure I have as much training as I can get."

"Oh? Who?"

"Dylan."

One of her eyebrows rose. "Dylan Galloway?"

"Um, yes." Aiden suddenly wished he hadn't said anything.

"I don't think that's a good idea. He's dangerous."

The same thing Mr. Johnson had said. "I know, but so am I. He's the strongest kid in my class, so I thought he was the best choice."

She pressed her lips together. "Dylan Galloway is a troubled boy. Your records from your previous schools show you to be an excellent student with no discipline problems. I'd hate for that to change."

"You think he's a bad influence?"

"That's the polite way of putting it, yes. I'm quite surprised you speak to him."

Aiden shrugged. "He's nice to me."

"I know things are difficult. It must have been a shock to find out you were a changeling when you had no idea such things existed. And then having to move here, a different school in a different town where you don't know anyone. I'm sure you feel lost, but things will get better. You'll settle into your classes, you'll make friends. In a few months you'll have a whole new perspective."

Meaning he could do better than Dylan. The more he heard the way people talked about him, the more sorry for Dylan he felt. "Thank you. I'm sure you're right." But you're wrong about Dylan.

* * *

A note skittered out of his locker when he opened it. Frowning, Aiden picked it up.

Hi.

I'm the one who picked up the book for you yesterday. My boyfriend is Conner Mays, the one you got in a fight with. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to get him mad at you. He's just really protective of me, and I should have known he would freak out if he saw me talking to you. Again, I'm really sorry.

Hanna

What was a jerk like that doing with such a sweet girl? Aiden wished he knew where her locker was so he could write her back. Then again, if Conner saw a note come out of her locker, he might freak out even more than he had over Aiden just talking to her.

He stuffed the note in his bag and headed for Major Magical Control. Yesterday Ms. Yang had made him sit out while the other kids had matches against each other, which was both frustrating and a relief. Aiden wanted to get control of his powers as soon as possible, and the matches seemed like a good way to do that. But after the incident with Conner in the hallway, he was still shaken and worried he would hurt someone.

As usual, Dylan was there and dressed before Aiden arrived in the locker room. Walking in there still made Aiden nervous, and he wondered how long it would be until that stopped.

"I got something interesting." Aiden passed Dylan the note while he pulled his gym clothes out of his locker. This wasn't really "gym," but he kept thinking of it that way.

"What is it?" Dylan asked even as he unfolded it. "Huh," he said after he'd read it. "That sounds like a healthy relationship."

"Do you know her? Hanna?" Aiden tried not to think about the fact that Dylan was right there as he pulled off his shirt.

"Not really. She's a year older, so I was never in any classes with her. I sort of know Dalton who joined their pack this year."

"Pack?" Aiden slipped on his gym shirt and hesitated before reaching for his pants. He told himself to go for it. He didn't change underwear, so it wasn't like he was going to be naked.

"Yeah, they're werewolves. They form packs. Conner is the alpha of one of the packs, and there's another one that has a vampire and a ghoul in it. As you can imagine, they don't get along."

Aiden changed pants as fast as he could. "Because wolf packs fight over territory?"

"Well, that, and because they let other things join their pack."

Aiden paused, reaching for his gym socks. "Ah, so werewolf packs are only for werewolves, and they aren't supposed to let other creatures in?"

"Especially things like a vampire and a ghoul." Dylan chuckled. "What a slap in the face."

"Uhh... why?"

"Werewolves and vampires have a rivalry going back like, forever. And they think ghouls are dumb and disgusting."

Aiden finished tying his shoes and shook his head. "I'm so lost all the time. I don't know any of this stuff. I do a bunch of research online, but I don't know how much of it is true, and it's missing so much of the information I need to know."

Dylan shrugged. "You'll figure out everything eventually."

"Glad you have such confidence in me."

Dylan's only response was another shrug.

It was another day of matches, and once again, Aiden sat out. Dylan was up first, and this time the two fireball-wielding girls both went after him. Aiden had heard their names repeated enough to remember them: Izume and Sakura. He kept meaning to ask Dylan what they were. They weren't dragonkin, and there were a number of other possibilities he'd eliminated, but he still couldn't figure out what they were.

Dylan wore an aggressive grin as he shot streams and flares of fire at them. They dodged, serious expressions on their faces, but Aiden thought he caught the gleam of amusement in their eyes. They blocked with invisible shields and ran around the gym, hurling fireballs at Dylan.

The rest of the class was on the bench next to Aiden. All of them watched the match with wide eyes. At least he wasn't alone in being amazed. When Dylan said he was holding back in class, he wasn't lying. The two girls had been holding back too, but now all of them were putting on quite a show. The place would have been an inferno if the wards on the walls and floors didn't extinguish the fires within moments of being hit.

Dylan usually barely moved as he fought, shifting this way and that or taking a few steps back. Now he was running, jumping, dropping to the floor to dodge a multicolored burst of light. The harder the girls attacked, the wider his smile got.

A flash of something white caught Aiden's attention, and he focused on Sakura. Something had attached to her pants... No, was that? Aiden squinted. It looked like a tail, a white, fluffy tail. A few minutes later he noticed Izume had one too. Aiden filed the information away as the match continued.

Ms. Yang let them go on for a long time. The girls locked hands and shot a massive fireball at Dylan. For the first time, Aiden was honestly worried his friend would get hurt. Instead of dodging, Dylan planted his feet and brought up his hands, palms out. He made a shout of effort and the fireball first slowed, then stopped. It was inches away from his hands and Dylan frowned with effort. Heat from the fireball rippled in the air.

Then he made a slamming gesture and the fireball crashed into the ground. Dylan panted, a trickle of sweat running down his face.

"All right," Ms. Yang said. "Good match, all of you. Time for the next pair."

Dylan joined him on the bench, using his arm to wipe the sweat off his face. "Now that was fun. Good match!" he called to the girls farther down the bench.

They smiled and bowed to him. The tails were gone.

"What are they?" Aiden asked.

"Huh?" His expression was distant. "Oh, you mean the fox sisters? They're kitsune. Japanese fox demons."

Another thing to add to the research list. "And they're sisters?"

"Not really, but they've been friends since they were little and they do everything together." He smiled. "Did you see? I made them forget to hide their tails."

"Yeah, I saw that." Although he had no idea what that meant.

Dylan clapped him on the back. "Man, I can't wait to fight you like that."

Aiden wasn't looking forward to it at all.

CHAPTER TEN

Today Aiden was going to meet his new tutor and have his first lesson. His mom dropped him off at the park where they were meeting.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Mom asked. "Do you want me to stay with you?"

And watch him act like a freak? "No, I'd really rather do this alone."

"Do you think it's safe? You don't even know this woman."

Great. Now he had that worry planted in his head. A whole childhood filled with don't talk to strangers suddenly started clamoring. "Do you want to come meet her with me? Would that make you feel better?"

"It's up to you."

He debated for a moment. "Come on. Just to say hello."

A woman around the same age as his mom stood from a bench and waved at them.

"That must be her. Hi, Mrs. Rowland."

"Call me Phoebe. You must be Aiden." She held out her hand.

He was sure he hadn't seen her before, but there was something familiar about her. When he took her hand, a weird sensation went through him, subtle enough that he thought he might be imagining things. Was it wishful thinking that he recognized another fae? Or had he really felt something? "Nice to meet you. This is my mom, Brenda."

Phoebe reached out to shake his mom's hand. "Nice to meet you. Are you staying for the lesson?"

Mom glanced at Aiden. "I don't want to get in the way, so I'll leave you to it. Good luck." She looked like she was about to give him a hug, something Aiden was far too old for, but then she drew back. "Bye."

Aiden watched her go to the car.

"I hope you have a lot of patience because we're going to start with the very basics," Phoebe said. "Take a seat on the bench, and you're going to meditate on the nature around you. The trees, the grass, the breeze, the stars in the sky. Just feel them."

Aiden sat. "And this will help me control my magic?"

She smiled a little. "Yes. I know it isn't exciting, but your power is based in nature, and an awareness of that is the first step to controlling your magic."

"Will this take long? I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be impatient, but I want to make sure I don't hurt anyone else."

She sat on the other end of the bench. "Even a basic awareness will help you feel when you're about to use your magic by accident. When you know that feeling, you'll be able to stop it before something happens."

That sounded wonderful. "Good. So just close my eyes and meditate?"

"Yes. I'll tell you when to stop."

It took Aiden a while to push his worries aside and focus on the things around him. The breeze was chillier today, and it would probably only get colder. It tossed the leaves in the trees and he thought about them for a while. All his life, he'd had a love for the forest, for any natural place with trees—the more the better. A few times he'd imagined running off into the forest to live alone, like Tarzan or Mowgli, not because he was angry at his parents or wanted to leave them, but because the trees felt like home. He'd often stamped down on those feelings. It was impractical to think he could live in the woods. All the dangers, all the things he'd have to learn just to survive.

He wanted it, but he was afraid of it.

He'd imagined having superpowers. What kid hadn't? Being a mutant like the X-Men, or a wizard like Harry Potter. But once he'd found out magic was real and he was a changeling, it didn't sound like fun anymore. Aiden wanted to get rid of it, to go back to his normal life when he'd mostly known what to expect, where a plan had been laid out for him. He hadn't decided on what he'd study in college, but he'd known he would go.

Except now he didn't know anything.

Aiden let out a sigh and thought about the stars. Sparkling overhead, light years away, little pinpricks that were actually suns. Beautiful and amazing. Thought about pictures from telescopes showing galaxies and nebulas in amazing colors, the infinite vastness of space. He was nothing more than a tiny speck on one planet that was less than a speck in part of a huge galaxy that was in turn a speck in the endless stretch of space.

It was fine to be so insignificant. It put life in perspective. But now, here, he stood out. A rarity among monsters, with powers that scared most of them.

"Do you ever feel like the trees are talking to you?" Phoebe asked softly.

"Not... really."

"Have you ever felt a connection with them, or with the grass and other plants?"

"Yes."

"The fae blood in me isn't very strong, so I can't be sure, but I think you're a forest fae. Your magic comes from life, from growing things."

"I made a tomato plant grow." Aiden licked his lips. "I was working with Mom in the garden. The tomatoes had sprouted, just tiny little green bumps, and I thought about how good they would taste when they were ripe. I wanted them to hurry up, to be ready right then. And suddenly they grew. Just in a couple of seconds they were as big as my fist and starting to turn red." Aiden opened his eyes and turned to her. "I was so scared."

She smiled. "You shouldn't be afraid of your magic. It's a good thing. You can do wonderful things with it, help people. Yes, it can be used to hurt too, but once you get a handle on it, the magic obeys your will."

"What if I don't want to use it?" He wanted to lock it away so he and his parents could go back to their normal lives. Would Shadow Valley High School send his records to college? What would they do about the magic classes? They couldn't put those on the transcript, could they?

"You have to use it, at least for a while. It's the only way you'll learn how to control it."

"And the only way I'll get good grades in school." He couldn't forget that. Not using his magic meant flunking.

She laughed. "If that's the motivation you need, then focus on that." She stood. "Okay, come over and sit with your back against this tree. I want you to imagine becoming the tree, with roots in the ground and your branches high above."

It sounded silly, but he'd do anything to get closer to his goal.

* * *

The smart thing would be to leave it alone, to hope they would ignore each other in the halls. Conner Mays was a year older, so there was little chance they'd ever end up in the same classes. But it was eating at Aiden. No matter how much of a jerk Conner was, and despite the fact that he'd started it by making threats, Aiden hadn't meant to hurt him. Aiden needed him to know it.

So when he saw Conner with his friends—his pack, a pack of werewolves—he swallowed his fear and walked up to him. They spotted him when he was a few feet away and glared.

"You looking for trouble?" Conner asked. "You caught me by surprise before, but I'll take you on right now." The whole pack oozed aggression.

"Actually, I came to apologize." Aiden's pulse pounded in his ears. "I didn't mean to use my magic on you."

"Apologize?" he repeated. "You mean you want to say you're sorry so I don't kick your ass."

Aiden swallowed. "I don't expect anything from you. I just want you to know it was an accident. I don't know how to control my magic, and I was afraid, and it just... happened. So I'm sorry." He'd said what he needed to, and sticking around would probably only cause problems. Aiden turned and took a step away.

"Hey! I'm not done with you." Conner glared down at him.

"Please, can we just leave it at that?" Aiden was afraid of getting hurt. He was more afraid of getting in trouble, and what scared him most was the idea of his magic getting out of control again.

"You scared, little girl?" Conner said.

The werewolves behind him laughed.

Aiden wondered if he might have had a chance of things going more smoothly if Conner didn't have his friends around to impress. For a second he considered admitting he was afraid, but afraid of hurting Conner. But that would definitely make things worse.

Conner stepped closer, growling and with a flicker of yellow in his eyes. Aiden felt something, fur and warmth, but not physically. Only in his head.

"Huh? I asked you a question. Are you scared?"

"If I say yes, will you let me leave?" Aiden could run, but these kids were part animal. That would probably encourage them to chase him.

Conner considered him with narrowed eyes. "Yeah. Say you're scared of me and that you'll stay away from my girl, and I'll let you go."

Sure, it was humiliating, but it was better than another fight. The principal had let him off with a warning, and he doubted she'd do it again. "I'm afraid of you, and I'll stay away from your girlfriend."

Conner laughed. "That's right, chicken. Now run off to class."

CHAPTER ELEVEN

It felt weird to bring anyone else out to the gravel pit. It was Dylan's place, somewhere he could go and not be bothered by anybody. The pile of ashes from the last time he'd been out here was still sitting in the middle of the pit.

"What's that?" Aiden asked.

"Just what's left of the wood I burned."

Aiden eyed the waist-high pile. "So you come out here to practice your powers?"

"More like release some tension." Again, the nervousness that Aiden would realize what Dylan was really like. It had been so long since he'd had a friend, and yes, that was his own fault, but it was nice to have someone to talk to.

"What are you so angry about all the time?"

Dylan shrugged. "Life, I guess. How unfair it all is."

"I agree with you there. It's not fair that I'm a changeling. Why couldn't I be a normal kid?" Aiden scuffed his toe in the gravel.

"Don't talk like that. You shouldn't be ashamed of what you are. It's great to have magic." He made a thin rope of fire dance in the air, curling and looping.

"But if you were normal, maybe you'd be happy. You wouldn't have the choice you're facing, to stay here or to keep your magic hidden." Aiden's eyes followed the fire, his scent a little nervous.

"And I'd be just another human in a sea of humans." Although the idea had crossed his mind, several times. He wondered what his life would be like if everyone didn't look at him like he was a bomb waiting to go off. If he didn't have to carry around the knowledge that his mom was the product of a rape, if he didn't have to wonder why his parents had brought him into a world that was afraid of him. Of course, most of the kids in Shadow Valley had to think about the outside world, how regular humans would panic if they knew what went bump in the night. But Dylan had to deal with that fear inside Shadow Valley.

"You'd still be special. Everyone is special in their own way. Just not this special," Aiden said.

Dylan looked at him for a moment, trying to figure him out. "You know what your problem is? You've never really let your magic out. You've never seen how good it can feel." That was too close the truth and he wished he hadn't said it.

"You think if I let loose, I'll become you?"

He snorted. "I don't think you could be as badass as me, but you could learn to enjoy yourself. Give it a try." He pointed at the ashes. "Move those around. It should be easy."

"None of this magic stuff is easy." Aiden frowned.

"Only because you're so afraid of it. The magic wants to come out."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"Look, you'll never learn if you keep holding back. It'll build up until it comes spilling out, like when you threw Conner into those lockers. Make those ashes move. Blow them around or make shapes. I don't care, just do something." He pointed again.

"How?"

"Don't think about it, just do it." Everyone's magic was a little different, and he didn't know exactly how Aiden's magic worked. Dylan only knew that talking about it wasn't going to do any good.

"I'll try." Aiden stared at the black pile that had once been a massive stack of wood. He held his right hand out, brows drawing together in a frown.

Nothing happened. Dylan had to force himself to be quiet. Yelling at Aiden would probably just make him whine some more. Or, God forbid, cry.

Aiden shifted his feet and brought his other hand up so they were now both facing the pile.

Dylan checked his watch. He could smell the magic around Aiden, faint and tentative. Someone as strong as he was should have no problem with such a minor spell. And yet Aiden kept holding back.

He couldn't take it anymore. Filling his lungs, he shouted almost right into Aiden's ear. "Do it!"

Aiden let out a yelp, and the ashes flew as if a strong wind had blasted them. Particles kicked up into the air, making a small cloud.

"That's better."

Aiden turned to glare at him. "Asshole."

Dylan gasped and put a hand to his chest. "You know how to swear!"

Aiden kept glaring.

"Didn't that feel good? Letting your magic out?" The air was now heavy with forest-scented magic.

"It felt like you scared the crap out of me."

Dylan pointed at the ashes, which were now a smear that went almost all the way to the far end of the gravel pit. "Move them again. Do something better this time, and don't hold back so long you make me bored, or I'll have to scare you again."

"You're a terrible teacher."

"I never said I'd be a good one."

* * *

Everything around him was bright: the sunlight, the leaves on the trees, the bits of blue sky he glimpsed above. The air smelled clean with a sweet hint of flowers. Aiden walked, looking around with a strange sense of familiarity.

Up ahead, right in the middle of the narrow path, was a huge oak tree. The massive branches cast a shadow in the forest floor. As Aiden neared, the shadow moved and became a figure.

"Hello, Aiden."

He froze, squinting at the human shape that stood against the tree trunk. "Who are you?"

"You may call me Uncle." The figure took a few steps closer. He wore a vest and tight pants of some black material, maybe leather. His skin was a shade of purplish blue, and his eyes were dark with almost no white showing at the edges. Dark hair swept back from his head, tangled with brown and orange leaves.

Uneasiness sat heavily in Aiden's stomach. "Uncle?" Something about that tugged at his memory.

"Yes. I have been looking for you for a long time." The man slowly moved closer.

"Where am I?" Aiden looked around. The light was too bright, the colors too sharp. A whine started up in his ears.

"In your dreams." The man smiled.

"Dreams?"

Then everything went dark and Aiden was sitting up in bed. It took a few minutes for him to gather his thoughts and ground himself. He was home, in his bed, and that had just been a weird dream.

It could have been much worse. He went to school with a wide variety of monsters, and any one of them could be nightmare fuel.

His parents were awake and making breakfast when he came down. One of the nice things about their strange new schedule was that breakfast wasn't a rush. They were all so tired at the end of the night they only said a few words to each other before bed. Breakfast had become more like dinner, a chance for them to eat and talk about their day.

Today they were making pancakes and sausage. Aiden set the table while they finished cooking.

"How's work going?" he asked Mom.

"A little easier. I still have to fight to stay awake at the end. And I thought mornings were tough." She shook her head.

He fought yet another stab of guilt about how his parents had given up their nice jobs for him.

"Don't forget, we have that support group today." Dad came in with syrup and a steaming pile of pancakes.

"Oh, the um..." Aiden felt uncomfortable saying it. "The human one?"

Mom carried in the sausage. "What's the name of it, again? Nonmagical Human Support Group?"

"Something like that," Dad said, filling his plate.

How did our lives become this? But of course it was all his fault.

"I hope you have a good time. I hope it helps," Aiden said.

Mr. Johnson had suggested they go so they could meet other normal humans in Shadow Valley and ask any questions they might not feel comfortable asking anyone else. Many of the other people there were parents.

"Thanks. Your next tutor lesson is tomorrow, right?" Mom asked.

"Yeah." Thinking about his meditation exercise with Phoebe made him remember his weird dream. Maybe that's where the high-def forest had come from. But what about the weird guy? And why would he dream up a creepy fairy-tale guy who called himself Uncle?

"How is that going?" Dad asked.

"Well it's only been one lesson." Aiden took two pancakes and covered them with maple syrup. "But it's nice to have someone teaching me that has my particular kind of magic." But as everyone kept pointing out, Aiden's magic was much stronger. He was full-blooded fae. Some of the magic users had fae somewhere in their bloodline, diluted talents that were still strong enough to let them cast spells. Phoebe's great-grandmother was fae, and that was the closest anyone in town was to being full-blooded. Until Aiden had come along.

Why had his birth parents given him up? Why had they taken a human child to replace him?

He looked over at his parents. His real parents, the ones who had raised him, who loved him, who'd given up everything for him. Aiden thought that in spite of everything, maybe he was lucky things had happened this way.

CHAPTER TWELVE

"You and Dylan Galloway are really a thing?" Maggie asked in a quiet voice.

"We're not a thing," Aiden squeaked. Even if he had, very briefly and very hypothetically, wished they were. "We're friends."

"That's what I meant. I wasn't implying you were a couple." She covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. Today she was wearing a bright pink cardigan with a matching headband. Maggie recovered and leaned close again. "Still, I didn't think it was possible to be friends with Dylan. Aren't you afraid of him?"

"No." He frowned. "Haven't you, like, gone to school with him for years?"

"We were in the same class for first and fifth grade."

"So you've known him for that long and you're still afraid of him?"

"Well, he wasn't so bad in first grade. Quiet, although he did get into fights with the older kids on the playground. And there were always whispers, because you know..."

"Of what he is." That pang of sorrow for his friend again.

Maggie nodded. "By fifth grade, everyone knew to avoid him. Even the meanest bullies wouldn't touch him. Wherever he went, he had this, like, bubble around him."

The bell rang and the teacher stood up to explain the lesson for the day. Aiden kept picturing what he'd done to the candle, afraid he'd do something like that again. On the other hand, yesterday he'd been able to stop a rolling ball. The first real success he'd had in Minor Magical Control. Maybe it was the meditation with Phoebe.

