“Peri!” Fen catches me in the dorm common room as everyone’s heading out for breakfast. My friend exudes happiness like a shower of gumdrops.

  I have to grin back at her. “Did you get good news?”

  “Not exactly.” She steps into the hall with an unusual spring in her step. “Last night, I met a new being who just came to the school yesterday. She’s a selkie, so she knows all about watery powers. And she’s really nice. She gave me some tips on keeping mine held in, and I think it might be enough for me to finally get the hang of it! You’ll like her too. She’s in one of the other dorms, but we can sit with her at breakfast.”

  I keep smiling through Fen’s deluge of excitement, but my stomach tightens. She made a new friend yesterday, and they might already have solved her biggest problem?

  She’s never been overjoyed like this during any time we’ve spent together.

  Why should she have been? I gave her company and encouragement, but it isn’t as if I ever really helped her, is it?

  I brightened her day a little, stopped her from feeling lonely, but my presence hasn’t had any more impact than one of those flickering glows that passes over my hair.

  “That’s great!” I tell Fen, and I mean it. If she can stop herself from accidentally conjuring water in awkward situations, the other students won’t have any reason to make fun of her. She’ll be able to move through the levels at the school, transfer over to the voluntary building once she’s graduated from the reform program, make lots more friends…

  She’s been nothing but kind to me since I arrived here. Of course she deserves to find her footing and her place in the world.

  It isn’t her fault that my happiness for her is selfishly bittersweet.

  Fen rubs her hands together eagerly. “She used to live in the sea. I’ve never been to one of those. Have you seen an ocean before?”

  I have vague memories of a big expanse of water almost the same color as my hair, from long before I knew about sorcerers and cages. “I think so. One of the first times I came to the mortal realm.”

  In my distraction, I bump against one of the other beings in the hall. Or maybe she bumps into me, but because it’s Vim, our classmate who’s always trying to puff herself up and look tough, she looks peeved anyway.

  She rolls her eyes at me and grimaces. “Can’t even walk straight, and you think you have so much amazing advice for the rest of us.”

  As Vim strides off, Fen knocks her elbow playfully against mine. “She just wishes she had as good a friend as you. How soon do you have to leave again? Brine is starting at level 3, but she might be in one of our classes this afternoon anyway.”

  Her compliment combined with the reminder of her much better friend twist up my gut into a heavy lump. I swallow hard and suddenly can’t imagine forcing any food down my throat.

  The words tumble out before I have a chance to think better of them. “Actually, I can’t even come to breakfast. We’re supposed to leave pretty early this morning—I need to go finish preparing.”

  Fen frowns, but my excuse only dampens her joy a little. “That’s too bad. Well, you can meet Brine the next time you’re back. How much longer do you think Rollick is going to keep you on this mission before he decides you’re safe to go back to regular classes?”

  “I don’t know. Hopefully we’ll be done soon.” Although what Rollick is going to decide based on how much I’ve contributed—or not—I have no idea.

  I grab her hand for a quick squeeze. “We’ll be able to hang out again soon. I’m glad you’ll have Brine to keep you company when while I’m gone.”

  Fen has been a wonderful friend to me. I don’t want to bring her good mood down.

  Part of controlling my own powers is knowing when to back away from a situation that’s stirring up emotions I’d rather not have, right?

  I tell myself that, but parting ways with her at a split in the hall still feels like running off with my tail between my legs.

  How can I be a good friend if I’m getting upset the second she makes a new one?

  I don’t actually have any final preparations to make. I wander a little aimlessly until I spot one of the sliding glass doors that leads to the inner courtyard up ahead.

  Most of the reform building’s other students are at breakfast. A couple of beings lounge together on one of the benches, and a few others are sitting cross-legged on the patio stones playing some sort of game with shiny tokens.

  I veer away from them, off into the garden area at one end of the courtyard. Amid the flowering bushes, I find a clear spot where I can sink down on the firmly packed dirt and lean against the slim trunk of the one small tree.

  I draw my legs up to my chest, wrap my arms around them, and rest my chin on my knees. An ache I don’t totally understand spreads through my chest.

  A burn of tears that make even less sense forms behind my eyes. I squeeze my eyelids shut as if I can push them back that way.

  Everything is fine. Nothing’s wrong. We’ve made progress with our mission. My best friend is closer to moving up in the levels. I’m keeping my emotions in check right now, not letting them overwhelm me or burst out.

  But I can’t stop myself from seeing Vim’s sneer as she mocked my attempts at advice. Jonah’s uncomfortable expression yesterday when he explained that the way I make him feel is a problem. The anger flashing in Hail’s eyes before he stormed off on me the other night, because I wouldn’t ignore the uneasiness I could tell he was feeling.

  I open my eyes again, hoping to dismiss those memories, and the bushes in front of me rustle. Before I can do more than tense up, a furry, orange-red face pokes between the leaves with ears perked.

  The fox cocks its head at the sight of me and then leaps into the gap between the plants next to me. He rolls onto his back with a whirl of his five tails like he’s a helicopter about to take off. With another flip, he flings himself right up into the air, seeming to actually hover for a few seconds.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Then he whips his body around so that he lands cushioned on those same tails with an immensely pleased expression.

  A giggle breaks through the ache that’s gripping my chest. The animal gives me a very foxy smile and then ripples into Mirage’s human-like form, other than the furred ears above his human ones that he doesn’t bother to retract.

