The kind of sessions he rarely had with Ash anymore.But that, again, wasn’t something he’d say out loud.Some feelings, he thought, worked better as poetry.
“Ash has been a bit, ah, busy—but we’re actually meeting up for dinner tonight downtown,” Kieran explained, doing his best to keep the smile on his face.“He wants to talk to me about something.”
Delilah gasped.“He does?What do you think it is?Moving in together?”
“Oh—um—it’s a little early for that, don’t you think?”
Briar scoffed, jabbing a thumb in Delilah’s direction.“Are you forgetting we rented this place after being together for, oh, a month and a half?”
“Your love broke two ancient curses within a few weeks of each other,” Kieran argued.“Your timeline is a little different from that of most relationships.”
Briar and Delilah exchanged a look.Delilah said, “That’s…a fair point.Regardless, I’m sure it’ll be something exciting.I’ll buy us champagne to celebrate when you get home.”
“Tell him we say hi,” Briar agreed.
“Will do.”Kieran stood up from the couch, shaking out his blond curls where they hung around his shoulders.“I’ll be in my room getting ready if you need me.”
With that, he left, doing his best to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut.
Later that evening, Kieran pulled his royal-blue scarf tighter around his face as he hustled down the street in the direction of the restaurant Ash had invited him to.The golden skyscrapers of Gellingham framed him on either side, creating something of a wind tunnel.The snow had gone from a light dusting to a flurry of fat flakes that stuck to Kieran’s eyelashes as he hunched to avoid the wind.He was used to snow, generally speaking—the Pelumbra family’s estate was located high in the Slicetooth Mountains, which meant he’d seen a lot of snow in his childhood—but that didn’t mean he liked it.
The yellow glow of the streetlights guided him to a little hole-in-the-wall shop promisingPiping-Hot RamenandCheap Meat Skewers, according to the wooden signs hanging outside.Kieran shouldered the door open, stepping inside along with a gust of snowy wind.
A few people crowded around small tables glanced up at him, including Ash, who sat at a table in the far back of the restaurant.He stood from his chair and waved Kieran over.Kieran shrugged off his coat as he crossed the slightly sticky floor past the chef, who was in the midst of laying out bowls of steaming ramen on the counter for the waitstaff to grab.The walls were decorated with colorful graffiti, some seemingly done professionally while other bits had clearly been drawn by patrons.The whole place smelled of grilling meat and spices, and it made Kieran’s mouth water.
Ash offered Kieran a shaky smile as he came to the table and draped his peacoat over the back of his chair.Ash Bartelle was nineteen, a slim boy with warm brown skin and eyes like wildflower honey.His tight curls had been shaved short since the lasttime they’d seen each other, exposing his high cheekbones.He’d elected to wear his glasses that evening and was still dressed in his classic witch’s robes from his job at the Library of Curses.
“I was worried you got lost in the storm,” Ash said, squeezing Kieran’s arm.Kieran instinctively began to lean in to give him a peck on the cheek, but Ash pulled away at the last moment, playing it off by adding, “I was about to send a search party.”
Kieran’s throat tightened.It’s probably nothing.He just wants a little more space today, I’m sure.Or he’s worried he smells bad or something—I’m overthinking it.
Kieran unwound his scarf from his neck while he shrugged.“I’m still getting the hang of navigating around here.But the snow didn’t help, in my defense.”
Ash laughed at that, but as Kieran sat down, he couldn’t help but notice how Ash’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.Kieran’s grin drooped.When Ash had mentioned meeting up to chat about something important, Kieran had done his best not to overthink.Which, of course, had led to a night of tossing and turning in bed and having to put his head between his knees to keep from hyperventilating.Suddenly, that anxious energy that had stuck to his ribs the night before solidified into a noticeable weight in his chest.
A few minutes later, a waiter stopped by and took their order, barely giving Kieran time to pick a random item off the menu.Once he’d left, Ash ran a hand back over his buzzed hair, as if trying to steady himself.“So, um,” he began, “it’s been a little while since I saw you last.Anything…exciting going on?”Kieran stared down into the tiny clay cup of jasmine tea that Ash had pouredfor him, watching a few loose leaves float around inside.“She’s been working on creating a version of ledrith for defensive magic instead of offensive, and the Council was really impressed.She passed, obviously.Not that anyone’s surprised.”
“That’s— Wow.Really incredible.”Ash blinked, seemingly a little taken aback.“It’s not often you hear about witches creating entirely new forms of spellcasting, especially when it comes to something like combat dance.”
Kieran shrugged, forcing a smile.“Well, you know my sister.She’s, ah…better at magic than most.”
Better than me, certainly,he stopped himself from saying.
“And what aboutyourCalling?”Ash asked.“Have you decided what you’re doing?”
Kieran tensed.Ash had been asking about that since Kieran moved to Gellingham.Because both Kieran’s and Briar’s existence had been a secret up until recently, the Witches’ Council had granted them an extension on their Callings, the magical test they needed to pass to legally wield magic in Celdwyn.Naturally, Briar’s Calling only took a week to complete instead of the usual six months, as she’d planned it out for months beforehand.Since then, she’d been planning to join a ledrith gym in hopes of teaching her techniques to other witches.
Which was all fine and good, of course.But it didn’t make Kieran feel any better about the fact that his extension was about to run out and he still had no idea how to prove that he was worthy of being a witch.
Kieran rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.“Uh.Well—you know my poetry?I—I was thinking maybe I could write abook of poems and they’d all be different spells.So people could pick a different poem and get a little enchantment for whatever they need that day.”
“Oh!”Ash smiled, but his mouth seemed a bit lopsided and there was a wrinkle in his forehead.“That sounds…nice.”
Kieran nearly winced.He’d shown Ash a few of his poems in the past, and the reception had been…tepid.There’d been a lot of polite nodding and suggestions for other poets to check out to help “hone the craft” in a way that was, perhaps, a bit less “melodramatic”—all Ash’s words, of course.Kieran didn’t know what he was talking about.His writing wasraw.It wasevocative.He’d just figured Ash’s taste was different from his.
Kieran crossed his arms and sank a little lower in his seat.“I’m still brainstorming.”
Thankfully, after a few more minutes of small talk, the waiter returned with their orders.With his bowl of miso pork ramen in front of him, Kieran was able to at least refocus on that instead of Ash’s forced smiles and overly sunny questioning.