Today they were levitating pencils. Aiden started to let out a sigh, thinking nothing could go wrong with this. Then he imagined accidentally making a pencil fly across the room and stab someone in the eye. Maybe Maggie. Maybe himself.

So much for his confidence.

"You did so good yesterday," Maggie said with her usual smile. "I'm sure you'll be almost as good as me before long. Now, I'll demonstrate, and then you try."

The teacher had lined up pencils on his desk. Unsharpened, Aiden noticed with some relief.

Maggie used her magic to pick one up and float it slowly and carefully to their shared desk. "There. Just as easy as that."

"You're so good at this stuff—why are you in this class? Shouldn't you be in the advanced class or something?"

A blush colored her cheeks and she dropped her gaze. "I took the test, but I didn't score high enough to pass."

"Why not?" Aiden asked. She made everything look easy and she was so confident.

"I'm missing skills in a few key areas." She sighed, and some of her bright demeanor came back. "But I can keep practicing and I can take the advanced placement test again at the end of the year."

"I'm sure you'll do great." He looked at the row of pencils. If only he was so confident in his own abilities.

* * *

"Do you think you can't do it, or are you afraid that you can?" Dylan asked.

Aiden looked out over the gravel pit, thinking about what to say, wondering what the truth was. "A little of both, I guess. I've been able to do things that should be impossible. I know I'm a changeling, I know magic is real, but I guess part of me still doesn't really believe it. And it doesn't help that everyone is so much better at all this than I am. I always feel stupid in my magic classes." Although he was thankfully caught up in his regular subjects.

"I guess it would be weird to find out about all this out of the blue." Dylan stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"And I am afraid. What I did to Conner..."

"God, not that again. I know you feel bad about it, but you apologized and it's over."

"I know, but I'm worried that if I let out the full strength of my magic, just let it loose, then it'll come out at other times when I don't want it to. Like my magic will think it has permission." Aiden made a face. That sounded weird.

"Dude, I told you—the opposite is true. It's a pressure release. Let yourself go wild, and you'll feel better afterward."

"Not everyone is like you."

"Try it. Come on, I'm getting bored."

Knowing how obnoxious Dylan could get when he was bored, Aiden focused on the wooden pole they'd set up as a target. Aiden still didn't really know what his magic could do. He'd gotten a few ideas from the things he'd been able to do in class. What he knew for sure was that it didn't have to be something destructive, like Dylan's fire. Aiden could try something totally different.

The pole looked a bit like a tree. Could he make it into an actual tree? Or at least make it look like one? The books and information he'd read made a lot of mentions of fae being able to cast glamour spells, making something look different—a handful of leaves and rocks that looked like gold coins until the fae was gone, things like that.

Can I make you into a little tree? He sent his magic toward the pole, picturing the transformation. A small tree, little more than a sapling, with bright green leaves as if it were spring instead of fall. The strange warm feeling started in his chest, and he didn't fight it, only directed it.

The pole shimmered and a slender little tree appeared in its place.

"I did it!" Aiden jumped.

"Huh. Not what I was expecting, but cool." Dylan admired the tree. "Is that real, or a glamour?"

"I'm actually not sure."

Dylan walked up to touch it. He looked back with his eyebrows raised. "It's real. You've seriously got some big-time fae mojo."

"I turned a pole into a real tree," Aiden said, mostly to himself. It was terrifying to think he had that much magic, that such a thing was possible. But he couldn't pretend it wasn't exciting. "I wonder what else I can do."

"There you go." Dylan smiled. "I told you this would be fun." He flicked a hand and the tree caught on fire.

"Hey!"

"You can make another one." Dylan walked back to where Aiden was standing.

"You don't have to burn everything, you know."

The poor tree's leaves blackened and curled.

Something crossed Dylan's face. Uncertainty, maybe even fear. "I know."

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

A beautiful, sun-dappled forest surrounded him. Birds sang in the trees and a light breeze rustled the leaves. Everything was so bright, the colors so sharp. Aiden walked down the narrow path. Ahead, a huge oak tree grew right in the middle of it. The dark shadow against the trunk seemed to move.

This happened before. Something tickled at the back of his mind, trying to slip away as he reached for it.

The shadow became a man-shaped figure. "Hello again, Aiden."

"Uncle." Yes, that was the man's name, or what he'd told Aiden to call him. "This is a dream." Things clicked into place, leaving his head feeling tingly.

"Ah, good. You are aware now. The connection should be stronger." The man with purple-blue skin stepped out onto the path, an eager gleam in his dark eyes.

"What connection?"

"The connection between us. I have been looking for you for a long time."

As the man came closer, Aiden took a slow step back. "You said that last time. Are you really my uncle?" His fear disappeared in a rush as he realized what that could mean. "Do you know my parents? Do you know where they are?"

"Sadly, no. I do not know who your parents are, but I am a relative of sorts."

Aiden frowned. "If you don't know who my parents are, then how do you know you're related to me?"

"I can feel it in your power. I am fae too." The man stopped a few feet away, and the forest around them dulled, colors fading away. Uncle looked around. "Hmm, the connection still is not strong enough. Perhaps the wards..." He turned his attention back to Aiden. "There are many things we need to speak about, young Aiden. I will return on the morrow to visit you again."

Aiden blinked as the world tilted crazily and Uncle seemed to pull away from him. "Who are you? What's your name?"

"All in good time..."

Aiden opened his eyes, blinking up at the ceiling. "Not a dream," he told himself. "Definitely not a dream."

* * *

"I got another call from your teacher," Dylan's mom said.

"Yeah," he said with a shrug.

His mom sighed. "Dylan, you can't keep doing this. You'll start failing your classes, if you aren't already, and if you fail too many, you'll be held back."

"So," he said with another shrug. None of this really mattered anyway.

His mom joined him on the couch, sitting on the other end. "Why do you have such a problem with school? Do you really not care about your future? Don't you want to be certified so you can leave Shadow Valley?"

"No, I don't." He glared at her. "I don't want to go out in the world and constantly hide what I am. Pretend to be human, to be normal. Why should I have to? I'm stronger than half the people in this town already. I shouldn't have to hide it." To give up what made him special.

"I told you before, your strength is the reason it's even more important for you to control your magic. You're capable of so much destruction. You can't risk getting out of control."

He opened his mouth to admit he wanted to, that he fantasized about how good it would feel to burn everything down. But that was too much of a confession, and he didn't want her looking at him the same way everyone else did. "I can control my magic. What you're talking about, what everyone is talking about, is hiding it. Bottling it up so humans never find out. Why should we do all this for them?"

"Because we have to live with them. If they knew what we were, they would panic. They would hunt us, like they did in the old days."

"You mean like the wardens do now?"

Many of the wardens were their own kind, policing other supernatural beings, killing them if they were deemed too dangerous.

"No." And now there was a rare hint of anger in her eyes. "It was much worse before the wardens and the treaty. There is a path to peaceful coexistence with humans, and this is it. If you won't get past your stubbornness and see that, you'll have to stay in Shadow Valley. Or you'll be hunted down. I sincerely doubt you really want that, Dylan." She stood. "So get this rebellion out of your system. Take a few years if you need to, but don't spend too long stomping around and being angry at the world. It does you no good."

Dylan clenched his fists and fought to control himself. "You don't understand. You'd rather suck up and play nice."

Her usual calm expression was back. "I was angry once too. All it did was cause more pain. I just hope you realize that before you seriously hurt yourself or someone else."

He was so tired of the hippy pacifist crap. She was dragonkin, just like him. Stronger than him, but she'd agreed to play by the wardens' rules and had come to live in Shadow Valley as soon as she knew she was pregnant.

"Whatever," he muttered.

His mom stood there for a minute like she was going to say something else, then she shook her head and walked away.

Dylan flicked on the TV and started looking for something good. They had arguments like this all the time now. He was getting tired of it, but he couldn't help challenging her. For a moment he worried that she might be right, that all the anger he carried around was leaking out, damaging his life.

But holding it in wasn't the answer. He needed to let it out or he would explode.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"Everyone will take one cup of dirt and one seed. Over the weekend, I want you to work magic on the plant at least once a day, preferably twice, and on Monday you will be graded on how much it's grown. This is a magic that takes patience. No cheating by getting parents or older siblings to help. No potions. Only growth spells."

After they'd each picked up a cup and a seed, Aiden and Maggie went back to their seats. It was the first time Aiden had seen Maggie disappointed about an assignment.

"I'm afraid I won't be much help this time," she said.

"Why?"

"I'm terrible at growth magic... anything to do with plants, really." She frowned at the seed in her palm.

While Aiden felt sorry for her, he was also excited. "Maybe I can help you this time. I'm good with plants."

He dug a little hole with his fingers and stuck the seed inside, about an inch down, just like the teacher had said. He poured a bit of water from the pitcher at their desk and watched the dirt soak up the moisture.

He'd always liked helping Mom in the garden, and when he found out about the nature of his power, it made sense. "I accidentally made our tomatoes grow super fast, before I even knew what I was. Not that I think this will be easy, but... I think I have a talent for it."

Maggie brightened. "Great! Even the best of us can't be good at everything, so maybe I have the perfect partner for this."

Aiden touched the cup, thinking about the tomatoes, about the affinity he felt for growing things. Trees, grass, bushes, flowers. He was still nervous that he might not do well, but this was the first time he'd been excited about an assignment. The warm, slightly tingly feeling of his magic filled his chest, and he shoved away the automatic fear. He had a little bit of control now, and he wasn't upset, so his emotions wouldn't cause his magic to burst out.

Part of him knew how to do this; it was instinct. Phoebe had said so, Dylan had said so, Ms. Yang had said so. He let a bit of that power flow out into the cup and through the cup into the little seed. Grow, he thought, picturing a spout, then a stem, then a leaf.

A tiny little shoot of bright green pushed out of the black dirt.

"Whoa," Maggie said, eyes wide and impressed. "You really are good at this."

He felt both proud and embarrassed. "It feels nice to be good at something again." Maybe his magic classes wouldn't be so bad. This might help bump his grade up, and Maggie would help him keep from failing most, or at least some, of his other assignments.

"Can you explain how you did that?"

She'd explained so much to him, even if he sometimes didn't get it. A lot of what drove magic was emotion, especially at the beginning stages. He was learning that from both Phoebe and Dylan, although they had very different ways of going about their lessons. Dylan drew his magic from anger, and Phoebe encouraged Aiden to feel a deep connection to nature.

That was exactly what they needed for this assignment. "I'll try. It's all about feeling a connection to the plant and encouraging it to grow just like it normally would, only much faster. Don't expect to have it sprout as fast as mine. I think this is... my specialty."

"Okay." She took a breath and closed her eyes.

He encouraged her through the rest of class. Although she didn't get her plant to visibly grow, she seemed optimistic when class ended. "Can I call you tomorrow and you can help walk me through it again?"

"Sure. Oh, but not between six and eight. I'm busy then."

"Okay. What are you doing? Anything fun?" She put away her things and stood.

"I'm training with Dylan."

She made a face. "I still think you're crazy for hanging out with him. And now I think you're even more crazy for training with him. What does he teach you, how to burn everything in sight?"

Everyone always expected the worst of Dylan. "There's more to him than that, you know," he snapped. "Dylan isn't just a jerk that likes to burn things. He's never been mean to me. He's a lot nicer than a lot of humans I've met." Dylan was the most feared kid at school, but he was no bully. "He was nice to me from my first day, and he's lonely. He acts the way he does because everyone treats him like he's dangerous, but he's really just like the rest of us."

Maggie leaned back and stared at him while he went off on his little rant. "Okay, okay. I didn't mean to insult your friend." Other kids had stopped on the way to the door and they were looking at him or pretending really hard not to be looking at him.

Aiden sighed and laughed a little. "I guess I'm a little protective of him. Which is pretty hilarious."

Maggie picked up her cup of dirt with the little seed growing inside. "Friends stick up for each other."

He thought of how Dylan had offered to beat up Conner Mays for him. "Yeah, they do."

"Are we okay?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah." Aiden picked up his backpack and his own cup of dirt with the little green sprout in it.

"I'll call you on Saturday, not between six and eight." She flashed a wide smile and left.

* * *

This time Aiden recognized the forest as soon as he saw it. When he saw the oak, he turned and went the other way down the path. But the tree soon appeared in front of him again, and with it, the shadow.

"Hello." The shadow formed into Uncle again, who had a slight smile on his face.

"How are you coming into my dreams?" Aiden asked.

"It is a talent of mine." The fae who called himself Uncle came closer. "I do wish you would not fear me." His hand lifted, reached out for a brief moment before he let it fall. "I will cause you no harm."

"You're creepy. You make me nervous."

"Is it my appearance? This is my true form, and I wished to honor you with it."

I go to school with monsters. Even though they didn't look like it, he knew what they were. This man was fae, like him. "You appear out of the shadows, and you're invading my dreams. And there's just... something not right about you."

Uncle tilted his head. "Of course. You have never seen another fae, and certainly not in true form. Would you be more comfortable if I were to alter my appearance?" Without waiting for an answer, his body shimmered for a second and a middle-aged man stood in front of him. Dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail, eyes a warm brown. Now he wore black pants and a white button-up shirt. "Is this better?"

If Aiden could stop trying to picture what he'd looked like before... "Yes."

"Good." He smiled. "I also apologize for stepping into your dreams, but this was the only way to contact you."

"Why? You know where I am, so you can just come to Shadow Valley." Was this man really a relative?

"I am not in your world. I am in Faery, and dreams are thin places, places where one can communicate across worlds." He stepped closer, and Aiden stepped back.

"You're in the same world my parents are, right?" It made his heart beat faster to think about finding them, being able to ask them all the questions he had. Being able to see his brother.

"Yes."

"Can you find them? Can you bring them to my dreams so I can talk to them?"

Uncle's eyes narrowed as he frowned. "Mayhap. I have the taste of your magic, so I may be able to track them down."

Aiden didn't like the idea of this man tasting his magic. "I'd love to talk to them, so if you can find them, please do." He'd already accepted that it would be years before he could go searching for his other family, but now there was hope he'd be able to meet them soon.

"It may take some time, young one. In the meanwhile, I would like you to do something for me."

"What?" Aiden asked cautiously.

"Go to the edge of town, where the barrier is—"

"Barrier?" Aiden frowned. "Do you mean the invisibility shield, or the cloaking, or whatever it is that hides the town from the road?" Driving straight through trees that weren't there... Aiden didn't want to do that again.

"Yes, that is it. Touch something to the barrier, a leaf, a twig, and take this thing with you when you sleep. Hold it close to your body." Uncle mimed holding something against his chest.

"What for?"

"The barrier about the town makes it difficult for me to hold our connection." The man paced a bit on the narrow path, hands folded behind his back. "This will allow me to... understand the magic it is made from, and strengthen our dream connection."

"How does that work?"

Uncle opened his mouth, closed it, then said, "It is complicated. But I must make our connection stronger to bring others with me."

"Like my parents." This was so weird, but everything else in his life was weird. Was a dream visit from his birth parents really much stranger than anything else that had happened?

"Yes." The colors around them started to fade. "Our time has ended for now. I will see you again tomorrow."

Tomorrow was a school day and another lesson with Phoebe. "I might not be able to get to the barrier until Saturday."

"Satur... day?" Uncle asked.

"A few days from now."

Uncle pondered a moment, a finger to his chin, as the trees faded to black and white. "Call my name when you have done what I ask. Repeat it thrice as you fall asleep."

"Okay." As if things weren't strange enough already, now he felt like he was in the middle of a fairy tale.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

When Aiden opened his locker between classes, a note came tumbling out. For a moment he wondered if it was from Dylan, but no, Dylan wasn't the kind to write a note. He unfolded it and recognized the handwriting of Hanna.

Aiden,

Conner said you apologized to him about the fight. That's so sweet. And brave. He says you promised to stay away from me and that you said you were afraid of him. Are you really afraid of him? I mean, you're not afraid of Dylan, and even Conner is afraid of him. Did you just say that so you wouldn't have to fight him again? Because you don't want to hurt him? I think he's afraid of you.

Will you text me so I have your number? My number is 555-6539. Pretend you're a girl. I'll put you in my phone as Alice, so don't put your real name in any text. I'd like to be your friend, but I can't talk to you in person. Will you do that? I hate lying to Conner, but I feel like I need some friends outside the pack. Sometimes I feel...

Here a word was scribbled out hard, in pen, so he couldn't tell what it had been.

I understand if you don't want to. I won't be mad or anything.

Your friend, I hope.

Hanna

Aiden folded the note and shoved it in his pocket, paranoid that somehow Conner would walk by and see him with it. She sounded lonely, and if that was how Conner reacted every time she tried to talk to someone outside the pack, it was no wonder.

He worried about it all through class and finally decided to show it to Dylan at lunch. He handed the paper to him, and after a moment Dylan started cracking up.

He laughed so loud that half the room turned to look at him. "She totally has a crush on you!"

Panic flooded Aiden. "Shh! Keep it down," he hissed. "They're right over there."

"So?" Dylan asked, although his voice was quieter. "You know you can kick his ass. You can even do it by choice this time. And if you're too gentle and sweet to do it yourself, I'll do it for you."

Aiden leaned close until he was almost lying on the table. "But what if he doesn't come after me? What if he takes it out on her?"

Dylan frowned. "I suppose you're right."

"Are all werewolves like that? So... possessive?"

"They all tend to be more possessive and protective, but Conner is a grade-A asshole. He's been picking on other people since fourth grade." Dylan took a bite of his pizza.

Aiden grabbed the note from where Dylan had set it on the table. "What do you think I should do?"

"Text her." Dylan gave him a mischievous smile.

Although he didn't have a crush on Dylan anymore, that didn't mean he didn't still find him attractive. And that smile made his heart skip a beat.

Dylan said, "Could be interesting. Very interesting."

"But if she does have a crush on me, I don't want to encourage her."

"That's part of the fun. And you get to pretend you're a girl." He chuckled.

Aiden's face heated. What would Dylan say if he knew Aiden was bi? Would he tease him about being unmanly? A fag? A queer? He'd seen other bisexual people get labeled as gay, like others couldn't grasp the idea of someone liking both sexes. He wanted to believe Dylan would shrug it off like he did so many other things, but he was too afraid to say anything. Nobody knew, and Aiden was going to keep it that way for as long as he could.

"I don't want to lead her on or break her heart. That's mean."

Dylan shrugged. "You could just ignore the note and let her think you don't care about her. But I'll tell you, from the sound of the note, that chick is lonely."

Aiden sat back on the bench and dropped his chin onto his crossed arms. "Yeah, I know. I don't want to ignore her, but I don't want to cause any trouble. I know you love trouble, but I don't."

"I'm well aware of your antiviolence stance," Dylan said around a mouthful of pizza. "But you don't have to get in any fights. Hell, I could stop him before he starts. Want me to go over there right now and tell him to leave you alone? Want to see if I can make him piss his pants?"

"Dylan, that's horrible." Sometimes he wondered how he could be friends with someone so violent.

"He should know better anyway. The whole school knows you're the only one who sits with me at lunch. The only person I talk to besides the fox sisters. Really, he's got some nerve making threats against you. You should've brought me with you when you went to apologize to him," Dylan said. When Aiden opened his mouth to argue, he cut him off. "I know, I know. Not to fight with him, even, but like a... deterrent. So he wouldn't have humiliated you like that."

"I don't need you to be my bodyguard." Although the idea did have appeal. He wished he could've had someone like Dylan at his old school, especially after the locker-room incident. No, that just would've made things worse. Aiden didn't want to hurt people with his magic, and he didn't want someone else using magic to hurt people for him.

"True, you don't. You're strong enough to take care of yourself. Your problem is that you don't want to use your power."

"I'm starting to think maybe magic could be useful for some things, but it's not okay to use it to hurt other kids."

"You don't even have to hurt them. You just need to let them know that you can." Dylan shoved a piece of crust in his mouth.

Aiden sighed. "That's not much better." This argument was starting to get familiar, and he still hadn't decided what to do about Hanna's letter.

* * *

Aiden biked to the edge of town, feeling self-conscious. What if someone saw him? What would he say? He looked around, hoping no one was nearby. It was early afternoon, so most of the town would be asleep or just waking up. He also needed to get his bearings. He'd only been here once before, in a car, coming from the other direction. But some of the shop signs were familiar. At least, they looked familiar.

The wind had a definite chill to it, and the clouds blocked the warmth of the sun. It put him in a bad mood. He hardly got to see the sun, and now that the weekend was finally here it was cloudy.

A few cars went by and he tensed at each one. Would they wonder what he was doing so close to the edge of town? Would they think he was trying to run away? He pedaled faster, wanting to get this over with. Dylan was going train him for a while later that day, and Aiden hoped he could convince the other boy to hang out afterward.

The buildings thinned and trees lined the side of the road. This had to be it. He stayed on his bike for as long as he dared but worried that he might cross the barrier without knowing it. Would it set off some kind of alarm?

God, what was he doing? He didn't even know if he'd be able to tell where the barrier was. He hadn't been able to see it on the way in. Aiden walked his bike along the road, looking for signs of anything strange.

The hair on the back of his neck suddenly went up, the way it did in gym class. Strong magic nearby. Aiden put his hand out in front of him, hoping he'd be able to feel the barrier before he stumbled through it. Then there was something. A trick of the light, or a trick of his eyes... or maybe something real. A very slight shimmer in the air, there and gone.

Aiden went over to where he'd seen it, or thought he had. The tingling, hair-raising sensation was much stronger. Finally his hand touched something that felt just the tiniest bit more solid than air, and a slight ripple went out from his fingers.

This was it. He looked around, praying no one would come by. Aiden tugged his bike off the road and set it on its kickstand; then he bent down to pick up whatever was closest to his hand.

It was a leaf. An oak leaf. Curiouser and curiouser. He laughed nervously to himself. "Okay, get this over with."

