Chapter 14
Fourteen
Dani and McKenna tried to visit Oliver at the university clinic the following day, only to be told nonfamily visitors weren’t allowed.
A sympathetic nurse assured them that Oliver was conscious and well taken care of, and that she expected they’d be recovered enough to be sent back to their dorm in the next day or two.
Dani and McKenna left the clinic, debating whether to try to get in touch with Oliver’s brother. In the end, they agreed the clinic would likely contact him, and resolved to be there for Oliver as soon as they could.
They tried to keep themselves busy at the library that afternoon, but Dani couldn’t make her brain concentrate on homework.
She was staring at a statistics problem on her quartzpad, not even pretending to attempt a solution, when a message popped into her inbox.
Her foolish heart skipped a beat, like it did every time she got a notification, praying it would be from Kass.
She’d been trying to work up the courage to write to him herself, but every time she opened a new draft, she couldn’t find the right words.
The message wasn’t from Kass, though, but from Professor Silva, with the subject line Extracurricular Project. Dani gritted her teeth and opened it.
It read simply: I’m pleased to hear you’re interested after all. Our first group meeting will take place on Tuesday at the dream lab, eleven A.M. If this interferes with class time for you, I’ll write a note for your professor. Don’t be late.
Dani took in a shuddering breath, then sent a quick reply: Did you hear about Oliver? They’re in the clinic.
She waited for a response, but nothing came.
McKenna left around six to harvest glamour components from the forest, but Dani stayed in the library until it was time to go to Quarter Cast for her shift.
She was about to duck down the alley behind the café and head to the back door when she saw someone sitting at one of the tables on the front sidewalk.
Her stomach contracted when she realized she recognized that sticky-uppy brown hair.
Kass jumped out of his seat once he saw her coming.
He had his backpack over one shoulder and a nice navy peacoat on.
His skin shone purple from the sign for Quarter Cast—an ultraviolet teapot whose spout was enchanted to send a cloud of steam billowing behind the words.
Dani had never seen him look this nervous before, and it quite frankly aggravated his cuteness.
“Kass,” she said, managing to get his name out clearly even though her heart was lodged in her throat. “Hey.”
“Hi,” he said. “I was hoping you were working tonight. Do you think we could talk?”
“Yeah,” Dani said. “Sure.” They were standing an awkward distance away from each other, neither knowing quite how to hold their bodies in this moment.
“I can’t stay,” Kass said apologetically. “I’ve got a meeting for a group presentation. But I really wanted to see you. I had to say sorry about what happened at my party.”
“Sorry?” Dani repeated. “For what? I’m the one who ditched you. I’ve just felt terrible about it.”
The strain left Kass’s face, and he smiled. “You didn’t ditch me,” he said. “It was a weird situation, and I didn’t mean to make you the center of attention. I would probably have peaced out, too, if it were the other way around.”
Dani let out a huge exhale, her clenched stomach expanding again.
“Wow,” she said, not bothering to hide her relief—not just at how understanding he was being, but at the fact that all this seemed to be of his own admission, no colors coalescing in her mind.
“And here I thought I spoiled everything.”
“No!” Kass said hastily. “No, no, not at all. I hate that you thought that. This weekend was just—there was some family stuff, and I didn’t have time to come by or message. I’m really sorry.”
“Please don’t be sorry.” They were a ridiculous picture, apologizing and then scolding each other for it. “I’m just glad to know you weren’t upset.”
“I was upset about the way it ended, but not because of you.” Kass moved out of the way of someone heading into the café.
Dani took that moment to cross over to his side of the door.
They were standing closer together now, and she could see the faint touch of pink in his cheeks.
Probably just from the cold. “Anyway, I was hoping we could have a redo. Can I take you out this week?”
“You mean, like on a date?”
“I think that’s what the kids are calling it these days, yeah.”
“Yes,” Dani said, and the smile that spread across her face felt like a fucking miracle. “I mean, yeah, I’d like that.”
“Cool,” Kass said, like it was no big deal, but he was rocking very lightly on his heels. “What’s a good night? You’re the busy one.”
“I’m off on Thursday this week, if that works.”
“Thursday’s perfect. I’ll pick you up at six. What’s your dorm?”
“Oh, I—I actually live off campus.”
“Gotcha. Same, obviously. Just shoot me your address on your quartz.”
Dani resisted the urge to pull out her quartzpad and do it right that very second. “Where are we going?”
“That,” Kass said, “is for me to know and you to find out.”
“Come on! How will I know how to dress, then?”
“Just come as you are,” he said with a mysterious smile. “You’ll be perfect.”
“I can guarantee you that I will not be,” Dani said, “but at the very least, I’ll be there with bells on.