  He tips his head to the side much like he did as a fox, his eyes glinting with mischief, and speaks in a hush as if afraid of being overheard. “What are you doing hiding away in here, Rainbow? Some new sneaky mission?”

  Another laugh bubbles up, but my tumultuous emotions stew around it. I rub my face. “I just needed a little time alone.”

  Mirage’s smile vanishes. He moves to retreat. “I won’t bother—”

  “No.” I catch his sleeve before he can pull out of reach. “I’m glad you found me. Watching you play cheered me up.”

  The fox shifter brightens again, but in a more subdued way than before. His ears flick away within his ruddy hair.

  He lifts his hand to trail his fingers over my own hair. “Why are you blue, Rainbow?”

  My lips twitch with a hint of amusement at his phrasing, even though the question is serious. “No good reason. I guess I’m trying to figure that out. It feels like… like I know what I want to be doing in the world, but I have no idea how to do it. Nothing I try really works.”

  Mirage hums and eases closer again. He sits down by my side, turned to face me, and keeps fiddling with my hair, twisting a strand into a corkscrew curl. “What do you want to be doing?”

  “Making people feel good,” I say automatically. “Happy, safe, excited, proud… All those things.”

  “And what makes you think that you’re not?”

  An awkward flush creeps up my neck. I shrug. “Other than the outbursts where I literally hurt people? I don’t see it happening very much, and I do see people getting annoyed or upset with me.”

  Mirage lets out a soft huff. “You don’t annoy me.”

  I look over at him, meeting his bright brown gaze. “I did sometimes. You seemed irritated the first time I talked to you.”

  The fox shifter opens his mouth and closes it again. He droops his gaze with an abashed expression. “It wasn’t really you bothering me. You were being kind. I… It’s scary feeling that someone is safe to be around, because if they’re safe then there are other things I might want to talk about, but I don’t even want to think about them, and—”

  He cuts himself off, his eyebrows rising as if he’s surprised himself, and then laughs roughly. His smile coming back, he nuzzles my cheek in a way that sets off a sudden flurry of sparks over my skin. “Like that. But now that I’ve been around you more, I think maybe… it will feel good after I get through that part. Better than running away. You let me see that.”

  A lump fills my throat. I don’t know everything that’s haunting this charmingly erratic being, but there’s no mistaking the affection and gratitude in his voice.

  Is it possible I have helped Fen in ways I haven’t totally seen too?

  I touch the side of his face, running my thumb over his smooth brown skin, the arch of his high cheekbone. “Mirage—”

  Before I can go on, a larger form pushes through the bushes. “Peri? Are you all right? I—"

  Raze jars to a halt the second he sets eyes on us. His lips pull back with a low growl, his gaze narrowing in on Mirage. “What are you doing here?”

  I hold up my hand to bring his attention back to me, but the fox shifter has already jerked away from me. He hunches his shoulders in a submissive posture. “Not getting in your way or making a play. Only trying to cheer her up. She seemed to need it.”

  I suck in a breath to add my confirmation, but Raze’s posture relaxes. He crouches down amid the garden, considering Mirage and then me with a twist of his mouth. “I saw you didn’t come to breakfast. Something’s wrong. Who upset you?”

  I manage a wry smile. “Mostly just myself. I feel a little better now.”

  “Because of him.” Raze studies Mirage a little longer. “You noticed. It mattered to you enough that you looked after her.”

  The tension has seeped from the fox shifter’s stance too. He dips his head in a nod. His eyes gleam when he glances at me. “She’s got a whole rainbow in her. A being that special needs to be watched out for.”

  His words and his gaze send a flutter through my chest. I don’t know if Raze can tell or if he’s simply going by Mirage’s reaction, but he hesitates and then says, “You care about her a lot. You like her… in a lot of different ways.”

  Mirage’s voice becomes even more tender. “She is very special. It’s very enjoyable to show her that. However I can. As long as it’s welcome.”

  A heated energy tingles through the air. Raze meets my eyes again, careful and maybe a bit curious. “You enjoy being around him too.”

  I reach out to stroke my lover’s jaw. “I do. But it has nothing to do with enjoying you, which you know I do, very much. He really was just reassuring me and cheering me up. If anything else would make you upset—”

  Raze inhales sharply, cutting me off. “I think… I think it shouldn’t. Mirage wouldn’t hurt you.”

  He pauses again as if grappling with something inside himself. A glimmer lights in his eyes that isn’t so different from the fox shifter’s usual sly glint.

  Raze lifts his chin toward Mirage. “She could feel even better. I want to see how she’d look if you kiss her.”

  Mirage blinks at him. For a second, I think he’s offended by the domineering request. My pulse skitters.

  Then the fox shifter turns the full force of his grin on me. “Would that make you even happier, Rainbow?”

  My heart thuds even faster, but nothing about the rhythm is fearful now. When I peek at Raze, he’s watching avidly.

  I wet my lips instinctively. “Yes. I think it would.”

  Mirage scoots toward me and teases his fingers back into my hair. Anticipation shivers giddily through me.

  He tips forward and catches my mouth with his.

  The gentle press of Mirage’s lips summons a whole swell of giddiness that wraps around my heart. As I kiss him back, Raze takes a rough breath with a trace of a groan. The basilisk shifter edges closer and rests his hand on my back with a rush of warmth.

  And the PA system crackles to life with Shanty’s voice reverberating from the speaker. “The students scheduled for this morning’s trip north should report to the admin room now.”