He stretched his arm out, touching the leaf to the barrier. The air shimmered again, barely visible. "I hope that's good enough." Aiden stood, stuffed the leaf into the pocket of his jacket, and headed for home.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Aiden climbed into bed, taking the leaf with him. This isn't much weirder than the stuff you do every day at school. A little touch of magic, not even as crazy as the spells he did with Dylan. Still, he didn't want to see the man who called himself Uncle. Whenever he thought about him, it filled him with uneasiness.

But he couldn't forget what Uncle had offered. A chance to meet his parents, which was only possible if the connection was strengthened. So he needed to do this.

Aiden pressed the leaf to his chest, then thought better of it and slipped it under his pajama shirt so it lay against his skin. He tried to calm down and focus on being able to meet his parents, maybe even his brother. Closing his eyes, he whispered into the dark, "Uncle, Uncle, Uncle."

Nervousness kept him awake a while longer, but in time he drifted to sleep.

Darkness, a few wisps of dreams that didn't take full form, and then the high-def forest.

This time, Uncle stood there waiting in his human form. "You have it?" His expression was eager.

Aiden nodded. He reached under his shirt and found the oak leaf there, pressed against his skin. He held it out and Uncle snatched it from his hand.

"Wonderful." He wrapped his fingers around the leaf, closed his eyes for a moment. "Yes, this is a strong magic, wrought by many hands."

"Did you find my parents?"

Uncle opened his eyes. "Not as of yet. I have their trail, but it may take some time."

"How long?"

"That I cannot say." Uncle frowned, nostrils flaring. In a quick motion, he leaned close, drawing a deep breath through his nose.

With a cry of surprise, Aiden stumbled away.

"My humble apologies." Uncle smiled. "I did not mean to startle you. What is this flavor you carry, of fire and stone?"

"I don't know what you mean." Aiden backed away a little more.

"The powerful magic of another." He sniffed again, though thankfully he didn't get any closer. "An old taste. A dragon taste."

"Do you mean Dylan?" They'd been training that day, and Aiden might have somehow carried some bit of Dylan's magic into his dream the way he'd carried the leaf. "He's dragonkin." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Aiden regretted it. Giving Uncle that information... it felt wrong somehow.

Uncle's eyes lit with eagerness. "Dragonkin? You fought a dragonkin and lived?"

"Uhh... we weren't fighting. Dylan is my friend."

Uncle tilted his head. "You are friends with a dragonkin? How strange."

"Are you going to tell me to stay away from him too? Everyone keeps warning me he's dangerous."

"Dragonkin are very dangerous." Uncle steepled his hands and drummed his fingers together. "But I will not warn you away from your friend. Friendship makes life sweeter." Uncle paced. "I will continue to search for your parents, but I am afraid I need to ask another favor of you."

"What?" Aiden didn't want to do any more favors, didn't want Uncle invading his dreams anymore. But this was the best chance to find his parents and his brother.

"Starting at the dark of the moon, take a vessel of water and put one drop of your blood in it. Do this each night—"

"My blood?" That didn't sound right at all.

"Yes, only a drop. For three cycles of the moon—"

"Why do you need me to do this?"

Irritation flashed across Uncle's features before his expression smoothed. "If you do all the things I tell you, you will be able to travel to Faery freely, to visit your parents and all your other kin, and they will be able to visit you."

It was tempting, but it felt so wrong. "Give me time to think about this, okay?"

Another flash of irritation. "Very well. Two nights from now, I will visit your dreams again. I do not know what you learned in the human world, but magic is not a thing of evil. It is part of you, and you need not fear it."

"I'm trying to see it that way. I'll see you in two days then." Aiden wanted the creepy fae gone as soon as possible.

"Two days." Uncle inclined his head and vanished.

* * *

Dylan was absorbed in a video game, mowing down zombies with a machine gun. Someone knocked on his door. "What?" he snapped.

"I want to talk to you."

Dad this time. His parents practically took turns giving him heart-to-heart talks.

With a sigh that was half growl, Dylan paused the game. "Fine."

His dad came in, wearing a clean shirt and jeans. He must have changed out of his woodworking clothes. Dylan always found it ironic that his mom had married a man who liked to make furniture. Fire and wood. Practically opposites. "Your mom told me about the conversation you had."

"Of course she did." Dylan set the controller down.

His dad sighed. "Not everything has to be a fight, Dylan. We're worried about you, and we worry because we care."

"You worry because I might go nuts and burn down Shadow Valley."

"To be honest, yes. You have that potential, and we don't want that to happen. People could get hurt, or killed. But we're also worried about you. You're so angry all the time, and that isn't healthy. We want you to be happy."

"I'd be happy if I wasn't trapped in this town." Although Dylan didn't really think it would be that simple.

"You can leave once you graduate and get certified. We can all move somewhere else."

Dylan snorted. "Yeah, and then pretend I'm human and make sure I don't use magic in front of them."

"You're part human. You need to stop ignoring that. You're more human than you are dragon." His dad walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I know." He hadn't forgotten, but he always focused more on the dragon side. It was what made him different, what made him special. It had come from something terrible. When he thought about how he'd come to be, it disgusted him, but at the same time, he loved that he had this power.

"Look, I know this is hard for you. I remember what it's like being a teenager, and I can't imagine how much harder it is for you being dragonkin and having everyone in town worried that you'll lose control. But you can try to see the good side of things, to not make everything into a fight. We love you, and we want you to be happy. It hurts us to see you so angry all the time."

"I can't help it. This is who I am." He wanted Dad to go away so he could get back to his video game. At least in that fictional world, he could kill masses of the walking dead without any consequences.

"There's more to you than anger and dragon magic. There's a wonderful person in there, and I wish you could see it."

Dylan looked at the screen, a dark band with the word Paused in bloody red script superimposed over a scene of a dozen snarling zombies coming at his character. "Are you done?"

Dad sighed and stood up. "I wish you'd come out of this dark place you're in."

This isn't dark. You have no idea how dark things can get. He thought of his dreams, of the cities covered in flames. Of how much he wanted it.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Aiden stared at the screen so long the words started to blur. He'd edited the text twice and he'd hovered his finger over the Send button half a dozen times. If he sent this, it could start a lot of trouble. Hanna might take it the wrong way. Conner might find out somehow and try to start another fight. Or take it out on Hanna. If Conner was that upset about her just saying a few words to him and smiling, what would he do if he found out they were texting? And using a fake name?

Hi! This is Alice. Yes, I want to be friends.

That sounded stupid. He reached for the Delete key to start over. But what else could he say? That was straightforward. If he said more, she might be even more likely to take things wrong.

He looked over at her letter, sitting on the desk. Dylan was right. She sounded lonely. And paranoid. How much courage had it taken her to write that note? And how much more to drop it in his locker?

That decided it. He could at least be as brave as she had been. Aiden sent the text, then immediately panicked. Was there a way to delete a text once it was sent? Oh God, what if she looked at it right away?

Aiden snapped his phone shut and set it on the desk. No, it was done. Freaking out about it wouldn't make anything better. Maybe Hanna would lose her courage and delete it as soon as she saw it.

She was cute though. He only had that fleeting moment to remember her by. Picking up his fallen book, giving him a shy smile. Thinking about her being nervous and paranoid... Aiden was surprised to feel a spark of anger. She didn't deserve that.

For the next hour, while he was supposed to be doing his homework, he checked his phone every few minutes. No text. She might be busy. She might still be asleep. It was early, Shadow Valley time.

He looked out the window and frowned at the rain. He got little enough sunlight as it was, and today he wasn't getting any. If it was raining like this on Saturday, he'd have to cancel his training with Dylan.

The phone chirped. Aiden grabbed the phone so fast he almost knocked it off the table.

Alice! Worried I wouldn't hear from u. Thx, thx, thx for txting. :D talk soon!!!

He read it twice more, wondering if she meant more than she'd said. Was there some code, the way using the name Alice was? Or was she just happy to hear from him and didn't have time for more than a quick message? Maybe his text had woken her up and she'd spent all this time writing a message, worrying over it the way he had.

With a deep breath, Aiden made himself close the phone and put it down. She said they'd talk soon, so that meant she didn't expect him to text back. He'd just wait, and if he didn't hear from her by the time he got back from school tonight, he'd text her again.

This was nuts.

* * *

"Is something bothering you, Aiden?" Phoebe asked.

Aiden stared off into the distance, not really seeing the park. He wasn't sure he should say anything, feeling like he would be admitting to doing something wrong. Thinking on that for a moment, he decided that meant he should tell her. If his interactions with Uncle made him feel guilty, then maybe there really was something wrong with it.

"I've been having these weird dreams," he said and told her about Uncle. The offer he'd made to find his parents, the things he'd asked him to do.

As he talked, Phoebe's eyes got wider. "Aiden, you need to bar him from your dreams, right away. The way you describe him, he sounds like dark fae, and I'm sure he's up to something nasty."

"How do I do that?"

"Take an iron dagger, or a knife, and just before bed, hold it out and say, 'My dreams are my own; you are not welcome.' Say that three times, then put the dagger under your pillow."

"And that will work?" The idea of not having Uncle in his dreams anymore was such a relief.

She nodded. "It should. That's the spell I know to cast out dream walkers."

"Dream walkers," he repeated in a quiet voice. "There are so many weird things out there."

"Yes," she said with a little smile. "And just when you think you know everything, something you've never heard of will show up."

"So... where do I get an iron dagger?" Aiden wanted to do the spell tonight.

"The antique shop should have a few, but they're closed now. You can borrow mine until you get your own. Give your parents a call and let them know I can drop you off today. We'll stop by my house to get the dagger."

Aiden felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "Thank you."

* * *

The dark fae whom Aiden knew as Uncle tried to step into the young changeling's dream and found himself unable to enter. The words of a spell echoed in his ears as he felt the cold, hard touch of iron.

"My dreams are my own, you are not welcome..."

He snarled. Where had the changeling learned that spell? And how dare he use it against him! The dark fae had been sure that dangling the youngling's parents as an incentive would work. His desire to find them was strong, echoing through his dreamscape.

Perhaps he should have tried a gentler approach, waited longer to bring up the blood potion. He had almost forgotten how squeamish humans were about such things, and though the child was fae, he had been raised as a human.

The dark fae tried to enter again, testing the strength of the spell. The touch of iron, though not physical, made him hiss with anger. The way was truly blocked unless he could gather more powerful magics.

Even if he was able to break through, Aiden would not want to speak with him. The sharp taste of nervousness always surrounded the child when they met. He should not have asked such a thing of him so soon.

Taste, yes. Aiden might be lost to him, but there was another he might be able to lure into his plans. The dragonkin. They had been rare before the Way closed and must be even rarer now. The luck of finding one tied to the changeling boy was something to thank Fate for. He would not waste this chance.

He would be careful. He would observe until he knew the best way to approach the dragonkin.

"And then we shall see," the dark fae whispered, reaching out for that fire- and stone-flavored magic, building a pathway to the dragonkin's dreams.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

This was something normal people did. Not that he was normal, but he was pretty sure even people in Shadow Valley did it. People had friends here. After Major Magical Control, Dylan changed quickly and then went over to the next row of lockers where Aiden was just finishing up.

God, this was stupid. How could he be so nervous? Just because he hadn't done this before didn't mean it had to be a big deal.

"So, uh, I was thinking, do you maybe want to eat dinner at my house?" There, it was out. Crap, what if he said no? Dylan wasn't used to looking like an idiot.

Aiden's eyes went wide. "Really? Tonight?"

"Uh, yeah." His cheeks were heating up, and he prayed he wasn't going to blush. He hadn't been nervous at all when he asked Indira if she wanted to go out with him. Maybe because he'd been sure she'd say yes. Maybe because he didn't care if she did or not.

The surprise on Aiden's face turned into a wide smile. "Sure. Oh, but I have to call my parents first and make sure it's okay. I'm sure it'll be fine though."

Dylan watched as Aiden dug in his pocket for his phone. It was a cheap little flip phone. He probably couldn't get any apps on that thing. Could that old-fashioned-looking phone even get the Internet? How did he browse with a screen that small?

Aiden dialed and held the phone up. After a few rings, someone picked up. "Hi. Hey, Mom. ... No, nothing's wrong, don't worry. I actually called to ask if I could go to Dylan's house for dinner."

Dylan could just make out the voice on the other end. "That boy Mr. Johnson said was dangerous? The dragon something?"

Aiden gave Dylan a guilty look. "He's my friend, Mom. He's not as bad as everyone says. He's never been mean to me. Please? He's the only real friend I have here."

It warmed Dylan's heart, and he immediately told himself to stop being sappy.

After a pause of silence, Aiden's mom said, "Well, okay. But please be careful and don't stay out too late."

"I'll be careful, I promise, and I'll come home right after. Love you."

"I love you too. Bye."

"Bye." Aiden hung up and flipped the phone shut. "She said okay."

"I heard."

Aiden stuffed his phone in his pocket. "Oh yeah. I keep forgetting you have super hearing or whatever. So should I take the bus home with you?"

"I don't ride the bus. My mom drives me." He couldn't wait until he had a car of his own. But Shadow Valley had the same stupid license rules as the outside world. He could get a permit at fifteen, and he could get his own car at sixteen. Another year and a half till that magical car. Depending on his parents for rides sucked, but at least he didn't have to ride the bus. And he had a bike, which was better than nothing, although much less fun than it had been when he was a little kid.

"Oh." Aiden looked a bit hesitant as he pulled on his jacket. "I guess I get to meet her right away then." He slipped his backpack over his shoulders.

Dylan didn't have anything to take. He left his school stuff in his locker. He'd stopped bothering with homework last year. "Yeah. Come on." What would his mom think? He'd never brought a friend home before. He'd never had an actual friend before. He hadn't even mentioned Aiden to his parents. Well, they were in for a surprise.

His mom's dark blue BMW was waiting in the parking lot as usual along with the cars and SUVs of the other parents who picked up their kids. Dylan spared a glance for an older kid getting into his own car. Lucky.

As Dylan reached the BMW, Aiden said, "This is your mom's car? Wow."

"Yeah." He pulled open the door and leaned in. "Hey, Mom. This is Aiden. I asked him to have dinner with us." He hadn't bothered to ask, and now he worried that his mom might say no.

Her eyes went wide and she shifted to look past him at Aiden. "You're bringing someone home for dinner? You... Well, we'll be happy to have him. Come in, Aiden." She gestured for him to get into the car.

Aiden pulled open the door, looking nervous. "Thank you. It's very nice to meet you, ma'am. Mrs. Galloway."

"Please, call me Bryn."

He smiled shyly. "Okay, Bryn."

They got in the car and his mom pulled away.

"Dylan didn't mention that he had a friend." She gave Dylan a look out of the corner of her eye.

"We haven't known each other long," Dylan said, as if that was a defense. He knew this was a big deal, exactly the kind of thing his parents wished for him.

"I started school a few weeks late. I... Well, I'm a changeling, and I didn't know anything about all this until about two months ago."

Sitting in the front seat, Dylan couldn't see his friend, but he could hear the nervousness in his voice.

"Ah, you're the Spencer boy. Your parents are in the support group with my husband. I hope all of you are settling in all right."

"We're... adjusting. The shift in time is still difficult."

"Ah, yes. Going from a daytime schedule to a night one is quite a shift. I had to do it as well when we moved here. I remember it was a challenge at first."

They made small talk for the rest of the drive. Aiden went quiet for a while when they turned onto a wooded road. "Are we leaving Shadow Valley?"

"No, the border is a few miles away. We decided to live farther away from the center of town to, well, to make everyone else a little more comfortable," his mom said.

The house appeared through the trees and Aiden said, "Wow."

"Uh, yeah," Dylan said. "We have kind of a big house." He tried to imagine how Aiden saw it, four times as large as the average house in Shadow Valley, built in the style of an English manor. Three stories tall with wings jutting out from each side and a wide central staircase leading to double doors, a lot of people would consider it a mansion.

"You didn't tell me you were rich," Aiden said.

Dylan resisted the urge to look back and see his expression. "I didn't think it was important."

Dylan's mom said, "I've been alive for a very long time and have managed to accrue a lot of money over the years." She pulled up in front of the house.

"It's beautiful," Aiden said.

"Would you like a tour?" Dylan's mom offered. "I'm not trying to show off, but I thought you might like to see the rest of the house."

"Yes, thank you." Aiden got out of the car and Dylan followed. Aiden started up at the house. "You live in a freaking mansion."

Dylan shrugged. "It's just a house to me. I've lived here my whole life."

"Come on." His mom led the way, smiling.

Dylan followed along as his mom gave Aiden a tour of the house. The entryway, the bedrooms and offices on the second floor, the attic on the third floor, filled with boxes and crates and furniture draped with dust cloths. Dylan thought of the time he'd spent here as a little kid, pretending he was in a tomb, discovering treasures. A little smile twitched the corner of his mouth.

Then back downstairs to show the living room, the drawing room, the sitting room, the library. Outside along the short path to his dad's work shed. It was as large as a four-car garage, the smells of freshly cut wood and furniture stain hitting him as soon as they opened the door. It was the scent his dad always carried with him, even right after a shower.

"Joe!" His mom called.

Classical music blared, Chopin this time. Sitting at the workbench along the wall, his dad turned. "Yeah?" Then he saw the extra person. "Oh, who's this?"

"This is Aiden, Dylan's friend from school."

Dad's eyebrows went up. "Oh." He stood from the bench. "Nice to meet you, Aiden." He offered his hand.

Aiden shook it. "Thank you, sir."

Dylan's father glanced at them, expression questioning. "Dylan didn't mention he had a friend."

"It's, um, a pretty recent development," Aiden said. "You have a beautiful house."

"Thank you."

"Aiden is going to join us for dinner," his mom said.

"We're very happy to have your company," his dad said with a smile.

While they made dinner, Dylan took Aiden up to his room.

Aiden spent a moment staring around at all his stuff. "You have a wide-screen TV in your room?"

"Yeah. And an Xbox, PS4, a Blu-ray player, and some other stuff."

Aiden went to the shelf where Dylan kept his games and movies. "Wow, you have a lot of games. I guess you can afford to get whatever you want."

Dylan couldn't tell by his tone if he was judging him, or jealous, or just stating a fact. "Like my mom said, she has a lot of money."

"I can't imagine what Christmas must be like for you." Aiden turned to look at the posters and pictures on the walls. Bands, movies, a few hot girls.

"Christmas isn't much of a thing around here. But I get lots of stuff for my birthday." Was he spoiled? He didn't feel spoiled. Did Aiden think he was spoiled?

"No Christmas? That's sad. It's one of my favorite times of the year. Presents and a big tree and all the lights when the rest of the world is dark." Aiden sat in Dylan's big, comfy leather gaming chair, positioned just so in front of the TV.

"Some people put up lights and stuff. And big plastic Santas and snowmen. But it's not like you see in the movies."

Aiden laughed. "Nothing is like what you see in the movies. But it's good that at least some people do it. I suppose monst—I mean, supernatural creatures—wouldn't have a good reason to celebrate Christmas. Even the not-so-religious parts of it." He looked back at the shelf. "So I guess you play a lot of video games. Is that what you do when you get home instead of homework?"

"Pretty much. That, or go out to the gravel pit to burn off some steam. Wanna play something until dinner is ready?"

"Sure."

"Pick something that looks fun." Dylan grabbed his computer chair from the other side of the room and rolled it over. For just a second he considered asking Aiden to get out of his chair, but Aiden was a guest, and you were supposed to be nice to guests. He'd never had one, so he should at least try to do it right.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

For the next half hour they played Halo. Dylan could tell Aiden had never played before because he was terrible at it. "Don't you have any video games?"

"I have a DS," he said, "and a few computer games. I've never played this one though."

"Bet you never played Call of Duty either."

"No." Aiden made a face as he got his guy stuck in a corner again.

"We should play that next time." Dylan was a little surprised he was already thinking of inviting Aiden over again.

"Do you have a Pokémon game? I like those, and I think it'd be fun to play on such a big screen." Aiden managed to get his guy unstuck and shoot at the enemy.

Thank God they weren't playing online on a team. The other players would be pissed. Dylan liked to win, so he was annoyed at Aiden's constantly dying, but this was just for fun and didn't mean anything. He was glad they hadn't gone head-to-head. It would have been embarrassing.

"I don't think I do, but tell me which one you want and I can buy it." Shadow Valley was hidden from the outside world, but they weren't cut off. It took longer to get some things, especially new stuff, but there were ways to get practically anything.

Dad came up to let them know dinner was ready.

Aiden gave the dining room an impressed look, although he thankfully didn't stare. What he did stare at was the food. "Do you eat like this all the time?"

"No." Dylan rolled his eyes. "You didn't have to make a huge meal. He's just one more person."

"It's a big event. We wanted to make things more special," Mom said.

Dylan let out a sigh that was almost a growl. "He already thinks I'm a spoiled rich kid."

"No, I don't," Aiden protested. "I'm sorry if I sounded that way."

"Everyone, please sit down," Dad said. "The meal is already made, so let's just enjoy it."

"Did you really just make all this?" Aiden asked, taking a seat next to Dylan.

"Well, I used magic to help me," Mom said. Dylan thought she was showing off a little. "It's surprising how far you can adapt dragon magic to suit a wide variety of purposes. Dylan should be able to learn the same techniques in a few decades if he doesn't mind learning from his mother."

"I don't care about cooking. I can use a microwave." He took a big, juicy steak from the serving plate. Although, he considered, it might not be so bad to be able to make this for himself. A microwave dinner wouldn't be anywhere near this good.

"If I could cook all this in less than an hour, I sure would like to learn." Aiden took a steak from the platter before passing it along.

"Being a full-blooded fae, it should be much easier for you. You should be able to do amazing things, maybe even make broccoli taste like ice cream," his mom said, passing the bowl of potatoes to Aiden.