” She was giddy at the realization that everything Kass had said just now, he’d said because he wanted to.
Was this what other people felt like all the time?
Sincerity coming organically, instead of being prompted by some invisible hand?
“Great,” Kass said. “I’ll—I’ll see you then, I guess.
” He started toward her, as if going in for a hug, then moved past her at the last second with an embarrassed laugh, off in the direction she had come.
Dani reached for the door handle, pausing to look after him before she entered, and blinked when she saw a dark, scruffy dog with a backpack on, trotting down the sidewalk.
Mages, she thought to herself, smiling, and went inside.
The asked-out-on-a-real-date bliss didn’t last long.
She was a bundle of nerves all the next day, wondering how Oliver was doing and torturing herself about agreeing to help Silva, whether she’d made the right choice or not.
Her involvement would necessitate more people finding out about her ability, a prospect that made her uncomfortable—but she expected that would be the least of her worries in the long run.
Dani went into Quarter Cast before her shift was scheduled and managed to pick up some extra hours by letting one of her coworkers go home early.
She didn’t want to think. She just wanted to make coffee and deal with picky customers—something she never thought she’d actually wish for.
And she got her wish: The shift was a raging headache, complete with a pitcher of iced coffee dropped in the ice machine. The foot traffic didn’t die down until around eleven, when Dani finally got a chance to breathe and clean things up.
The door-ghost called out as she bent to sweep crumbs and coffee grinds into a dustpan. She couldn’t help but feel peeved, having hoped for a respite so she could actually tidy up the bar. But when she stood, those feelings melted away.
“Oh, gods,” she said. “Oh my gods, Oliver.”
She tossed the dustpan to the floor, sending its contents scattering across the tiles, then ran across the café, throwing her arms around Oliver’s neck and burying her face in their shoulder.
They hugged her tightly around the waist, and for a minute the two just stood like that, holding each other.
When she finally pulled back, she realized she was crying. She brushed her tears away and looked up into Oliver’s face. They certainly seemed better—awake, their pupils back to normal, no signs of a nosebleed—but the expression on their face was so, so sad.
“Dani,” they said. “I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am—”
Dani shook her head emphatically. “No,” she said. “No, you don’t need to be sorry. None of this is your fault. I’m just glad we found you.”
“Me too,” Oliver said. “Sadie’s out of town at some music workshop, so I don’t know what would have happened if we hadn’t made those plans. Thank you.”
“How are you?” Dani asked. “I mean … did they help you at the clinic at all?”
She started to drift back toward the bar, and Oliver came with her, shrugging.
“As much as they could. They were able to wake me up, just like last time, and then sedate me again with some combination of drugs that let me sleep without—without going into that kind of an episode. But they had to wake me up again, of course, and I still had awful nightmares.”
“I’m sorry,” Dani said, even though the words felt useless. She hesitated. “Um, when you were dreaming, you said something about me being the only one who could tell them. Were you actually dreaming about me?”
“Oh,” Oliver said, frowning. “No, I don’t remember you being in the dream. It was one of the shadow-demon ones—I think they were threatening my little sister.”
Dani nodded. “Emi. You said her name.” There was a sour taste in her mouth; she couldn’t imagine how scary it must be to have such realistic nightmares as that. “Did you—did the doctors call your brother?”
“Yeah,” Oliver said. “Emi’s fine, obviously. Asa was really concerned, but I managed to convince him that I’d just pulled one too many all-nighters. He has way too much on his plate to be adding me to it.”
Dani caught the inside of her lip between her teeth. She thought Oliver should let Asa decide that for himself, but she was the last person who’d make an unsolicited comment on someone’s decisions related to their family.
“I know, I know,” Oliver said quickly, a self-aware orange growing like a sunrise in Dani’s mind.
“I should tell him the truth. And I will. But I need a little more time to try to figure it out on my own first. Well, not on my own,” they added on second thought.
“Silva was waiting for me when I checked out of the clinic. We went straight to the arcanobotany lab. I showed her all the research I’ve been working on, and we picked out a few plants and made another charm together.
Her colleagues gave her some suggestions on how to improve it, too, so I’m hoping it’ll be stronger than the last one.
” They paused. “Silva also told me that—that you agreed to help us figure this out.”
Dani slid back into her usual spot behind the espresso machine. “Yeah,” she said. “Yeah, I did.”
Oliver looked down, pinching the bridge of their nose as if to stop themself from crying. “I can’t tell you how—I just can’t express how much—”
“You don’t have to,” Dani said softly. “I’m here for you, Oliver. Between all of us, I know we can figure this out. Now,” she said, rapping her knuckles on the counter to signal a change in subject, “do you want your usual, or are you in the mood for something different?”
At that, Oliver smiled. “Surprise me.”