“Kathleen,” Mom hisses. “He’s not high fae?”
“I mean, he’s…half.”
Nadine drops her voice like we’re telling secrets. “Does he have a wand?”
“Several. He’s a few college classes away from becoming a sorcerer.”
“Oh,” Nadine draws out the word, looking toward the back garden. “Handsome and gifted.”
“And dangerous,” my mother feels the need to add.
I glance at her, uneasy. I didn’t expect this, but I suppose I should have. All my life, my parents have been telling me to stay away from mages.
Mom studies me for several seconds, and then her stance softens. “Don’t give me that look. I suppose I trust your judgment.” Then, as if she can’t help herself, she adds, “Mostly.”
Mostly.
Together, we walk into the cottage. Dad and Rowan enter the living room from the kitchen, finished with the horse.
Nadine gestures toward the empty perch. “We’ve been here all afternoon, and I haven’t seen your owl.” She looks around as if he’ll suddenly appear. “Where is he? Does he sleep outside during the day? I was hoping to make friends with him.”
I slowly turn to Rowan, not sure how to proceed. Mouth set in a firm line, he offers me the subtlest of shrugs, silently telling me we might as well get it over with.
Okay. Here we go.
“Rowan is the owl,” I say calmly.
The room falls silent.
Nadine finds her voice first. “He’s a shifter? I thought you said he’s a mage.”
“Heisa mage. He’s studying metamorphoses and had a slight setback—” I cut myself off, deciding to change tactics. “You know what? It doesn’t really matter. He’s not an owl anymore.”
“Are you telling usRowanis the owl you inherited from your aunt?” Mom demands.
Oh, this isn’t good.
I glance at Rowan. “Technically…yes?”
“Young man.” My father faces Rowan, looking horribly uncomfortable—like he knows he must step into stern father mode but is quite allergic to any form of confrontation. “You’re not living in the cottage with my daughter, are you?”
“No, sir.” Rowan blanches, extending his hands palm-up as if that will show his innocence. “I mean, I was. While I was an owl. But I’m not anymore.” He swallows hard. “Sir.”
Usually, Rowan is extremely well-spoken, but he’s flustered right now.
“No wonder you like living here,” Nadine whispers to me. “Vermont issomuch more fun than I expected.”
Well, I’m glad she’s enjoying herself, because Rowan looks like he wants to turn back into an owl and fly far,faraway.
After the awkward introduction,Rowan attempts a graceful escape, but my parents won’t hear of it. So he ends up staying through dinner, as tense as a man at a job interview.
“He likes you so much,” Nadine says to me quietly from the kitchen entry, sipping a cup of peppermint tea as she looks into the living room where Rowan currently sits with my parents. “Look how nervous he is.”
“I feel bad.”
“Why? Your parents are delightful. Most would have tossed him out on his tail-feathers the minute they learned about the weird inheritance thing, but they’re genuinely making an effort.”
“It’s not like any of this is Rowan’s fault. And besides, he was an owl when he lived here—not exactly a threat to my innocence.”