Aiden laughed. "I guess that would make me eat my vegetables."

He'd been worried Aiden would be afraid around his parents, especially his mom. Aiden knew she was dragonkin, even more dragon than Dylan was. But here he was, having a conversation and laughing like nothing was weird. He was more at ease around his parents than Dylan himself was. No argument, no sulking, no grunted, single-syllable answers.

"So, you two met at school. How did that happen? Dylan isn't exactly the talkative type," Dad said.

Aiden told the story of his first day at school, how Dylan had pointed him to the right side of the lunchroom and then they'd sat at the same table.

"Why didn't you tell us any of this?" his mom asked.

For a change, Dylan considered his response. Getting into an argument with his parents in front of Aiden would just make his friend uncomfortable. "I didn't really think it was that important."

Dad swallowed a bite of steak. "I'm sorry if this embarrasses you, Dylan, but... you're the first friend he's brought home," he told Aiden "As far as we know, you're the first real friend he's had."

He was embarrassed and filled his mouth with food to avoid saying anything. The steak was as tender and flavorful as ever.

"I kinda suspected," Aiden said, a little color in his cheeks.

When they were done eating, including chocolate cake for dessert, Aiden asked Dylan's mom if he could get a ride home. "I'd ask my parents, but they don't know where you live."

"Of course. Don't worry about it," Mom said. "Are you sure you have to leave so soon?"

"I promised my mom I'd come home right after dinner."

"All right. Dylan, do you want to ride with us?"

Which was really code that meant she wanted to talk to him on the way back. Probably to ask him why he hadn't mentioned having a friend. Or maybe to warn him not to be a jerk to Aiden and ruin it. Both his parents had talked to him about trying to make friends before, and he'd always answered that he didn't need any friends; he was fine on his own.

Dylan would rather hide from his parents in his room the rest of the night, but leaving Aiden alone with his mom might be worse. She could ask all the embarrassing questions she wanted.

"I guess," Dylan said. Besides, he wanted to spend a little more time with Aiden. He wished Aiden could stay longer. They could play more games or watch TV together. It wasn't quite the same as taking him out to the gravel pit for training.

On the ride to Aiden's house, Dylan's mom and Aiden chatted about how he was doing in school. Dylan wondered if this was what it was like to have a brother. Once in a while, he'd wished for one, or even a sister, someone else to talk to, to play with. Someone who would understand him. Aiden was sort of like the brother he'd never had.

Stop it. You're getting sappy again.

They pulled up to Aiden's house based on his directions of how to get there from school. The house was nice but way smaller than Dylan's. He had some understanding of why Aiden had been so impressed by the size of Dylan's house.

"See you tomorrow," Aiden said with a smile as he got out of the car.

"See ya." Dylan smiled a little bit too.

Aiden paused. "Hey, would you like to come to my house next week? I mean, I have to ask my parents if it's okay first. But if they say it's okay?"

"Uh, sure." Another first. He'd never been to anybody else's house before. This was what friends did, he supposed. They hung out together. They went to each other's houses sometimes. Much as Dylan kept insisting he didn't need any one else, he was starting to realize just how much he'd wanted things like this.

"Cool. Bye." Aiden grinned and went inside.

Mom pulled away from the curb. "So you have a friend you neglected to mention, and you decided to invite him home on a whim?" She gave him a look, eyebrow arched.

"The idea sort of just popped into my head I guess, yeah. I wasn't sure he'd say yes, and I didn't think you'd be upset if he said yes."

"I'm not. I think it's wonderful that you have a friend, and Aiden seems very nice. But I am upset that you never even mentioned him to either me or your father. This is a big deal, Dylan. We're very excited for you."

Dylan slouched lower in his seat. "Maybe I didn't tell you because I knew you'd make a big deal out of it."

"And we're only making a big deal out of it because you've held everyone at arm's length—or farther—ever since you started school. I came to Shadow Valley because I wanted you to have a good life."

"You came to Shadow Valley so the wardens wouldn't kill me. Don't make it sound like it's some noble thing. You were forced into it."

"I had more than one reason for coming here. Honestly Dylan, if you always look for the negative in everything, then that's all you'll find," Mom said. "I hope you stay friends with Aiden. I won't try to control your friendships, but I really hope you don't try to drive him away. Friends can make all the difference in life."

"I don't see you with any friends." He regretted it as soon as the words were out of his mouth. That was mean.

"I've been alive for a thousand years. I've had a number of friends in that time. Many of them are long dead."

Dylan didn't know what to say to that, so he just looked out the window.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Dylan filled his lungs again and let out a stream of fire. The tall buildings burned, flames reaching high into the night. He landed on an unburned building and watched the fire spread. Something like joy filled his chest, a deep satisfaction that he was doing exactly what he was meant to do, what he was born for. He settled his wings against his back, claws scratching against the concrete roof.

At the edge of the building, a large shadow stirred and took on a human shape. It moved toward him, becoming clearer with each step. Something about him felt... sharper than everything else. He had black eyes and black hair brushed back in a mass, tangled with fall-colored leaves. The man wore black leather pants and a vest.

"Greetings, dragonkin." He sketched a bow.

"Who are you?" Something was definitely odd. Dylan's mind grasped for an answer, trying to figure out why everything seemed out of place when only a moment ago he'd felt content.

"You may call me Morgan. And you are..." He tilted his head, staring off into the distance for a moment. "Dylan."

Dylan looked past the man, at the fire and the buildings. For a moment they looked faded and blurry, but then they suddenly sharpened and the scent of burning filled his nostrils. "What are you doing here?" This was his place and the strange man didn't belong. Should he burn him?

"I wish to speak with you, but it seems I have not quite gotten your attention." His black eyes gleamed as he looked up at Dylan. "You are dreaming."

The words made Dylan snap into himself, a strange sensation not quite like anything he'd felt before. He was suddenly aware that he was in a dream and this man wasn't part of it. No, Morgan was real. "How did you get inside my dream?"

"I followed your power. You are very strong, Dylan."

"And why are you here?" He glanced around at the burning city. I've dreamed about this before. His darkest desire, to set his magic loose and destroy everything in his path.

"This is the only way I could speak with you. Our worlds are separated, but you have the power to open the pathway again."

Dylan hunched down and lowered his head so he could see Morgan better. "Why would I want to do that?" He drew a deep breath, trying to scent the man's magic. Fallen leaves, crisp air.

"Because I can give you what you want." He tapped his fingers together and smiled.

It was a fae scent, but different from Aiden's. "How do you know what I want, dark fae?" Dylan was glad he'd kept his dragon shape and the deep voice that went with it. All fae were dangerous, and the dark fae more so. He wasn't afraid, but he was smart enough to be cautious.

He bowed. "I hope you can forgive the intrusion, but I have been observing your dreams these past few nights. I have seen the anger and the bitterness, the hatred for the way the wardens have trapped you one way or another. I have seen... this." Morgan gestured at the burning city all around them.

"You can give me a city to burn?" Dylan asked skeptically.

The black eyes of the dark fae glimmered eagerly. "I can give you freedom."

The sound of the flames faded, and the bright oranges and yellows around them dulled. Dylan tried to think of what to say next, to question the fae about how that was possible or what that meant.

"Our time is almost over," Morgan said. "I will visit you again soon."

Then he was gone, leaving Dylan alone with his unanswered questions.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

There were no targets or any other equipment set up in the gym, so Aiden knew it must be another match day. It was Friday, which had become the regular match day, so he'd expected it. Strangely, he felt a tiny bit of disappointment that he'd be spending the day on the bench watching instead of doing anything. Changing his clothes had been a waste.

Dylan, as usual, stood in the middle of the gym with a little smile on his face. The rest of the class drifted in, and Ms. Yang took quick attendance, knowing with a glance that everyone was there. Dylan bounced on his toes, waiting for her to announce who would face him.

"Okay. I think it's finally time for Aiden to take a turn." She smiled.

Aiden's stomach dropped into his feet. "I—I don't think I'm ready."

The smile stayed on her face and she walked closer to the bench. "I do. You've made amazing progress, and this is the best way to take your magic to the next level."

Behind her, Dylan gave him a questioning look.

"But why him? Can't I start with someone... easier?" The only people in class who could keep up with Dylan were the fox sisters, and even that was only when they were together.

"Because Dylan is the only one I'm sure you can't hurt. You don't know your limits yet, and combat is the way to bring that out."

"But what if he hurts me?" Aiden asked, his armpits sweating.

Ms. Yang turned and asked, "You wouldn't hurt your friend, would you?"

Dylan shook his head, his expression serious. But he still had an eager light in his eyes. No, Aiden didn't think he would, not deliberately, but he might get carried away.

"Come on, Aiden," Ms. Yang said. "Get up."

"You can do it, Aiden," Izume called.

"Yeah," Sakura said.

With shaking legs, Aiden got to his feet. Dylan wouldn't try to hurt him, and he hadn't hurt any of the other kids in class aside from bumps and bruises. This wasn't a fight; this was practice, not all that different from the training they did out in the gravel pit. Aiden kept telling himself that as he walked to the middle of the gym and faced Dylan.

"I'm flattered that you're so scared, but the only thing I'm going to hurt is your pride." Dylan smiled, shifting into his usual fighting pose.

If Aiden was the macho type, that might have worked. "I don't care about my pride."

Dylan sighed. "Just do something. I promise I'll go easy on you."

Many of his spells so far, the ones that came most naturally to him, were about growing things or transforming natural objects. Hadn't done much that would be good in a fight, much to Dylan's disappointment during training. But he had been able to move things, like the lockers in the locker room and throwing Conner Mays across the hall.

Aiden put his hands up and waited a moment for that tingling feeling in his chest. As soon as it came, he shoved the energy out toward Dylan.

Dylan blocked it, skidding back a few inches. "Not bad."

Aiden was fairly sure that had been close to the amount of force he'd used against Conner. Dylan had made blocking it look easy.

"My turn." Dylan threw fire at him.

Aiden tried to tell him to wait, but the word came out in a scream as the fire shot toward him. He had no idea what to do. Instinctively, he threw his hands up, and it took him a moment to realize he hadn't been crispy fried. But the fire wasn't gone. It hit the floor and spread around him in a circle.

"Come on. I said I wouldn't hurt you." Dylan's face wavered in the heat from the flames. "But I want to see if you can get out of that."

Trying to calm down enough to think, Aiden looked around. Water would put out a fire, but he didn't know any spells to create it. Maybe he could blow it out, like a big match? He pushed his magic toward the flames, thinking of air. The fire wavered, and in a few spots it went out. "It worked!"

"Is that all?" Dylan rolled his eyes. "Come on, you can do more than that." With a flick of his hand, he doubled the size of the flames.

With a cry, Aiden took a few steps back, but the fire was behind him too. The heat made his skin tight and his throat dry. How could Dylan think something like this was fun? Aiden forced himself to close his eyes so he could concentrate. Fear made it easier to draw on his magic, but he needed to direct it with will.

He used the wind spell again, putting much more power into it this time. It burst out of him, making the air instantly cooler and putting out the fire directly in front of him.

"Much better," Dylan called from his spot several yards away. The gleam was still in his eyes.

He wants me to improve so he can have a more challenging opponent. Strangely, that was the thought that let him relax a little. Dylan would do his best not to hurt him, not even by accident, because he wanted to fight Aiden.

Aiden turned his head and saw there was still fire behind him.

"Go on. I won't hit you in the back," Dylan said.

Aiden focused his power again. It was harder without fear driving him, but that just meant he needed more concentration. Wind rushed from him and blew out the flames. A smile tugged at his lips. Sometimes he kind of enjoyed doing magic, and those sometimes were happening more and more often.

"Turn around," Dylan shouted.

Aiden tensed as he did it, wondering if he was going to get more fire thrown at him. Dylan stood juggling tiny fireballs, and when Aiden had fully turned, his friend threw one of them. Yep, just like he'd thought.

With a yelp, Aiden ducked and ended up in a crouch on the floor.

"That's not how it's supposed to work," Dylan said, clearly amused.

"I didn't know there were rules," Aiden said in a shaky voice.

"You're supposed to be practicing your magic." Three fireballs went around in a loop as Dylan kept juggling them.

"I could practice it in a safer way." Using a target in class and at the gravel pit had been working so far.

Dylan threw another fireball and Aiden jumped as it landed near his feet. Aiden looked over at Ms. Yang for help. She just shook her head. Okay, Dylan is just messing around. He isn't really trying to hurt you, he just wants a reaction.

Using wind to blow out the fire wasn't good enough for Dylan. Or for Ms. Yang. He had to think of something that would impress them enough to let him end the match and sit down again. And not just think it, but actually do it.

Sweat trickled from his armpits and his heart pounded in his ears. The whole class was watching, waiting for him to do something. Everyone said he was powerful, but he felt like he'd been given a test without learning any of the material. Okay, well, a little of the material.

Dylan threw another fireball at him. He had a second to decide what to do. He just wanted the fireball gone. Aiden brought up a hand and wished the fireball away as hard as he could. A few feet away, the fireball seemed to hit an invisible wall and disappeared with a slight hiss and a puff of smoke.

Aiden could hardly believe it.

Dylan's eyebrow went up. "There we go." He bounced the remaining fireball in his hand. "Try it again."

The fireball streaked toward Aiden. His hand was still up and he repeated the spell, freaked out that he was going to screw it up this time. But the fireball winked out again, and Aiden's shoulders sagged with relief.

"All right," Ms. Yang said. "Good match. Wonderful job, Aiden."

Nearly shaking with relief, Aiden headed for the bench.

Dylan clapped him on the back. "Good job. We should try that at the gravel pit."

Aiden slumped onto the bench and shook his head. "I don't want to do that again anytime soon."

Deep down, though, a little part of him had enjoyed letting his magic loose.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Dylan leaned against a locker, a smirk on his face. "Time to pay up."

"What?"

"The bet. You didn't think I'd forgotten it, did you?"

Aiden had hoped. He really, really had. Running through the hall in his underwear. Oh God.

"Now?" His cheeks heated and his stomach fluttered enough to make him feel ill.

"You're not going to back out, are you?" Dylan leaned closer.

Aiden closed his eyes and took a ragged breath. Pictured the looks on people's faces as he ran by in almost nothing. "I'll... I'll do it." He had no doubt Dylan would have done it if he'd lost. Of course, running down the hall in his underwear probably wouldn't have bothered Dylan. No one would dare laugh at him; that was for sure.

Dylan took the book from his hands. "I'll watch your stuff." The wicked grin on his face didn't make Aiden feel any better. He left his book and notebooks with Dylan and started walking away.

"Just down the hall?"

"Start from the bathroom, go down the hall and around that way and back to the bathroom. So you can put your clothes on again." Dylan's grin widened.

Would it really be that bad to refuse? What could Dylan do to him? His friend wouldn't hurt him, but Aiden wondered if Dylan might come up with something worse. A prank even more embarrassing than this. Besides, Aiden had agreed to this. He couldn't go back on his word.

His heart beat faster and faster as he got closer to the bathroom. Slipping inside, he went straight for a stall and closed the latch with a shaking hand. What if someone came in here and took his clothes while he was running?

"I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered, pulling his shirt over his head. He hung it on the coat hook and bent to untie his shoes.

"Hurry up."

Aiden flinched at the sound of Dylan's voice. He'd been so focused on what he was doing that he hadn't noticed his friend on the other side of the door. "I am."

In another minute he stood in only his underwear. At least they were clean.

"Give me your clothes. I'll watch those too."

Aiden wondered if Dylan was going to hide them. Would he be that mean? With a deep breath, Aiden opened the door and handed Dylan his clothes.

Dylan smirked. "The faster you run, the sooner this is over."

Aiden tried to stop it, but the heat crept up his cheeks. Standing in his underwear and blushing in front of a hot guy. God, could this get any worse? With a deep breath, he sprinted for the door. As soon as he left the bathroom, kids turned to stare and make exclamations. He tried not to look at them and focused on where he was going.

A group of girls pointed and giggled. He dodged around them, wondering if he should jump off a cliff so he wouldn't have to face any of these people again. It felt like an eternity, but he knew it didn't take him very long to reach the end of the hall and turn. He ran right past Toby, who dropped his jaw and stared.

Maybe Aiden could drown himself in the toilet when he got back to the bathroom.

Another turn just as the warning bell rang. Great. On top of all this, he was going to be late to class. And everyone would know why. At least the crowd was thinning, so it was easier to run through. Laughter, shouts, and catcalls followed him. He was getting tired, but there was no way he was slowing down.

One last turn and the bathroom was just ahead.

Dylan stood by the door, barely able to hold Aiden's clothes and books as he doubled over with laughter. "Oh God, I can't believe you did it."

Strangle Dylan first, then drown himself in the toilet.

Aiden didn't stop, just shoved open the bathroom door and ran in. He didn't even want to know how dirty his feet were getting. Ew, ew, ew. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Dylan follow him into the bathroom, still cracking up.

Aiden stopped in front of the stall. "Gimme."

Dylan hesitated and Aiden held his breath. Would he play keep-away? Run out and make Aiden chase him through the school? But Dylan handed his clothes over, and Aiden realized he'd probably just been trying to adjust things so he wouldn't drop the books.

While Aiden got dressed as fast as he could, Dylan's laughter echoed off the walls. The final bell rang.

Great.

* * *

Aiden's phone buzzed, and he opened it to see a text from Hanna.

Alice, did you see that guy in his underwear? What was that about?

He groaned and dropped his head on the desk. Oh God, Hanna had seen that. He wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out.

All through class, people had been snickering and whispering. Besides the embarrassment, he'd been terrified that he'd get called down to the principal's office. And now this.

The class was empty by the time he looked up. He stared at the text for another moment before replying. I heard he lost a bet with Dylan. Crazy, right?

Her response came back in seconds. Y would he bet? What was teh bet?

He started typing before wondering how "Alice" would know. Hanna was afraid Conner would get hold of her phone and read her texts, so things had to look as realistic as possible. Aiden sent, Something stupid, I'm sure. Shoving the phone in his pocket, he hurried for his next class. He didn't want to be late for another one.

* * *

As soon as Aiden got on the bus, Toby and Tina waved at him. Aiden winced, picturing the look on Toby's face as he ran by in the hall.

"What the heck was that?" Toby asked.

"In your underwear?" Tina asked.

His cheeks heated as he sat next to Toby. "I lost a bet with Dylan."

"What bet?" Toby leaned closer.

"We had a bet a while back, when I first got to school. If he guessed what I was before I guessed what he was, then I had to run down the hall in my underwear." All those people laughing, pointing. And Hanna. He hadn't even noticed her, but she'd been there. Or maybe she'd only heard about it from someone? That was something to hope for, at least.

"Wow, I can't believe you did it." Tina laughed. "And I can't believe you made a bet with him."

"I can't believe you're friends with him," Toby said, fiddling with his hat. "You're either braver or dumber than anyone else in school."

Tina smacked his shoulder. "That's not nice."

"Ow! But it's true. I mean, friends with a dragonkin?"

"That's the problem, you know," Aiden said, his anger rising. Part of him was glad to be distracted from his embarrassment. "You all treated him like he was dangerous and different, so he started acting like it. This town is full of monsters, and you still had to find someone to pick on."

Toby leaned back. "I'm sorry, okay."

They were quiet as the bus started up.

"He was laughing when you were running down the hall. Dylan, I mean," Tina said. "I've never seen him laugh like that."

"I don't think I've even seen him smile before," Toby said.

How sad. Dylan had led a sullen, lonely school life, and Aiden suspected his home life hadn't been much better. His parents seemed really nice though. Had it all been an act because Aiden was around, or were they like that all the time? Aiden had never gotten any indication from Dylan that they were mean to him.

Why did Dylan have to carry around so much anger? People treated him like he was dangerous, but that didn't mean he had to let it affect his home life. Then Aiden thought about the locker-room incident. Even when he wasn't at school, the way the kids looked at him and his fear of himself had stayed with him no matter where he was. Even now it felt like he was still carrying it with him.

"I guess there's a silver lining to me being the laughingstock of the whole school, then. At least I made him laugh and smile." Aiden still wanted to strangle him though.

"You have a nice butt," Tina said.

Toby made a face. "Ew."

Aiden blushed again. "Umm... thank you?"

Toby chuckled and punched him playfully. "Don't be too embarrassed. At least you weren't naked. And you made Dylan laugh, which is like... I don't know, something really rare."

How surprised would they be if they knew he'd had dinner at Dylan's house? And that Dylan had been to his?

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Dylan flew over the burning city, breathing flames. Another building ignited, and another. The sharp scent of burning materials filled the air. Everything was hyperreal—the sights, the sounds, the scents. And then in a flash, Dylan knew he was dreaming. Not only that, but he'd had this dream before, several times. The last few times he'd talked to a dark fae named Morgan. There, up ahead, was the building where they'd met before. Dylan backwinged and landed on the rooftop, looking toward the corner where the dark fae always appeared.

There was the shadow, which coalesced into a man's shape. In a few seconds it sharpened into the man with leaves in his hair, carrying the scent of fall. "Hello again, dragonkin Dylan."

"You disappeared before you told me what you wanted me to do. You always leave me hanging, and it's starting to piss me off." Dylan loved his growly, deep dragon voice.

Morgan bowed, his black eyes glimmering. "My apologies. I will tell you now. Starting at the dark of the moon, take a vessel of water and prick your finger over it. Just one drop, but you must do this every night for three cycles of the moon."

Dylan frowned. "Blood magic. That's serious stuff."

"Yes, dragonkin. I need you to perform very powerful magic to open the pathways between our worlds. And for your assistance, I pledge to take power away from the wardens. They will no longer cage you with their rules."

Dylan had been warned against dark fae by his mom. "Why do you want to open the pathways so bad?"

Morgan's eyes narrowed slightly. "They were never meant to be closed. Faery is meant to be our home and our retreat, but it was never meant to be our prison."

"So you feel as trapped as I do." Some kids got temporary passes to go out into the human world for vacations, but Dylan had never been allowed one. He was deemed too dangerous. His whole life, he had never been outside Shadow Valley.

"Yes, you see," Morgan said and threaded his fingers together, "we have a mutual solution to our problems."

It didn't even have to be about his twisted fantasies of burning down large cities. It was just about the freedom to go wherever he wanted and not worry about hiding his powers. He could see up close the things he'd only seen on a screen. The ocean, the desert, cities like Los Angeles and New York. Or places outside the US, like Paris and London. Australia. Or he could go to Africa, see lions running wild. Go to the mountains of Norway where his mom had grown up. Anywhere and everywhere.

"And after I've made this blood potion for three months?" Dylan asked.

"I will give you further instructions when the third month nears its end. I must make my own preparations."

Behind the dark fae, Dylan noticed the color fading from the flames, the sign that the dream was about to end.

Dylan grumbled. "So more bullshit from you? Why won't you just tell me now?"

"What difference will it make? You must wait anyway, and you may forget the instructions. They must be followed in detail, and I would need to repeat them to make sure you remember them. Besides, our time here is coming to an end once again. Remember, one drop each night into a vessel of water, starting at the dark of the moon, which is two days hence. And be sure that you conceal the vessel so no other may find it."

Dylan snorted. "Of course I wouldn't leave it out for my parents to find." Or Aiden when he came to visit. Dylan hadn't mentioned these dream visits to his friend. He knew Aiden wouldn't understand.

"Good, good." Almost all the color behind Morgan was gone. "I shall visit again in a fortnight." Then he was gone.

"Wait," Dylan said as the dream continued to fade. "What's a fortnight?" But the dream world disappeared, and he passed into regular dreams.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Aiden's phone buzzed just before he reached the locker room. He waited until he was inside before he checked it. A text from Hanna. When he read it, he went cold.

I think he might hurt me.

Aiden sat down on the locker-room bench and stared at it. Had Conner found out? Or was it something else? In any case, she was in danger.

"Hurry up," Dylan called as he walked by. He stopped. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Aiden handed him the phone.

"Hmm. That doesn't sound good."

"No, it doesn't." Aiden took the phone back and stared at the text again. "What should I do?"

Dylan shrugged and sat on the edge of the bench. "Up to you."

"I don't even know where she is." His stomach twisted. "What if this is my fault?"

"For texting her? I guess it could be."

Aiden wanted to help her, to stop Conner from hurting her. What if he was hurting her right now? Aiden didn't know what to do. He didn't even know what to say back to her. He needed to know she was okay.

Are you okay? He texted back. Then he waited, his palm sweating against the phone.

"Come on, get dressed. You're gonna be late for class."

Aiden glared at him. "Don't you care? She might be in trouble and it might be my fault. Besides, is it really that important if we're late to class?"

"I don't want to be late."

Aiden shook his head, willing a message to appear on his phone. "This is the only class you care about." He was late almost every single day to homeroom.

"Because it's the only one that matters. Come on." Dylan stood.

"Wait. I'm going to call her." He had her number programmed into his phone after all. All he had to do was hit Call instead of Message. She'd told him never to call, but if she was afraid enough to text him something like that, then it was an emergency.

Aiden hit the Call button and lifted the phone to his ear, his breath coming fast. It rang and rang. What if she had it on silent? What if she was ignoring it because she was in class? What if something had already happened to her?

She picked up. "I can't talk right now," she said in a low whisper, her voice shaky.

"Where are you? Are you okay?"

"In the field—" The call cut off.

"Hanna?" He pulled the phone away to see she'd hung up. Fear made his throat go dry. "I think she's in trouble."

"Of course she's in trouble. She's answering her phone in the middle of class," Dylan said.

Shadow Valley High School was more lax about phone use than Aiden's last school had been, but no one was supposed to make or take calls during class, or send texts either.

Aiden stuffed his phone in his pocket and grabbed his backpack. "Where is the field? She said she was in the field."

"Man, you're really serious about this."

"I think she's seriously in trouble," he snapped. "How can you not care?"

"Because it's not my problem."

"Would you care if I was in trouble?"

"'Course I would."

"So why do you care about me and not about her?"

"Because you're my friend and she's not."

"Well she's my friend, so I'm going to do something." He still had no idea what he was going to do. What if he showed up and Conner was hitting her? Then he remembered how he'd thrown Conner across the hall. He had more control now, and if he wanted to, he could probably do much more serious damage to Conner this time. Even if it was for the sake of protecting Hanna, the idea of hurting Conner made him feel a little sick.

Aiden started heading for the door and stopped. "Will you come with me?"

Dylan looked skeptical, and Aiden thought he was going to say no. "You want me to kick Conner's ass?"

"Maybe." Aiden didn't like that idea, but he liked it better than having to hurt Conner himself.

The corner of Dylan's mouth tilted up for a second. "I know where the field is." He stood up and led the way.

The field was part of the school grounds, out behind the annex building. A wooded area separated it from the school and a path led through the trees, visible even under the few inches of snow.

"They take werewolves and ghouls and people like that out here to practice using their senses in a more natural environment," Dylan explained as they hurried along over the trail. "This"—he pointed around at the trees—"blocks out the school and dulls the scents coming from it so they can focus."

"So she and Conner have a class out here?" Aiden had his jacket because he brought it with him to Major Magical Control so he could go straight to the bus afterward, but Dylan was just in his gym clothes—worn jeans and a tattered shirt.

"Yeah." His breath steamed in the night air.

"So there should be a teacher out here with them." Aiden relaxed a little. Maybe she really had cut the call because she'd gotten in trouble for using it in class.

"The field is a big open area, so if they're there, the teacher can watch them. But look around. There's woods all around the field. If they're doing tracking or something, it won't be hard for Conner to find her somewhere the teacher can't see them."

The worry came back full force. "Can you find them? Do you have... dragon senses or something?" Aiden asked. Dylan had said he knew what kind of magic he had by smelling it. If he could smell magic, he could probably smell other things.

Dylan chuckled. "Yeah. I have their trail now."

"Can we go faster?" He pictured Hanna getting smacked by Conner, hitting the ground. Aiden should have known he was the type from the way he acted. He should have warned Hanna.

Dylan picked up the pace, coming out of the trees into a large open field. The snow made it brighter, but it was still hard to see. Aiden tripped on something and made a little grunt.

"You okay?" Dylan asked.

"I'm fine."

"Too dark for you?"

"Yeah. I wish we had a flashlight." Mr. Johnson had told him he'd be able to see better in the dark than humans, but it might take a while for that to fully develop, just like his other powers.

A flame appeared in Dylan's hand. "I have this."

"Oh. Right," Aiden said.

"Hey! What are you doing over there?" a man called out.

"Personal business," Dylan snapped and set off at a jog across the field, making fresh tracks in the snow.

The flame cast just enough light for Aiden to see a few feet around them, and he kept up with Dylan as they made it to the other side of the clearing and plunged into the trees again. No trails here. Most of the leaves had fallen, making it a little easier to get through the undergrowth.

Aiden breathed deep, trying to smell what Dylan could smell. Dylan zigzagged a bit but kept going in a generally southwest direction for several minutes.

"I can hear them," Dylan said in a low voice. "He's shouting. Should we announce ourselves or do you want to sneak up on them?" Dylan glanced back at him, eyes faintly glowing green.

"I just want him not to hurt her. I don't care how that happens."

A dangerous smile curved Dylan's lips and he took off at a run.

"Wait!" Aiden called. Dylan had the fire, which was the only way Aiden could make it through the woods without tripping or running into things. He ran after his friend.

It turned out they didn't have far to run. In a cluster of trees, Conner stood over a crying Hanna.

"Conner," Dylan growled, fire blooming in a ring around him, turning the snow to steam. "Leave the girl alone."

Conner turned, his face a mix of anger and confusion. "What the hell?"

"Hanna, are you okay?" Aiden asked. He didn't see any bruises or other marks on her face, but that didn't mean he hadn't hit her somewhere else.

She looked at him in shock and didn't say anything.

"It's the cavalry, dickhead," Dylan told Conner, a grin on his face. His eyes were bright green now, contrasting with the red-orange of the flames.

Aiden didn't want to get closer, afraid Conner would hurt him. Then he shook himself. What was he afraid of? He could, and had, defended himself against Conner, and besides, Dylan was right there. Conner wouldn't even be able to touch him before Dylan would be on the older boy.

Holding that thought firmly in his mind, he stepped up and offered a hand to Hanna. "Come on."

She gave Conner a guilty look before taking his hand. Aiden helped her up and led her several feet back.

"Are you okay?" he repeated.

"Yeah, yeah," she said, still dazed. "What are you doing here?"

"I was worried when I got your text, and more worried when you cut off the call." He searched her face again for any damage. He'd only seen her that once, and only for a moment. She was just as pretty as he remembered.

"I knew it," Conner growled. "I knew you'd try to steal my girl." He pointed a finger at Hanna. "I knew you were cheating on me, you slut."

A fireball streaked past Conner's head, and he ducked with a surprised yelp.

"Watch your mouth, asshole," Dylan said.

"I wasn't cheating!" Fresh tears leaked out of Hanna eyes. "I just wanted a friend. That's all. Just a friend. You don't let me have any friends outside the pack."

"You don't need anyone outside the pack. The pack is everything." Conner threw back his head and howled.

"I can deep-fry your ass before any of your friends get here," Dylan said. He looked like nothing would make him happier.

"She's safe. Let's just go," Aiden said.

"Safe for now, but I'll make sure Hanna is sorry." Conner glared and started to smile; then Dylan was on him.

Dylan slammed the werewolf into a tree. "You won't touch her." Dylan had his arm across the other boy's throat.

Conner's eyes were wide with fear. "Hey, get off!"

"Dylan, let him go," Aiden said.

"Don't hurt him," Hanna said.

"You're gonna leave her alone and leave Aiden alone. Got that?" Dylan brought his free hand up and a small flame appeared, dancing in his palm.

Conner's eyes flicked to the fire, then back to Dylan. His jaw set. "Is she slutting around with you too?"

Aiden ran the few feet between them and grabbed Dylan's arm, pulling the hand with the fire away. "That's enough."

Dylan turned his glowing green eyes on Aiden. "No, it's not."

His heart was in his throat, seeing his friend like this again. The kind of monster the other monsters were afraid of. It took all his courage not to back away. "Please. Let's go."

Either his words or the look of fear that must have been on his face, or maybe both, got through to Dylan. With a growl, he took his arm off Conner's throat. Just as relief crossed Conner's face, Dylan's leg came up, kneeing him in the stomach.

Dylan stepped away as Conner doubled over. "Fine, let's go."

Two other werewolves appeared through the trees. They hesitated when they saw Dylan, their eyes flicking to their alpha. Aiden tensed.

"Try it. I dare you," Dylan said.

Their gazes dropped and their shoulders hunched. One of them whined.

Aiden took Hanna's hand and headed back in the general direction of the school. "Dylan?"

"Right behind you."

Aiden glanced back to make sure his friend was following. The two werewolves went to help their alpha, and the glare Conner shot at them made Aiden shiver.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

All the way back to school, Dylan hoped one of the werewolves would try something. Nothing happened, and the built-up anger had nowhere to go, burning inside him and begging for release. He didn't even have the usual outlet of Major Magical Control. Class was half over.

"Is there somewhere I can take you? Somewhere you'll be safe?" Aiden asked Hanna.

"I'll be fine," she said. "I'll just get my stuff and wait for the bus." She smelled of fear and shock. Dylan couldn't believe he'd skipped Major Magical Control to go rescue her. Well, no. He'd done it for Aiden.

"We'll walk you to your locker."

Aiden smelled of fear too. Dylan had scared him again, and he felt sorry for that. Aiden was one of the few people who weren't afraid of him, and he wanted to keep it that way.

They reached her locker, and she took out her bag and a few books with shaking hands. "My phone. It's out in the woods somewhere. He... he threw it when he caught me talking to you."

"We'll find it tomorrow. You'll be fine."

Did Aiden do this all the time? Rescue the damsel in distress and whatever? He wasn't exactly calm about it, but he did seem to have some idea of what he was doing, trying to reassure her.

"Okay." She slung her bag over her shoulder. "Thank you," she told Aiden, her voice just above a whisper. Her gaze flicked up to Dylan. "You too."

"If he tries to hurt you again, call me or come find one of us, okay?" Aiden said.

She nodded.

"And you should tell your parents and the school so they know he's threatened to hurt you."

Her eyes went wide. "I can't tell my parents. They'd be so..." She shook her head. "No way."

"You should tell somebody," Aiden said. "Come on. We'll walk you outside and wait until your bus comes."

So much for getting back to gym class. They went out and waited with Hanna on the front steps of the school. There were a few other kids outside, lounging or smoking.

"Are you cold, Dylan?" Aiden asked. "You can go get your coat."

"I'm fine." He glanced around, looking for Conner. It would feel so good to burn him, or beat the crap out of him. Kneeing him in the gut had felt nice, but he wanted more. Someone to take all this anger out on.

The buses showed up, and Hanna pointed out the one that was hers. She thanked them and got on. Dylan and Aiden stayed on the steps, watching to make sure Conner didn't go after her.

"Will your mom give me a ride home if I stay late?"

Dylan shrugged. "Sure."

So they waited until her bus had left, all the other kids streaming past them on their way home. Then he and Aiden went back to the locker room so Dylan could get his coat and other things. The locker room was even quieter than usual.

Aiden sat on the bench while Dylan pulled things out of his locker. "Why are you so angry all the time?"

"Just my nature, I guess."

"Your parents don't hurt you or anything, do they?"

Dylan laughed. "God, no. They're way too nice. They hardly even yell at me." He pulled on his coat.

"Then what is it? You looked like you were going to kill him."

"I told you about my choices, staying here or hiding what I am in the human world. The frustration builds up and I look for a way to let it out." He closed his locker, the sound echoing through the empty room. "That's why I go out to the gravel pit."

Aiden was still looking at him. "But is that all? I'm not trying to be nosy, but I want to understand. Maybe I can help."

Dylan snorted. "Help. Right."

Aiden looked hurt. "Fine. Forget it." He got up.

First scaring him in the woods and now this. Guilt was almost as bad as anger. "You know how I told you my grandfather is a dragon? That the virgin sacrifice didn't always get eaten?"

"Yeah."

Dylan took a breath. And another. It was hard to say. Disgust and anger trapped the words in his throat. "My grandmother didn't want to... The dragon said he would eat her if she didn't..." He swallowed. Why couldn't he just say the words? His mom had been able to. All he could manage was, "You know."

Aiden frowned and a moment later the color drained from his face. "Do you mean"—his voice dropped into a whisper—"rape?"

Dylan looked away, staring at the far wall. "Yeah. My mom told me last year. And I just, I want to go kill him for that, but he's already dead." And that meant his anger had nowhere to go, no outlet. "What I am, this magic I have... I've always loved it. But now I think about where it came from, and I want to hate it." Dylan shoved his hands in his pockets and shifted his feet. The words clogged in his throat again, but this time it was because he felt like crying.

"That makes sense," Aiden said quietly.

"I hate it but I still love it. I feel like it's ripping me apart all the time. It feels so good to let it out, at the gravel pit or in class, but then I think about where it came from. I was born, I exist, because something horrible happened." Although his voice was thick, he managed to keep the tears from falling. Crying in front of Aiden would be the ultimate humiliation.

Then he thought about what he'd just admitted. With horror, he realized Aiden was going to look at him differently now. The same way Dylan looked at himself. And Aiden didn't even know the worst of it yet. Dylan finally looked at his friend and saw nothing but sympathy there.

"You can't help what happened. It's not your fault." Aiden lifted his arms and took a step toward him.

Dylan realized what was happening just in time and backed away. "Are you trying to hug me?"

"Well, yeah. I thought it would help."

"No. No hugging."

Aiden dropped his arms, and suddenly he looked angry. "What's wrong with hugging? You think it's gay or something?"

"Uh, what? No. I just... don't do hugs." He'd even gotten his parents to stop hugging him. "Come on. My mom is waiting."

Aiden gave him a skeptical look but followed him out to the parking lot. Good. Dylan was glad that was over with.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

The burning city, the power of his dragon body. Dylan hadn't had this dream for a while, and he knew instantly what it meant. Morgan had come for another visit. It had been two weeks since he'd last spoken to the dark fae.

He went straight for the untouched building, landing on the roof.

Instead of forming out of the shadows, Morgan was already waiting for him. "Greetings, dragonkin Dylan."

"I've been making the blood potion. So what's next?" Dylan shifted, claws scraping on concrete. So far he hadn't been able to take this shape in the real world, but he kept trying.

"Patience, young one." The dark fae smiled. "We must wait until the potion is complete, two and a half more cycles of the moon." He tapped a long nail against his lower lip. "However, there is one task you can undertake. We must find a place of power, such as a fairy ring, or a mound, or a circular grove. It should be as close to the barrier surrounding your town as possible."

"And why is that?"

"I need to draw on the power of the barrier to open the pathways between our worlds. It will take a large amount of magic, so we must have as much as possible."

"And once you're through, you'll... take care of the wardens?" That probably meant kill them, and Dylan tried to figure out if that bothered him or not. One came to his house once a year to check on him, and that was the only contact he'd had with them. But he knew they were out there, preventing him from living a free life.

A smile curved the dark fae's lips. "Yes. Freeing us all to do as we please. Returning things to their natural order."

Dylan shifted, lowering his head. "Why were the pathways closed?"

Morgan began to pace. "Many of your years ago, before the treaty, the ancestors of your wardens decided that your world had too much magic, that it was too dangerous for mundane humans. So they built a powerful spell that closed off Faery from the human world to prevent us from traveling back and forth. I have heard they closed off other realms as well. It is very difficult to cross realms now. Those who can manage must use powerful magics and risk being trapped on the other side."

It made him think of Aiden. Someone had brought him from Faery, traded him with a human child. "Do you know Aiden's parents? Do you know how they got across or why they did it?" What would he do with the information if he got it, though? If he told Aiden, his friend would wonder how he got it, and he'd have to explain the visits from the dark fae.

The dark fae put his hands behind his back and stopped pacing. "Who is Aiden?"

"He's my... he's a changeling. So someone must have brought him over from Faery. He doesn't know who his parents are, or why they brought him here. I was hoping you might."

"Ah, a changeling." His black eyes sparkled and Dylan regretted giving him the information. "Alas, I do not know all the fae in the realm and have not heard of anyone who might have made such an exchange. But I can make inquiries if you wish."

"You know what, never mind." Dark fae were dangerous allies, and he didn't want to be in this one's debt. Opening the pathways between their worlds would benefit them both, so it was an even exchange. And Dylan would be sure to bring that up if Morgan ever mentioned payment.

The dark fae made a little bow. "Very well." The colors started to fade around him. "Find me a suitable place within your world. Remember, a place of power near the barrier that hides your town from the human world."

"A grove, a mound, or a fairy ring. I'll remember," Dylan told him. He always missed his deep dragon voice when he woke up. His regular voice still cracked sometimes, and it was just... embarrassing.

"Good. I shall visit you again in one month. That should give you enough time to find a suitable location." The dark fae made a deeper bow and was gone.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

"Nature magic is harder in the winter. So many things are asleep," Phoebe said.

Aiden shivered on the bench. It was cold today, and there was a fresh layer of snow on the ground. He wished he was practicing with Dylan because there would be fire to keep him warm.

"But the magic is still there. You can even make things bloom out of season. Come on." She led him farther into the park and pointed at a spot that looked no different than the rest of the snow-covered ground. "There are flowers here. Dig down until you see leaves."

Aiden knelt in the snow, wincing at the cold soaking through his jeans. He held his hands against the patch of snow and concentrated. In a moment, the snow started to melt. Dylan had taught him that. A warming spell. Aiden didn't use it on himself because he didn't yet have enough control not to make it too warm.

"That works too," she said.

Aiden glanced up at her with a smile. "I'm learning all kinds of things." He still struggled in his classes, but he'd seen a lot of progress. On his best days he believed he was catching up.

"Now focus on the plant. It's sleeping, so you need to wake it up. As soon as you feel the energy shift, tell it to bloom."

It was like the plant they'd grown for Minor Magical Control. Aiden closed his eyes and focused. It took longer to find the energy because, as she'd said, it was sleeping. But once he did, it didn't take much effort to wake it up. The hum of power zipped through him and he opened his eyes to see a flower growing up through the little hole in the snow. A bud appeared at the end and opened to reveal a pink bloom. In seconds it had fully blossomed, a bright splash of color against the snow.

"Excellent job. You're learning very fast."

"You're a good teacher." He stood and dusted snow from his pants.

She laughed a little. "Thanks. But you didn't learn that warming spell from me. You have excellent teachers at school."

"I didn't learn that in school. Dylan taught me."

"Dylan Galloway? The dragonkin?" She stared at him.

Uh-oh. He'd forgotten he hadn't told her. "Yeah. He's my friend. He's been training me on weekends."

"Dragonkin are dangerous. You should stay away from him."

"God, everybody says that! You don't know him. Nobody's bothered to try to get to know him because they're all too busy being afraid of him." He thought about the confrontation with Conner in the woods behind school. "Yeah, he's dangerous. So am I. I threw a kid across the hall because I got scared. I could do a lot worse now."

"That's not the same thing, Aiden."

"How is it not? I have this power inside me that can hurt people, kill people. We're the same."

"Dragonkin are different," she said firmly. "It's in their nature to destroy. We create. They're the opposite of light fae."

"Dark fae are the opposite of light fae. Dylan has problems, but he's a good person."

She sighed. "All right. Maybe it's possible Dylan is different."

"He is. And so is his mom. She's one of the nicest people I've ever met, and she's more dragon than he is." Dylan's mom had a serene air about her. He never would have guessed she was part dragon.

"Still, just... be careful."

Aiden tried to calm down. He turned to look at the flower. "That's what I'm doing. Learning to control my power so I can be careful."

"I wasn't talking about your power."

"I know."

"Has the dark fae shown up in your dreams again?" she asked after a moment.

He appreciated the change in subject. "No."

"Good. Keep the dagger under your pillow and repeat the spell about once a month to make sure it stays effective."

"What do you think he wanted from me?" Aiden pictured him and shivered. He'd had a bad feeling about him right from the start. Although a little twinge made him think about what he'd offered. Meeting his birth parents, his brother. It was probably all a lie, anyway.

"Your power, to use it or take it. The fae world was locked away for a reason. Even light fae aren't good. They caused a lot of trouble for regular humans."

"Will I cause trouble?"

Phoebe smiled. "That's up to you. You're already getting a good grasp of your power. I don't think it'll be long before you don't have to worry about it getting out of control. So what you do with your magic will be entirely your choice."

Only a few months ago, he'd planned to learn magic only so he could lock it away. To make sure he wouldn't use it by accident. But now he thought using a little magic here and there might not be too bad. There were amazing things he could do, especially with plants. Even after he was certified and went back to the human world, he was allowed to use magic that wasn't harmful and where regular humans couldn't see. Despite the way Dylan talked about it, being certified wasn't about never using magic in the human world. It was about making sure magic stayed hidden and that humans didn't get hurt.

"So what should I practice next?" Aiden asked.

"I'll have you try waking up a tree."

They were getting into more spectacular kinds of spells, but training with Phoebe was still very different from the flashiness of training with Dylan. "Can we try some transformation spells? Or glamours? I've been working on those."

"Oh? I didn't think you were in glamour class yet."

"I'm not. Dylan is helping me with that."

She gave him a curious look, but thankfully didn't start the argument again. "Okay. Let's start with something basic."

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Dylan came around the corner and spotted the wolf pack huddled together against the wall. They were all facing inward, postures full of aggression. He could practically smell it. They looked like they were surrounding something. Or someone.

"Hey," Dylan said as he marched up to them.

They turned, eyes bright yellow. The glares turned wary when they saw who it was. "Stay out of this," Conner growled.

A shift, someone moving, and Dylan caught a glimpse of Hanna leaning against the wall, terrified.

"I told you to leave her alone." The anger was there, waiting. This was a great excuse. He smelled his own magic—warm rocks and burning wood. The other kids in the hall hurried to get somewhere else.

The werewolves twitched, like they were ready to run.

"Stay here," Conner snapped. "Our pack is strong. Together, we're stronger than him." He sounded like he believed it. He even looked like he believed it.

"Want to test that idea?" Please do.

"Sure. Besides, you can't use your magic. You might burn Hanna. She's your little whore, right? You wouldn't want to hurt her." Conner showed his teeth, a gloating smile and a challenge all in one.

"You're right that I can't use fire." An image of the hall burning, the whole school burning. A twinge of desire. "But who said that's all I've got?"

"Conner's right," the stocky, older boy who seemed to be Conner's beta said. "He can't take on all of us."

The hope, the desire was almost painful. I'm seriously fucked up, Dylan thought as the pack moved to surround him. Hanna stayed against the wall, watching with wide eyes. "Get out of here," he told her.

She took one step and Conner yelled, "Stay where you are!"

She whimpered, shoulders hunching as she dropped her gaze to the floor. Submissive for sure. Pathetic.

The werewolf pack moved closer. Dylan waited with sweet, sweet anticipation. If he went for Conner first and took him out, it might make the others run. Dylan found another target, the youngest one in the pack.

The boy yelped and tried to run, but Dylan caught him, one hand twisting in his shirt as the other came up for a hard punch to the jaw. One of the other kids grabbed Dylan and pulled. He let the youngest one go and spun, elbowing his attacker in the ribs.

Another werewolf came at him, and another. He kicked and punched. Every blow he landed was a little piece of satisfaction. They hit him a few times, but he hardly felt it. They rushed him in twos and threes, trying to grab his arms, hold him still. Dylan was too strong, too fast.

Conner swung at him. Dylan caught his fist and kicked, hitting Conner in the gut and sending him sprawling. The rest of the pack lunged all at once and Dylan used a force spell, sending out a wave of magic that knocked them all back. Two fell, the others stumbled.

Conner got to his feet, holding his stomach and glaring murder at him.

"Break it up!"

"Hey!"

Two adults arrived. One of them grabbed Conner and the other stood between him and Dylan. "That's enough."

Dylan recognized him as one of the math teachers, a powerful sorcerer.

No it's not. It's never enough.

"All of you to the principal's office. Now," the teacher said.

Just for a second, Dylan wondered if he could take the sorcerer on. Then he took a deep breath and tried to stuff the remaining anger back down. As they all walked to the principal's office with the two teachers watching them, Dylan noticed Hanna was with them.

"You should've left when I told you to."

She glanced at him but didn't say anything.

The rest of the pack gave Dylan angry looks. Some of them had bruises and cuts on their faces and one was cradling his arm. He'd knocked them around a little, but he hadn't broken them. This wasn't over.

* * *

"We've let all the missed classes, the showing up late to class, the detentions...," Dad said.

"All the Ds and Fs and the reports of your poor attitude. We've let all that slide, given you space. But this is different. Fighting in school?" Mom said. "We talked about this, Dylan."

"You know how powerful you are," Dad said. "You could seriously hurt someone, or kill someone."

Dylan sat on the couch. He had an urge to cover his ears. "I know." He'd wanted to. Any excuse would do. "They were going to hurt Aiden's friend."

"Then you go tell a teacher," Dad said. "You don't take matters into your own hands."

"I couldn't just walk away. I was so pissed. It was hard enough not to burn them alive." He pictured it, could almost smell their flesh burning.

Mom sat next to him. "I don't know why you're so angry all the time—"

"I don't know why you're not." He jumped up from the couch. "You're a rape baby. How are you not angry about that? You were born because something awful happened."

Her eyes pinched a little at the edges. "I was angry about that for a long time. But I've had a long, long time to cope with how my life came to be." The hint of pain shifted into sympathy. "You've been different since I told you. I should have known it was that."

It was that and a lot of other things, but yes, that was the worst of it. The thought made his stomach feel like it was tied in knots. Dylan looked down at his hands. "I want to hate what I am because of where it came from. But I can't. I love my magic."

"Beautiful things can come from terrible situations. Your magic came from something dark, but you can do wonderful things with it."

It was on the tip of his tongue to say he didn't want to do wonderful things with it. He wanted to burn cities, burn down the world.

"And don't forget that you came out of love," Dad said. "We wanted you because we wanted to share our love with a child. We wanted to be a family."

"We're upset you got in a fight, but we still love you. We'll always love you," Mom said.

They were at it again with the sappy talk. What would they say if they knew about the jar you have upstairs and what you're planning?

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Aiden stepped inside the house to find Mr. Johnson at the dining room table again.

"Hello, Aiden. Good to see you."

"Hello, Mr. Johnson." He smiled politely and took off his backpack and coat, then slipped off his wet boots and left them by the door. Why was the warden here? Was this about the fight Dylan had gotten in? Was it because he knew it was really all Aiden's fault?

"Come have a seat. I wanted to check up on you, see how you're doing."

Aiden sat on the opposite side of the table, doing his best not to look nervous. "Any particular reason you're here?" Crap, was that too obvious?

"No, I just wanted to see if you're making progress, if it's getting any easier for you. And if you're having any difficulties, I want to see if I can do anything to help you." Mr. Johnson folded his hands on the table.

"How was your day?" Mom asked.

"Good." Except for worrying about Dylan. Hanna had told him about the fight and that Dylan had been sent home for the rest of the day.

"How are things coming in Major Magical Control?" Mr. Johnson asked.

"Pretty good. I had another match against Dylan last week."

"Really?" Mr. Johnson leaned back in his chair.

His parents looked at Mr. Johnson.

"What does that mean?" Dad asked.

Aiden swallowed. He had avoided explaining things to his parents because he didn't want them to worry. He'd told them about using targets but hadn't talked about the matches. He shouldn't have said anything. "Um, they're one-on-one mock fights between people. Using magic." He held up his hands when he saw they were about to freak out. "Nobody gets hurt. It's just practice. Like fencing or martial arts."

"And you had a practice fight against Dylan?" Mom asked.

Aiden nodded. "We've had a few now. He was... he goes slow, and he's way easier on me than he is with anyone else. I get a little better each time." Just surviving the match without completely freaking out was a win in his book.

"I'll take that as evidence you've made quite a lot of progress since my last visit," Mr. Johnson said. "The next time I'm in town, I'll have to watch a match between you and Dylan."

Hopefully by then Aiden would be past cowering and ducking fireballs. "Um, okay."

His parents exchanged a look. "Could we see one of these matches?" Mom asked.

"I'm... not sure if that's allowed?" Aiden looked at Mr. Johnson.

"There's a showcase in the spring. It's a bit of a combination of a talent show and a... a martial-arts exhibition, as Aiden brought up," Mr. Johnson said. "Families are encouraged to attend. It's a chance for the students to show what they've learned over the past year."

Oh God. His parents watching him would be like Freak Show on Parade.

"That would be great," Dad said. "We'd love to see Aiden using his magic. He hardly talks about his magic or what he's learning in class."

Yeah, because it was bad enough that he'd ruined their lives by making them move here. He didn't want them to see how different he was. What a freak he was. How very much not human he was. Aiden had started to get a little more comfortable with his magic, but he still couldn't really grasp the idea that he wasn't human. He was surrounded by monsters at school, but many of them were magic users who were still human, or creatures that were part human, like werewolves and even Dylan. Aiden wasn't human and he never had been.

The person he had the most in common with was the creepy dark fae who called himself Uncle. That was the only full-blooded fae he'd ever met. His stomach twisted at the thought.

"I'll be sure to make it back to town for the showcase as well," Mr. Johnson said. He turned to Aiden's parents. "Although I should warn you, it can be quite a shock if you're not used to seeing such things."

"We can handle it. For Aiden's sake," Mom said.

God, that just made him feel worse. He'd put his parents through so much already.

"And how are your lessons outside class going?" Mr. Johnson asked.

"Good. Dylan thinks I—" Aiden broke off, realizing Mr. Johnson didn't know about that. Or his parents. "Um, I mean Phoebe says I'm making progress."

Mr. Johnson gave him a long look. In a voice that was too casual, he asked, "Have you been training with Dylan?"

Aiden looked at Mr. Johnson, then over at his parents. He didn't want to lie to them. But he didn't want them to worry, either. And he didn't want to get Dylan into trouble. "Um..."

"The truth, please."

Aiden swallowed and braced himself for another lecture. "Yes."

Mr. Johnson looked thoughtful for a moment. "What have you been practicing?"

"Uh, well... He keeps trying to teach me fire spells, but we haven't gotten far with that. We've actually been doing a lot with transformations and glamours. I'm pretty good with those."

"Not surprising, considering your heritage." Mr. Johnson didn't look mad, and Aiden's nervousness eased a little. "Can you give me some examples?"

Aiden glanced at his parents out of the corner of his eye. He didn't like talking about magic in front of them. "I can change a piece of wood into a small tree. I made a pile of rocks look like gold coins. I made them look like jewels too. I made a big boulder look like a bench. I made brussels sprouts taste like chocolate cake. They still had the same texture, so it was weird, but they tasted really good." It made him smile, thinking about him and Dylan sitting near the campfire and eating brussels sprouts like they couldn't get enough. They really had tasted like chocolate cake. "And I made celery taste like pizza."

Mr. Johnson smiled. "Excellent progress."

"You should visit more often, Mr. Johnson," Dad said. "This is the most we've heard him talk about magic. He usually just says he's learning 'stuff.'"

"I don't want you to think I'm weirder than you already do," Aiden said quietly.

"We don't think you're weird," Mom said. "You're different and you're special, and we love you no matter what."

"You really want me to talk about magic?"

"Yes," his parents said almost at the same time.

Dad said, "We've told you that repeatedly since we got here. We always ask about how your day went because we want to know. We don't expect every detail of your day, but if you learned a new spell or you and Dylan did something exciting on Saturday, we want to know." He smiled.

"Okay." He didn't know if he'd ever get over his reluctance to talk about this with his parents. Then he wondered if he should talk about the dreams with the dark fae that called himself Uncle. No, no reason to make them freak out. The spell to keep him away had worked.

* * *

It had been two days since the fight, and Dylan was waiting—hoping, really—for something to happen. He sat at his usual table at lunch, glancing around every few seconds for Aiden. He couldn't wait for spring when they could go outside again.

Someone sat at the table and he looked up, expecting to see Aiden. Instead it was Hanna. Dylan paused with a french fry halfway to his mouth.

She looked at him and smiled nervously. "Hi. Um, thanks for saving me the other day."

Dylan tensed, part of him wanting to tell her to go away. No one had dared to sit at the same table with him for years. No one but Aiden. But he had saved her twice now, once with Aiden and once on his own. He couldn't pretend it hadn't happened. "You're welcome," he muttered.

"I can go somewhere else if you want. I just thought maybe..." She was a year older, but the uncertainty made her look young. "I didn't know where else to go. I'm scared." Her gaze flicked to the other side of the room where the pack usually sat.

"Did he threaten you again?" Warm anger coiled in his stomach.

Aiden arrived. "Hanna. Hi." He sat next to her, surprised but smiling.

"Hi, Aiden." She smiled back. Yep, she had a crush on him. If it wasn't serious before, it was now. Aiden had come to her rescue, so now he was a hero. She was strong enough to rip a man apart, but not strong enough to stand up to her asshole boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend.

She looked back at Dylan. "He doesn't have to. All he has to do is look at me, and I know."

"Is he over there now?" Dylan asked. Conner hadn't been in school yesterday because the fight with Dylan had been his second that year, earning him a one-day suspension.

Hanna looked over at the table and nodded.

"Want me to go kick his ass? For real this time, so he gets the message?" He started to get up.

Aiden reached across the table and grabbed his arm. "If you get in another fight, you'll be the one suspended this time."

"So? He needs to learn his lesson." And Dylan had so much anger to get out.

"Please don't. I don't want you to get in more trouble."

"It's okay," Hanna said. "Just leave him alone. Maybe he won't bother me anymore."

There was no way Conner was ready to let this go. The guy had freaked out at the thought that Hanna might have a crush on Aiden, and now both Aiden and Dylan had swooped in to rescue her. She was sitting at their table. That was sure to send him into a jealous rage. He might even march over here right now and start something.

Please.

"Fine," Dylan said. "I won't start something. But if he does anything, says anything, it's on."

"Would you mind if I sat with you from now on?" Hanna asked in a quiet voice. "I can find somewhere else to sit if you'd like."

"Of course you can sit with us," Aiden said.

Dylan liked it being just him and Aiden. He didn't want anyone else at the table. But on the other hand, she was a trouble magnet. Conner Mays would come over sooner or later to start a fight.

"Thank you. I just don't know what else to do. I lost my pack..." Her voice hitched and her eyes filled with tears. Great. For the second time this year, he was at the table with a crying person.

Aiden put an arm around her. "I know that must be hard, but they weren't really your friends. Friends look out for each other, they care about each other."

She turned and cried into his shoulder. If Dylan couldn't smell the sadness on her, he might have wondered if this was a great act. Things in the room had gotten quiet. Once again, they were the center of attention. Dylan itched to stand up and make a claim on Hanna just to rile Conner's alpha instincts. But her crying all over Aiden was probably good enough.

"We can be your friends now," Aiden told her. He looked at Dylan, a question in his eyes.

Dylan just shrugged and picked up his burger. It looked like Aiden was adopting a werewolf.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Aiden was excited to have his friend over, but after seeing Dylan's giant mansion, he wondered what Dylan would think of their much smaller house. His parents weren't poor, but they didn't have as many nice things as Dylan's did.

"Come on." Aiden led the way to the bus.

Dylan made a face. "I haven't ridden the bus since second grade." He looked... nervous.

"It'll be fine. Just sit with me." Of course everyone on the bus would stare at them, but they got stared at every day at lunch, so it shouldn't be that different. Then as he stepped on, he wondered what Toby and Tina would think. Dylan seemed to be their favorite gossip subject. Well, this should give them plenty to talk about.

Aiden walked on. The bus wasn't quite half-full, and Toby and Tina weren't there yet. He was here a bit earlier than usual since he wasn't hanging around in the locker room to talk to Dylan. A few kids glanced up as Aiden stepped on, probably looking for their friends. Then Dylan stepped on behind him and the kids started staring.

Aiden grabbed an empty seat about halfway down. Dylan slid in next to him. The kids tried to look disinterested.

Toby bounced onto the bus and froze. "Whoa." He looked between Aiden and Dylan, then took the seat in front of them. He leaned on the back of it. "What's going on?"

"Dylan's going to eat at my house."

"Really?"

Dylan shifted like he was going to get up. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

"It'll be fine," Aiden said. "People stare at you all the time, how is this different?"

Dylan shrugged.

"How come you're friends with Aiden when you're mean to everyone else?" Toby asked.

"I'm not mean to everyone else. I just want to be left alone."

Toby tilted his head. "Why?"

"I just do."

Behind Toby, Tina appeared. "Whoa," she said, unknowingly echoing her brother. She nudged him over so she could join him on the seat. "Hi," she said to Dylan.

He frowned. "Hi."

She laughed, high and nervous. "Oh my God, no one's going to believe I said hi to Dylan."

"Could you guys just relax?" Aiden said.

The bus started and Tina and Toby turned around, but all the way home they kept glancing back. When they all got off at their stop, Toby and Tina tried to start up again, but Aiden cut them off. "Sorry, no time to talk."

Then he led Dylan to his house. "Sorry about that," he said on the way. "They're just... curious."

As they got closer to the house, Aiden got nervous again. What would Dylan think of his much smaller house? Or the much less expensive things they had? Or the food his parents made? They were definitely not having steak.

"Yeah, I know," Dylan muttered. "It's annoying."

"I thought you'd be used to it by now."

"Sometimes it gets to me, I guess."

Aiden tried to be positive as they got to the house. "Well, here it is. Not really anything special."

"Looks nice," Dylan said as they walked up to the front door.

His parents were home, so he pushed open the door and led Dylan inside. Warm smells hit his nose: meat, tomatoes, oregano, garlic.

"Hi, you must be Dylan," Mom said as she came around the corner. "Nice to meet you."

Please don't be weird, Aiden thought, and then almost laughed. It was so absurd.

"Yeah," Dylan said.

Dad came in from the kitchen. "Hi there, Dylan. Nice to finally meet you. We've heard a lot about you... Well, as much as Aiden talks about anything these days."

Dylan cleared his throat. "Thanks for having me over."

"No problem. We're glad Aiden is making friends," Mom said.

Please leave it at that. That's dorky enough already.

"Dinner should be ready in about fifteen or twenty minutes," Dad said.

"Okay. Want to see my room?" It was pathetic compared to Dylan's, but hanging out there was better than sitting in the living room where his mom could hover around them.

"Sure." Dylan followed him up the stairs.

"I know it's not as fancy as your house, but it's nicer than the one we had in Dayton. Mr. Johnson got it for us, totally free."

"This is Mr. Johnson the warden, right?" Dylan said

"Yeah."

Dylan scoffed but didn't make any further comment.

"So, this is my room," Aiden said as he opened the door. It was bigger than his old room but still only about a quarter of the size of Dylan's.

Dylan glanced around at the few posters and pictures on the walls and nodded. "Nice."

"I don't have a TV or anything fancy—"

"Dude, stop comparing everything to my house. Yes, I'm rich, I know."

It hadn't occurred to him that Dylan might be uncomfortable with their differences. "Oh, sorry."

Dylan sat on the edge of the bed. "It's nice, really. I like it. Much cleaner than my room," he said with a little smile.

"I liked your room too. And your parents were super nice."

Dylan laughed. "Yeah, they are. Drives me nuts."

"I wasn't expecting that. You act like you come from... a bad home, or something." Aiden turned his desk chair around and sat.

"Nope, it's just me. Just the way I am." A dark look crossed his face.

Aiden wished he hadn't said that. "People keep warning me about you, telling me you're dangerous, but I think they're wrong about you."

The dark look got even darker. "What makes you think that?"

Aiden tried to think of the right thing to say. It had to be true, and it couldn't be too much of a compliment because Dylan might brush it off. Aiden thought about how they'd met, before he knew who or what Dylan was. "Because you let me sit with you at lunch."

Dylan snorted. "That's it? That makes you think I'm a saint?"

"No, not a saint. Just that you're not as bad as people say you are. You could've just kept on being a jerk, telling me I couldn't sit there. But something made you change your mind. I was new and lonely, and you were nice to me. That's all."

"I must've been in a good mood."

Aiden rolled his eyes. "You don't have to be super macho all the time. It's okay to admit you have some kindness in you. Nobody's gonna come and revoke your man card." What would tough-guy Dylan think if he knew Aiden was bi? Would he reject him? Bully him?

Dad called them down for dinner and Aiden prayed it wouldn't be too embarrassing.

Spaghetti and meatballs with garlic-cheese bread. His dad made the best spaghetti. He glanced over at Dylan. His friend didn't show any sign of disappointment in the meal. In fact, he was eating it like he really enjoyed it.

"How's the food?" Dad asked.

"Great," Aiden said, wiping a bit of sauce off his chin.

"Good," Dylan said before slurping up more noodles.

His parents exchanged a look and a smile.

"So, Dylan, you've been helping Aiden practice his magic. That's nice of you," Mom said.

"Um, thanks."

"What exactly do you do?" Dad asked. "Aiden doesn't talk about it much."

Dylan looked at Aiden before answering. "Just little stuff. He's got it in him to do more, but he always holds back."

"You know you should always try your best," Dad said before taking a bite of his meatball.

"This isn't a test or a sport, Dad. Magic is different." He swirled his fork in his remaining spaghetti.

"But you need to learn so you can get certified," Mom said. "How about you, Dylan? Are you doing well in school?"

Dylan bit his lip, holding back a laugh. Please don't be a jerk about this, Aiden thought.

"Not really. Except for Major Magical Control."

"That's the class you have with Aiden, right?" Mom asked. "The one with the matches?"

"Yeah. It's the only one that matters to me."

"He's really talented," Aiden said, afraid of where this was going. "And you know everyone likes doing what they're best at. That's why I asked him to help tutor me."

"Well, we appreciate it," Dad said. "We might not understand all this magic stuff, but we understand it's important for Aiden to control it."

Dylan's eyes narrowed, and Aiden feared a rant coming on.

Aiden jumped up. "So, how about dessert?"

With any luck, they'd be able to get through dinner without an argument.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

One moment Dylan was wandering through school, searching for something. The hallways sometimes led to rooms in his house and other times to classrooms full of kids that stared at him. Then he was on a roof, looking out at a burning city.

He blinked as awareness came crashing into him, and he turned to see Morgan standing there. The perspective was all wrong and Dylan realized he was in his human form, not the dragon form he always took in these dreams.

"Greetings, dragonkin. It was a bit harder to find you this time." The dark fae bowed. He was taller than Dylan.

"I thought you'd forgotten about me."

Morgan smiled. "Oh, no. I could never forget about you. How is the potion going?"

"Fine. One drop every night, just like you said."

"And have you found a proper location?" The dark fae tapped his fingers together.

"I think I found a good spot, yeah." At the edge of his parents' land so he'd be able to come and go without anyone seeing him.

"Excellent. What does it look like?"

"Well, it's a—"

"No, no show me," Morgan said.

"Show you? How?"

The dark fae spread his arms and gestured. "This is your dream, in your mind. Shape the dream and show me what the location looks like."

"I'll try." Dylan pictured it and focused as hard as he could. The burning city disappeared, and the circle of trees near the edge of Shadow Valley appeared.

Morgan looked around. "Excellent. Most excellent. A grove of old, strong trees and a fairy ring nearly at the center." He stepped closer to the circle of mushrooms and then looked back at Dylan. "You did very well."

The eager look on his face unnerved Dylan. "I'm not so sure about this."

The dark fae turned, expression becoming sober. "I understand this involves some... unpleasantness. But for you to be truly free, the wardens must be removed. It is necessary for my freedom as well. Faery is my home, but I know you understand the urge to travel, to see new places. I once walked your world, and I long to see familiar places as well as explore new ones."

"And you're willing to kill for that?" Dylan had had time to think, especially every night when he pricked his finger and watched blood drip into the glass jar.

"For freedom? Yes. Aren't you?"

Dylan looked around the grove. How long did he want to be trapped in Shadow Valley? How much longer did he want to worry over which of two bad choices he was going to take? "Nobody else gets hurt, right?"

The dark fae began walking along the edge of the grove, lightly touching each tree as he passed. "Your parents and your friends, they will be safe. No one in town will be harmed. Only the wardens, and I take no pleasure in what must be done."

Dylan wasn't so sure that was true, but who was he to judge? He had recurring dreams about burning down whole cities.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Moonlight shone through the window, cold and pale. Dylan locked the door of his bedroom and went to the closet. In the far back corner, under a pile of old clothes, was a locked box. As far as Dylan knew, his parents didn't search his room, but it was better to be cautious.

He slid it out, turned the key, and opened the lid. The jar inside hummed with power. The blood of a dragonkin, made into a potion. It was almost done. Just a few more nights and it would be the end of the third month.

Morgan still hadn't told him what to do. He hoped the dark fae would come back soon and explain everything. The potion was almost done; they'd picked a location. Now Dylan needed to know the spell.

He took out the needle that he left in the box and lit a flame at the end of his finger. He touched it to the end of the needle, using the heat to clean it. Then he set it on the edge of a shelf.

Dylan drew out the jar and put it on the floor. It wasn't anything fancy. He'd needed something with a lid and had ended up emptying out a pickle jar. So much power in something so simple. He twisted off the lid, the red liquid inside sloshing a little. Blood and water.

Every night strengthened the magic, brought him closer to the ritual that would open the pathways to the fae realm. Did he really want that? Fae free to come to the human world and cause trouble like they used to?

For Morgan to kill all the wardens? It would be chaos. It might reveal supernatural creatures to the whole human world instead of the few who knew about it now. It would almost definitely destroy the treaty.

Supernatural creatures would be feared again, hunted again. But without the wardens, there wasn't a lot humans could do about it.

Three months had been a long time to think about consequences.

Dylan took the needle from the shelf and held his finger over the jar. Hiding this from his parents made him feel guilty, but he felt worse about hiding it from Aiden. He wanted to tell him, but he knew Aiden would try to talk him out of it. Or tell Dylan's parents. Or tell the wardens.

There was a pleasant thought.

The thought of trying to explain it to Aiden, telling him about all his worst desires... no. Aiden wouldn't understand. He'd be horrified.

Dylan pricked his finger and watched the blood well. One drop fell into the jar, sending out a ripple. Dylan stuck his finger in his mouth. It would heal in a few seconds. He put everything away, shoved the pile of clothes back on top of the box.

Every night was a chance to change his mind. Did he really want to go through with this? Let Morgan come into this world and kill the wardens? Once that happened, there was no going back.

How much was freedom worth?

* * *

A bonfire roared, melting the snow and warming the area nearby.

Dylan watched his friend try to make a small flame appear. "Just concentrate."

Aiden sat on one of the large rocks they'd dragged over to use as seats. Frowning, he stared at his palm. "Ugh, I don't think I can do it. It's not part of my magic."

"Yes, it is."

Aiden looked up at him. "What, are you an expert on fae magic?"

"Are you?" Dylan shot back. "It's not like I think you can throw huge fireballs or anything. It's just summoning a flame. The same as lighting a candle."

"My hand isn't a candle."

"It's the same type of spell. You just need more effort."

"The first time I lit a candle, I ended up setting the whole thing on fire." Aiden frowned again. "I don't want to burn my hand."

"You won't." Probably wouldn't, but Dylan didn't want him to hesitate.

Aiden sighed and stared at his hand again. A few minutes passed. "It's not working." Aiden dropped his hand.

"You suck." Dylan sat on the other large rock and stared at the fire.

"I tried," Aiden whined.

"Let's try something else then." He stuck his hand out, a finger pointing at the fire. A small flame detached and reached toward his finger. Dylan moved his hand back and forth, making the little flame follow the motions.

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"Call out to the fire." Dylan had to remember this wouldn't be second nature to Aiden the way it was to him. He'd learned to be a little more patient over the months they'd been training. "It's alive, in a way. You use plant magic with no problem. The fire is like a living thing, hungrier and wild, but it's sort of like a plant."

"Hmm." Aiden stared into the fire. "I guess that makes sense." He stuck out a finger. "Sort of like a plant," he muttered.

Dylan let the small flame go and watched Aiden.

Aiden got that frown of concentration again. Nothing happened for a few minutes, then he said, "Huh. I think I can feel it." The fire shifted in the wind, so it was hard to see at first. Then a tendril of flame reached out toward Aiden's finger, stretching slowly and bobbing with the wind.

A little smile spread across Aiden's face as he moved his hand and the flame followed. "It is kind of like a plant, but it's so... raw. Strong. Hungry, like you said."

This might be the last thing he taught him. Tonight, Dylan would perform the ritual to open the pathways to Faery. Morgan hadn't explained the details of how he was going to kill the wardens, so Dylan didn't know how long it would take for that to happen. Would it be all at once? Or would the dark fae kill them one by one? That could take weeks, months. Would Dylan wait in Shadow Valley until it was all over?

No, he was done waiting. Dylan would follow Morgan after he came through. And that meant leaving Aiden behind. Unless...

"I have to tell you something." Dylan was sure this was a terrible idea, but he had to try.

"What?" Aiden turned his attention away from the flame.

If Aiden could understand fire, even a little, maybe there was a chance he could understand why Dylan was doing this. "I'm... leaving tonight."

"Leaving? But you have to stay in Shadow Valley until you're certified."

"I found another way."

Aiden lost his hold on the flame. "What are you talking about?"

The words caught in his throat. No way would Aiden understand what had to be done. Dylan wasn't killing the wardens himself, but he would be an accessory to murder. "It doesn't matter. I want you to come with me."

Aiden looked confused and a little scared. "Where?"

"Anywhere. We'll be free."

"Dylan, I don't know what you're talking about, but it sounds like a bad idea."

Dylan stood, fists clenched at his sides. "I just... need to get out. To finally get out of here, to get somewhere with no rules, no one able to stop me."

"You can't leave. The wardens—"

"They won't be around." The need to be free filled him, making his chest tight. He'd spent whole life in this cage.

"Dylan, what are you planning?"

"You wouldn't understand." No one ever could, because no one else had this desire aching inside them. Not even his mom. "I wanted you to come with me; I thought maybe you could understand..."

"Maybe I can if you tell me." Aiden's eyes were pleading, but he stank of fear.

He almost did. He opened his mouth to explain everything. But then he imagined Aiden running to the wardens, tattling on Dylan. If they knew what he was doing, they'd lock him up. Or kill him. "You're too much of a wimp to understand. You cried when you hit a bully by accident. You use me as your weapon because you don't have the balls to fight anyone yourself."

Aiden's expression turned hard. "You liked getting in fights with Conner—"

"Exactly. We're too different." Trying to be Aiden's friend was stupid. He should have known it was doomed to failure from the start. "Maybe that's why your parents abandoned you, because you're too weak."

Aiden looked like he'd been punched. Then his face crumpled and his eyes filled with tears. "Why would you say that?"

"Because it's true." Dylan's stomach twisted with guilt, but that didn't stop him. He wanted to drive him away. All his doubts about the plan with Morgan led back to Aiden. Having a friend was holding him back. He wanted to be free, finally free to be who he really was. "You're weak. You're a weak little crybaby afraid of your own magic, and I don't need you."

"Fine." Tears spilled out of Aiden's eyes. "Everyone was right about you. I should've stayed away."

"You can start right now," Dylan growled.

Aiden's chin quivered and he looked like he was going to say something, then he turned and ran.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Being threatened by Conner Mays was nothing compared to this. When he'd run as far as he could, Aiden slowed down to catch his breath and wipe his eyes. He wasn't weak. He wasn't. His birth parents had left him for a good reason. He just didn't know what it was yet.

They hadn't abandoned him because he was weak. They hadn't traded him for a human child because anything was better than keeping Aiden. No.

Dylan was a jerk. An asshole. No wonder he didn't have any friends. Aiden had been his only one. "I hope you're happy to be alone again," Aiden muttered as he wiped at his face again.

And what was all that about the wardens not being around to stop Dylan from leaving Shadow Valley? Something very wrong was going on. Aiden thought about telling his parents, but they wouldn't have any clue what to do. But he had to tell somebody.

He remembered Mr. Johnson telling him to call if he had any problems. This was definitely a problem. Aiden pulled out his phone, feeling a dark satisfaction as he thought about tattling on Dylan. It would serve that jerk right to get in trouble for whatever stupid thing he was planning.

The number was saved in his contacts and he dialed. The phone ran a few times, and he got to voice mail.

"Hi, Mr. Johnson? It's Aiden. You said to call if I had any problems, so I'm calling. Dylan is up to something, but I don't know what it is. He wouldn't tell me. He said he's planning to leave Shadow Valley, and he said there wouldn't be any wardens to stop him. Maybe it's just talk, but he was acting like a huge jerk, and I think he might do something stupid. I thought maybe you'd know what to do, so call me back." He waited a second but couldn't think of anything else to say, so he hung up.

When he got to the house, his mom said, "You're home early."

"I was getting too cold." He hated lying to her, but he just couldn't talk about it. Aiden went up to his room and lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Replaying the whole ugly event in his head made him want to cry again. What Dylan had said was cruel, and he was afraid it might be true. Ever since he'd found out he was a changeling, Aiden had wondered why his birth parents had left him. Maybe Dylan was right. Maybe it was because he was weak or there was something wrong with him.

If he really thinks I'm so weak, why is he friends with me? Or had Dylan been hoping Aiden would get stronger, and now he was frustrated to find Aiden really wasn't like him? Aiden didn't like that he wasn't human. He didn't like using his magic because it was a constant reminder that he was different. It had gotten better, and he even enjoyed some of the spells he could do. But if someone told him he could give up his magic in exchange for being human? He'd do it.

Dylan struggled with how he'd gotten his powers, but he loved them.

And what was all that about leaving and not having to worry about wardens? The way Dylan had acted scared him. He'd been like that before, with the girl he used to date, and with Conner, but Dylan had never directed that anger at Aiden. Not until tonight.

Aiden rolled onto his side, tucking his knees up. Why had he been so mean? Because Aiden hadn't agreed to come with him? Because he was worried about what Dylan was planning?

It suddenly hit him that he'd called Mr. Johnson. A warden. Told him Dylan was planning something bad. Would Mr. Johnson show up and take Dylan to jail or whatever version they had here?

Then his stomach sank as he wondered: would Mr. Johnson kill Dylan? Everyone kept talking about how dangerous he was, that Dylan was too powerful, that he shouldn't even be allowed to go to school or live in Shadow Valley.

Were the wardens waiting for something like this, a reason to get rid of him?

Aiden pulled out his phone and called Mr. Johnson again. Still no answer, just voice mail. "Hi, Mr. Johnson. It's Aiden again. I was upset and I... I wasn't really thinking. Just ignore the last message I sent you. I overreacted, and it's no big deal, really. Call me and I'll explain." Although he had no idea how he would explain it. Lie, if he needed to.

He hung up and stared at the phone. That might not be enough. He had to warn Dylan. No matter how much of a jerk he was or what he was planning, Aiden didn't want him dead.

Dylan didn't answer, either. "Hi, it's Aiden. I... I did something and I'm really sorry. You freaked me out and I'm worried about what you might do so I..." Aiden swallowed. Dylan would probably hate him for this. "I called Mr. Johnson and said you were planning something. I'm really sorry. I'll find a way to fix this, tell him it was a lie, anything. Please call me back. Please."

Aiden hung up and squeezed his eyes shut. What if Dylan didn't listen to the message? What if he deleted it because he was pissed? What if Mr. Johnson had already listened to his first message and was on his way here right now?

What if Dylan was doing whatever stupid thing he was planning right now?

Aiden went downstairs and pulled his coat back on. "Hey, Mom? Dylan asked me to go over and hang out at his house for a while, is that okay?"

She came around the corner from the living room. "Weren't you just with him?"

"Yeah. I left because it was cold, but he decided he wanted to hang out some more." The lies made his chest feel tight.

"Okay, sure. Do you need a ride?"

He needed to check the gravel pit first to see if he was still there. "No, that's fine. His mom is picking us up from the gravel pit. Dylan stayed there since the cold doesn't bother him. Because of his magic, you know." So much lying in such a short time.

"I could give you a ride to the gravel pit."

"No thanks, it's fine."

"Okay. Have a good time."

Aiden hurried out of the house and jogged down the sidewalk. He hoped this was all nothing, that he was overreacting, that he'd be able to convince Mr. Johnson that nothing was wrong.

The fire at the gravel pit was now little more than embers, and Dylan was gone. The next logical place, the only place he knew where to look, was Dylan's house. The trip there was longer, and by the time Aiden got to the house he was cold. He shivered while he rang the doorbell.

Dylan's mom answered the door. "Hi, Aiden. Is something wrong?"

"Do you know where Dylan is? We... we had a fight, and he won't answer his phone."

"I'm sorry to hear that." She frowned. "I haven't seen him since he left earlier, but maybe I didn't hear him come back in. Dylan?" she called a few times with no answer. "Let's go check his room."

On the way up, she asked, "What did you fight about?"

"Just something stupid." He didn't want to tell her, not until he'd talked to Dylan. He'd already made a mistake by calling Mr. Johnson.

Dylan wasn't in his room. "I'm sorry, I don't know where he might have gone. Did you check the gravel pit?"

"Yeah, I went there first. Let me call him again." Aiden dialed and listened while it rang. Pick up, Dylan. Pick up! Nothing. Voice mail again. Aiden hung up.

"I'll tell him to call you when I see him," Dylan's mom said.

"Yeah, okay. Thanks." Aiden followed her downstairs.

"I hope you two can make up. You're the only real friend he's ever had."

Then why was he such a jerk to me? Aiden didn't want to make up. He just wanted to warn him. Maybe later, if Dylan was sorry, he'd forgive him. "Thanks." Aiden didn't know what else to say.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he started walking down the long driveway. The light from the front of the house cast a glow, but beyond its reach it was dark. There was no moon tonight, and after leaving the driveway, he needed a light spell to see by.

It always took him a few tries to get it started, but in a moment the blue-white light of the spell let him see enough to walk by. The little ball cast no warmth as he carried it in his hand. He wished he had a better mastery of fire so he could have both heat and light.

What was he going to do about Dylan? He pulled out his phone to check, but there were no messages from Dylan or Mr. Johnson. His stomach twisted again as he worried about what he might have started.

The blue-white light bounced off the fresh layer of snow. Near the end of the long driveway, he saw little indentations. Leaning closer, he made out bird tracks. Tracks. Dylan would have left tracks on the way out of the pit. Aiden ran most of the way back, stopping once to catch his breath. First he found his own tracks, comparing the markings to the bottom of his shoes. Then, squinting in the faint light, he found the other set of tracks coming out of the pit.

They went along for a while until they reached the sidewalk. Most people were good about shoveling, but a few neglected it and some hadn't gotten around to clearing the inch or so that had fallen since yesterday. Aiden was able to pick out Dylan's tracks, although at times they were tangled with those of others, including Aiden's own.

Why hadn't he thought of this before? And before he'd gone very far, it was clear where the tracks were going. Dylan had gone back home. Aiden hurried back, thinking maybe he'd admit to Dylan's mom what was going on, even if it caused more trouble.

Then he looked at the trees all around him. Dylan had mentioned going for walks in the woods behind his house. Maybe he'd gone out there to be alone.

Aiden hurried around the side of the house and started searching the tree line out back. It didn't take him long to find fresh tracks, almost in a direct line from the back door. Aiden stepped in the tracks to make the going easier, but it was still tough, tromping through the snow. The whole time he wondered how mad Dylan would be when he told him.

I'm going to fix this. It's probably nothing. Dylan was just talking, and I'll tell Mr. Johnson we were fighting and I got upset and exaggerated. Everything will be fine.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Dylan carried the glass jar tucked under his arm, walking through snow that melted a little with every step. I don't need anyone, he kept repeating to himself. He was done. Done with school, done with everyone treating him like a bomb that might go off, done with this town. Done with Aiden.

It would have been nice to have a friend with him. Dylan shook his head. Aiden would just have held him back. He would whine and tell him to stop, tell him it was wrong. Dylan wanted to be free, not bring some kind of Jiminy Cricket with him.

The only person who understood him was Morgan. He'd seen Dylan's dreams, the darkest part of him. And he wanted to help. Of course the dark fae was looking out for his own interests, but as he'd said, this was mutually beneficial.

Dylan reached the clearing, the whole area two feet deep in snow. Setting the jar down carefully, he stepped into the circle and used his power to heat the ground. Steam rose as the snow melted, hissing. A thick fog covered the area for a few minutes. When it faded, the clearing was free of snow, covered now with wet, brown grass and leaves.

The fae had repeated the instructions three times, twice the other night and again last night, to make sure Dylan remembered. He did. The symbols were clear in his mind. Pointing a finger, he summoned a small flame and used it to burn a circle around the entire grove. Then he carefully etched the symbols into the ground.

Now I will trust you with something very important, the dark fae had said. When you call me, you must use my true name—Morfran ap Nos.

A fae's true name and a potion made from dragonkin blood. This spell was no joke.

Dylan went back for the glass jar, and as he picked it up, he heard a noise. He froze, cocking his head. Crunching, someone walking through the snow. Had his parents seen him leave? Had they followed him?

Then he saw a faint blue-white light through the trees. Not the kind of spell his mom would use. "Who's there?" he demanded.

"It's Aiden."

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Aiden appeared through the trees, carrying a light spell. "I came to tell you—" His eyes went wide. "What is that?"

"What?" Then Dylan realized he was holding the glass jar with the blood potion in it.

Aiden came closer, staring. "Is that blood?" His voice was almost a whisper.

"You shouldn't be here," Dylan growled. Not when he was so close. He couldn't have Aiden interfering, screwing things up.

"Dylan, what are you doing?" He kept coming.

With a flick of his hand, Dylan spread fire around the circle. It shouldn't mess up the spell, and it would keep Aiden out.

Aiden stumbled back, instinctively holding a hand up to protect his face, dropping the light spell. The ring of fire reached up to his chest. "Whatever you're doing, you have to stop."

"No." Dylan walked backward until he was in the center of the circle. He was protected now, so he could complete the rest of it. "I have to do this."

Aiden looked around, his face pale in the firelight. "Oh God. We're close to the barrier, aren't we?"

"This is where he said to do it, close to all that powerful magic." Dylan opened the jar and dropped the lid. The power inside hummed, and his chest tightened with anticipation.

"Who said?" Aiden looked terrified.

"Morgan or—" He stopped himself. Using his true name would call him, and Dylan wasn't quite ready for that part yet. "He's going to open the pathways to Faery so he can come through. He's going to take care of the wardens so I can be free."

"Oh God. Dylan, no! You can't trust him! He's dark fae. He'll lie. He'll trick you."

"We have a mutually beneficial agreement." Dylan tipped the jar, pouring out the blood potion. It splattered onto the ground and started soaking in. The closest symbol lit up red; then the others started lighting up. The hum of power doubled, tripled. It was unnerving to be in the middle of all that growing power. Unnerving, but also thrilling.

"Dylan, stop, please! You don't want to do this."

Dylan looked at him for a moment as the last of the symbols lit. He acknowledged that pang of sadness that had been lurking in the back of his mind. "I really did want you to come with me. You were my best friend." But that was over now. He took a deep breath. "Morfran ap Nos, I summon you. With the power of my blood, I summon you. Morfran ap Nos, hear my call. I summon you. Morfran ap Nos, come forth."

* * *

Aiden was so afraid he worried he might throw up. Uncle—it had to be him. The blood magic. This is what he'd been trying to get Aiden to do. Now Dylan was doing some kind of spell to bring Uncle or whatever his name was over from Faery.

The pathways open, all the power let loose. All that magic that had been locked away to keep the human world safe.

Aiden had to stop this. He looked at the fire, wondering if he could jump over it. No way—it was too high, even if he got a running start. But he remembered their matches in Major Magical Control. He'd been able to put out Dylan's fire.

He tried to focus, but his heart was racing and he was shaking with fear. I can do this, he told himself. I have to do this. Aiden calmed himself as much as he could, trying to ignore the huge swell of power building in the circle. Trying not to think about how scared he was, how he couldn't believe Dylan would go this far.

The little tingle started in his chest as he called on his magic. Careful. Focused. Aiden spread his hands and summoned wind. A small gust cut through the flames, and he only hesitated a second before running through the gap.

The force of power inside the circle made it hard to breathe. The air shimmered in the red glow of the symbols. "Dylan, stop!"

Dylan's eyes were bright green. "Too late." He turned and reached his hand out, writing a symbol in the air. A dark hole opened up.

Aiden panicked. He could hardly think, but he knew he had to stop him. So he ran, planning to tackle Dylan.

Dylan whirled. "Stay back!" A bright flash.

Heat. Burning. Pain. Aiden screamed.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

It felt like slow motion. Dylan turned and lashed out, only thinking of keeping Aiden back. Focused on his rage, on how close he was to getting what he wanted. Fire burst from his hand and flew toward Aiden. It had been a second, maybe less, but in that instant Dylan knew he'd made a terrible mistake.

He watched it hit Aiden, saw the fire burst over him. Oh God, no! Dylan put it out with a thought and ran the few steps between them, catching Aiden as he fell. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

The front of Aiden's jacket was a charred mess, his face was bright red. He made a pained noise, his eyes wide with shock. After a few gasps, he said, "It hurts."

"Oh God, I didn't mean to!"

Dylan checked him over, praying the damage wasn't too bad. He tried to unzip the jacket but ended up tearing it. Aiden grabbed his hand when he tried to pull his shirt away.

"Let me see." Dylan lifted the shirt to find a burn mark the size of his fist, already blistering. He'd never felt worse in his life. "I'm so sorry. I'll get you help."

Aiden winced. "The spell. You have to stop it."

Dylan had forgotten everything else when he realized he'd burned Aiden. He looked up at the growing portal. "I don't know how." It had seemed so important a moment ago, his freedom, the end of the wardens. But now nothing mattered except Aiden.

"You have to try something." Aiden gripped his arm, tears of pain leaking out of his eyes.

"Okay." Dylan gently set him down and stood just as a dark shape stepped out of the portal.

"Hello, young ones." Morfran smiled. "I thank you, dragonkin, for your assistance." He gave them both a wide smile.

Dylan threw fire at him. He had to make this up to Aiden somehow. The dark fae held up a hand and the fire disappeared. "Am I to assume we are no longer allies?"

"Tell me how to stop this!" Dylan felt so... helpless.

"I am afraid I must refuse." Morfran smiled, but the expression suddenly dropped as he cocked his head. "We have an uninvited guest."

The ring of fire around the grove disappeared as if someone had blown out a huge candle. "Please step back through the portal," someone said in a low, dangerous tone.

Dylan turned to see a man walk into the clearing, a hand held out toward the dark fae. The man's magic smelled of old books and candle wax. A wizard. A very powerful wizard.

"No." The fae sneered and threw dark purple magic.

The man brought up his other hand and the spell dropped to the ground, hissing.

"Mr. Johnson?" Aiden said.

The dark fae cast a glance over his shoulder at the portal. "I will find you, wizard, when I've recovered my strength." And then, in a blink, he was gone.

* * *

Mr. Johnson turned to them. "You helped a dark fae escape?" he growled, then looked over at the growing hole in the middle of the circle. "You either help me close this portal, or so help me, I'll have your heads for this."

"Aiden didn't—"

"He didn't mean—"

They protested at the same time.

"Shut up. Get over here." As the portal grew, it made a rushing sound like a strong wind.

"Aiden can't walk. He's hurt," Dylan said.

The pain felt like it was alive and trying to eat him. Aiden wondered if he was going to die.

"Then drag him or carry him, I don't care," Mr. Johnson said. The anger on his face made him almost as terrifying as the dark fae.

Dylan bent down and helped Aiden to his feet. Aiden screamed at the pain and his knees buckled, but Dylan held him up. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"I know you didn't mean it," Aiden said through gritted teeth. Although maybe Dylan had, in the moment, meant to hurt him. But the agonized look on Dylan's face was real, and Aiden knew his friend would take it back if he could.

The howling-wind noise got louder as Dylan half dragged him closer to the portal.

"What do we do?" Dylan asked.

"You have to focus all your magic on closing the portal." Mr. Johnson had to raise his voice to be heard over the roar. He pulled a knife from his pocket and handed it to Dylan. "It needed blood to open, now it needs blood to close. Cut across your palm and squeeze a few drops onto the ground."

Dylan had to help Aiden make the cut. The pain of the slice was hardly noticeable over the agony of the burns. Little spots danced at the edges of Aiden's vision. He made a fist and a little blood dripped on the ground. Dylan did the same and handed the knife back to Mr. Johnson.

Mr. Johnson cut his hand as well. "Let the way be closed. The pathway shut. By blood made, by blood undone."

Aiden stared into that stretching hole. It wasn't just darkness—there were trees and starlight. Another world over there. That's where my birth parents are. My brother.

"Focus!" Mr. Johnson yelled. "We have to close it."

He could hardly think around the pain.

"You can do it," Dylan said. "We can do this."

Then Aiden felt a rush of heat. It didn't hurt like the burn, but it was strong. And a sensation of lizard skin, smooth with a slight pebbly texture. Dylan's magic, stronger than Aiden had ever felt it. It made the pain a little more bearable.

The tingle of magic built in his chest until it became a radiating hum.

"Close it!" Mr. Johnson shouted.

Magic poured out of Aiden. So much, so powerful. With Mr. Johnson shouting and the howling portal and the searing throb of his burns, it didn't even occur to Aiden to hold back. The dark hole rippled at the edges and started to shrink.

"Keep going," Mr. Johnson said.

"It's working." Dylan's voice was strained.

Aiden kept sending his magic toward the portal, willing it closed. Little by little, the world on the other side disappeared. As it kept collapsing and the roar died down, he couldn't help thinking, Was that my only chance to see them?

Finally it was gone. The red light in the symbols on the ground died, and it was suddenly dark. The darkness kept growing, and Aiden realized he was fainting.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

"Aiden!" Dylan felt him go limp. He lowered Aiden to the ground and laid him there gently. "Can you help him?" He looked up at the wizard—the warden—pleading.

"I have half a mind not to after the shit you pulled." Sweat stood out on the man's forehead.

"It wasn't Aiden. He tried to stop me, and I—" Dylan choked on the words. "It's all my fault. Please."

The warden frowned, but he knelt down next to Aiden. "I'm not sure I have enough left, but I'll do what I can." He held a hand over the burn on Aiden's chest and muttered something in a strange language.

Dylan watched with his heart in his throat as a faint green light touched the wound. He would give anything, anything, to take back what he'd done.

The wizard coughed, and the light faded. "That's all I've got right now." What had been a raw, blistered burn was now covered with half-healed skin. "We can get him more help shortly."

"We need to get him help right now." Dylan reached to pick him up.

The warden grabbed his arm. "You let the dark fae out. Do you have any idea what you've done?"

Dylan clenched his teeth. "I know exactly what I did."

"And Aiden had nothing to do with this?" The wizard gave him a hard look.

"No. He came here to stop me. I hurt him. I didn't... I wasn't thinking."

"You knew the dark fae wanted to open the portal to Faery, to come through to this world. He didn't lie to you about his motives?"

"No. He wanted the realms to be connected again, to be able to move freely back and forth."

"And what did he offer you in return?" The man's gaze fixed on him, staring directly into his eyes.

Admitting it was like signing his own death warrant. He glanced down at Aiden. Maybe he was too dangerous to live, if this was what he did to his friend. "Freedom," Dylan said with a growl in his tone.

The warden glared at him. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

Aiden groaned. "Don't. Don't be mad at him."

They both turned to him.

Aiden looked between them before his gaze settled on the wizard. "Mr. Johnson, please. He made a mistake. Please don't arrest him."

"Aiden, I knew—" Dylan started. He was willing to take all the blame because he deserved it. It was all his fault, everything. He tried to ignore the voice in his head that told him to do anything to get out of this problem.

Aiden squeezed his arm. "You're sorry, right?"

Dylan nodded.

Aiden looked at Mr. Johnson. "Please, don't arrest him or hurt him."

The hard look stayed on his face as he asked Dylan, "What will you do if the dark fae returns?"

A test. A chance. It was Aiden's pleading more than anything that convinced Dylan. After what he'd done, Aiden was willing to forgive him. His friend still wasn't afraid of him, wouldn't turn his back on him. "Call the wardens right away."

"You won't try to make any more deals with him, or open a portal to Faery? You won't do anything to step over the line again?"

"No. I swear," Dylan said, and Aiden squeezed his arm again.

Mr. Johnson sighed. "Do you have any idea what a fucking mess you've made?"

Dylan almost admitted the dark fae had been going to kill all the wardens, but that might make things worse.

"I need to report this—"

Aiden said, "Please don't!"

"But I don't have to tell them who was involved. I can tell them I got an anonymous tip and got here just in time to see the dark fae escaping." His gaze bored into Dylan. "And if I do this, you're going to owe me. So when I come to you and ask you to do something, you're going to do it. You too," he told Aiden.

"But he didn't—" Dylan protested.

"You could be killed for this if they knew it was your fault." He turned back to Aiden. "So I need both of you to owe me favors."

"What kind of favors?" Dylan asked. He liked the deal less and less.

Mr. Johnson glared at him, as if to remind him his life was on the line. "You'll find out when the time comes. Swear it."

"I swear," Aiden said with hardly a second of hesitation.

Dylan took a deep breath. "I swear." For Aiden's sake, because his friend believed he was worth saving.

Mr. Johnson nodded once. "Then take him out of here, and I'll call this in."

Dylan bent and slid his arms under Aiden. "Are you sure you can carry me?" Aiden asked.

"Yeah. You're a scrawny little thing." Dylan lifted him as carefully as he could and carried him out of the circle.

"How are we going to explain this? Training accident?"

"No, I'll tell them it's my fault. We had a fight, and I got carried away." As close to the truth as he could get.

"Are you sure? My parents will think—"

"I don't care. I did this, and I'll take the blame."

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Aiden was at the hospital for a few hours before they released him. By the next night, he was sore and his face was peeling like he had a bad sunburn. The doctors had told him he would heal completely in time.

It had taken a lot of begging, but his parents agreed to let him go to the gravel pit. He needed to talk to Dylan. Aiden rubbed gently at his chest while he waited. The fist-sized scar itched, but there was little pain. The way the doctors had healed him really was magical.

Dylan appeared at the edge of the pit, head down and hands stuffed deep in his pockets. "Having second thoughts?"

"About the agreement we made with Mr. Johnson?" Aiden would have agreed to almost anything to keep Dylan from being punished.

"About being my friend." Dylan sat on one of the flat rocks they used as benches.

"Maybe. Why did you do it? Are the rules really that bad?"

Dylan glanced over before staring off into the distance. "There's something inside me. Maybe it's the dragon part of me, or maybe it's beyond that. But it... I have dreams about burning cities. Just setting everything on fire and watching the world burn. And the worst part of it is I want it more than anything. In those dreams I'm free."

Aiden didn't know what to say to that. He shivered and wrapped his arms around himself.

"I'm just as dangerous as everyone says I am. They've been right all along. I even hurt you."

"You didn't mean to."

"Yes I did. Just for a second, I was willing to do anything to keep you from stopping me." Dylan looked at him and there were tears swimming in his eyes. "I'm not worth saving. You should've let that warden kill me. I could have killed you." A tear spilled out and rolled down his cheek.

"But you didn't." He'd seen how sorry Dylan was. No way that was fake.

"God, why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because you're my friend. Because I know you're a good person."

Dylan snorted. "I'm not. I'm terrible." He rubbed angrily at the tears.

"If you're so terrible, then why did you stop? Why did you help close the portal? Why did you agree to owe Mr. Johnson a favor?"

"Because you wanted to protect me, after what I'd done. After I hurt you." Dylan turned away again.

"I had to. I'm the one who called Mr. Johnson. It's my fault he was there. I was worried about what you might do, but I didn't want him to lock you up or... or kill you. Even when you said those terrible things, I didn't want you to get hurt. I had to make up for it. To keep you safe."

"You were right to call him," Dylan said.

Aiden had to find a way to make Dylan understand, to stop feeling so guilty. "It could have been me, you know. That dark fae... he came to me in my dreams. Told me he could help find my parents. He wanted me to use that blood magic to open the portal to Faery."

Dylan turned, surprise on his face. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"So you were able to resist evil and I wasn't. See? You're just a better person."

"No. I told my tutor and she warned me he was bad news, so I blocked him from my dreams."

Dylan shook his head. "I knew what he was, what he wanted. You should stay away from me. I'll only hurt you, drag you down with me."

Now Aiden felt like crying. "I want things to go back to the way they were. I want to stay friends."

"Why?"

"Because you're the best friend I've ever had. And I don't care what you say, what you think. You're worth saving." No matter what Dylan said, Aiden couldn't believe he was evil.

"I'll always have this darkness inside me."

"And the good parts too."

To his surprise, Dylan laughed. "You're crazy. If you want to stay my friend so bad, after seeing the worst of me, then fine. I tried to chase you away, and you just came right back."

"You can't get rid of me." Aiden hugged him and Dylan went stiff.

Then after a moment, Dylan relaxed and put an awkward arm around him. "You'll have to help me fight this thing inside me."

"I will." Aiden drew back. "And you'll keep training me to use my magic, and you can help me to not be afraid of the power inside me." It scared him to think about how much magic he'd used to close the portal. All of that inside him, even while he'd been in so much pain. He had to be even stronger now that he was healed.

Dylan nodded. "And if I try to do anything stupid like that again, tell me to stop. I swear I'll listen."

"Of course." Aiden smiled. "That's what friends are for."

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The 7 Bad Habits of Slightly Troubled Monsters

The second book in the Shadow Valley series

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The plants and trees were still asleep but Aiden felt the first hints of stirring. Water dripped from roofs and puddled on the sidewalks as the snow melted. He took a deep breath as he walked to the bus stop, warmth and wetness on the breeze.

Toby and Tina waved to him from the corner. "What classes did you get?" Toby asked.

It was the start of a new semester and Aiden was nervous all over again. His good mood faded at the reminder. "I got moved into the intermediate class for Major Magical Control."

"Oh, wow." Toby's eyes widened. "With the sophomores?"

Aiden nodded.

"You must be really good," Tina said.

"I'd be excited to get advance placement, but this is the one class I don't want it in." He was also worried about Minor Magical Control. The shift in classes might mean he wouldn't have it with Maggie anymore and he didn't know what he'd do without her help.

"You'll do fine," Toby said.

The bus pulled up and they got on. Toby slid in beside him. "Lemme see your list." Toby pulled out his, crumpled from being shoved in his pocket. Aiden took his from where he'd tucked it carefully in the front pouch of his backpack.

"Oh! We have homeroom together." Toby smiled, then stuck out his tongue. "Yuck. Math first thing in the morning."

"I like math. Numbers always make sense." Not like magic. Not like the weird life he'd been sucked into.

Toby leaned his head back. "Math is borrrring."

Aiden laughed and shook his head.

"Do you have any classes with Dylan?" Tina asked.

"Major Magical Control." Which made his stomach jitter. He'd forgiven Dylan for burning him but he wasn't eager to see his friend throwing flames around. "And Bio." They'd compared classes the day the schedules arrived in the mail.

Tina smiled. "If you got moved to the intermediate class, of course he did. And Bio, that's nice. You know who your lab partner will be."

"Yeah." If he made it that far through the day. Aiden worried he might panic when Dylan used his power.

At least he was starting out the semester along with everyone else, not late like at the beginning of the school year. If he worked hard this time, he was hoping to earn advance placement in one or two classes for next year. English, probably, and maybe math.

The first two hours were a blur of syllabi, books being passed out, grading systems and class expectations. Then Aiden walked across the frozen school yard to the annex building. Dylan was already waiting in the locker room, tying his shoes.

"Hey," he said with a slight smile. Today's t-shirt had a grinning skull with the words "Five Finger Death Punch" written across it. Considering all his other shirts had been music related, Aiden assumed that was a band name. How charming.

"Hi." Aiden forced a smile.

"God, I can't wait." Dylan finished tying his shoes and rubbed his hands together. "Matches with the sophomores."

Aiden went to his locker. "Oh, goody."

"Don't worry. You'll do fine." Dylan slapped him on the back and left.

When he was gone, Aiden leaned his head against the cool metal. He'd never been afraid of Dylan before. Well, Dylan had never hurt him before.

He took as long as he could, risking being late. Walking into the gym, he saw Dylan standing in the middle of the floor just like usual, and it made him feel a little better. Among the unfamiliar faces on the bench, he spotted the fox sisters and that made him feel better, too.

That all ended when Ms. Yang walked over with her clipboard and said, "Welcome to a new semester. We have a few ninth graders joining us who are exceptionally skilled. Dylan and Aiden, why don't you start us off?"

Aiden's stomach dropped. A match with Dylan? That was the last thing he wanted. "Um... I don't ..."

Dylan smiled. "C'mon. Let's give 'em a show." Fire lit around his clenched fists.

Sweat broke out all over his body and Aiden got dizzy. "I don't feel so good." He swayed and stumbled toward the bench. His chest tingled where he'd been burned.

Ms. Yang hurried to help him sit. "Okay, just relax. Are you sick?" She looked closely at his face. "You do look really pale. Sit here for a few minutes and I'll have someone take you down to the nurse."

"I'll do it." Dylan appeared beside him, frowning with concern. The fire was gone.

Dylan was the reason he was so afraid. It would be better if he went away, but... his worry was real and was Aiden's best friend. So Aiden protest when Ms. Yang said, "Okay. Thank you, Dylan."

Dylan sat next to him on the bench. "What happened?"

"I just didn't feel good all of a sudden." The lie made him feel worse. But if he said anything it would just make Dylan feel guilty. It had been an accident.

"Let me know when you think you can walk. I'm not carrying your ass." Dylan gave him a slight smile.

After a few minutes, Aiden took a deep breath. "I think I'm okay." He felt a little weak, but not dizzy anymore.

"All right. Come on." Dylan stood and offered a hand.

They stopped in the locker room for Aiden's coat and then walked across to the main building. Dylan was missing out on his favorite class, the only class he cared about. Aiden's chest squeezed with guilt and he shivered as the sweat cooled on his skin.

When they got to the nurse's office, Dylan waited outside while the nurse checked Aiden over. The nurse found nothing wrong, just like Aiden knew she would, and let him go with instructions to come straight back if he had another dizzy spell.

By the time they got back, class was almost over so they changed out of their gym clothes and headed to lunch.

"Is something wrong?" Dylan asked. "I mean, do you know what happened with you?"

"No." Aiden kept his eyes on the floor as they entered the lunch room.

"Okay. Just... you know, be careful." Dylan grabbed a tray

He won't hurt me. He never meant to, it was an accident. Things will be better tomorrow.
Other books by Devin Harnois

Young Adult

Not My Apocalypse (Alex Holden book 1)

Saint of Sinners (Alex Holden book 2)

Lord of Hell (Alex Holden book 3)

How to Make Friends and Not Incinerate People (Shadow Valley #1)

The 7 Bad Habits of Slightly Troubled Monsters (Shadow Valley #2)

How to Survive High School Without Really Dying (Shadow Valley #3)

Zen and the Art of Major Magical Control (Shadow Valley #4)

Dragonkin Are from Mars, Changelings Are from Venus (Shadow Valley #5)

Rainbow Islands

Romance

Darkness at Dawn (Love and Monsters book 1)

Taming the Darkness (Love and Monsters book 2)

Through the Fire

Erik's Tale

Undaunted

Mages & Mechanisms

Other

Emma and the Air Pirates
About The Author

Devin Harnois writes YA and Romance of the fantastical sort. Somehow his books keep getting more queer. When he isn't writing he spends too much time on Twitter and plays a lot of Dragon Age.

Find Devin at:

Twitter: devinharnois

Blog: devinharnois.com

Email: devinharnois@gmail.com

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Anne Victory for being a great editor, Kanaxa for the awesome cover, and to my beta readers Ekaterina, Robyn, and Keith. Thanks so much!

Copyright © 2014 Devin Harnois

All rights reserved.

Cover design by Kanaxa

Edited by Anne Victory
