Defensive Magic-Chapter 38: He Ordered the Oysters

WINTER TERM - February 1st

Aries didn’t want to talk about the prophecy and there was a full moon coming. More than that, it was a lunar event with a name - the Grand Illumination. All three moons would be full. Marblebrook had mentioned it at the last new moon coven meeting. It was a notable night for large-scale rituals. There would be a ritual I’d be missing out on. But well, doesn’t change the fact that it’s still a full moon. I’d still be a werewolf.

And that was the other thing… the whole beast of the situation. The thing with Aries— the prophecy— I’d decided a few things. First, I wasn’t dumping him. It was selfish, yeah. It probably would have been the right thing to do. But gods help me. The thought of letting him go again hurt like a knife to the heart. I’d tried it already. It didn’t take. I couldn’t do that again.

The next thing, I was going to need more wolfsbane. All those months ago, I’d nearly shifted into a wolf in the middle of the Sanctum. I’d growled at Aries, prepared to lunge. I’d felt guilty before, but now it was more than that— stupid, dangerous, far too close to something unforgivable. It didn’t matter if shifting sucked worse than usual. It didn’t matter if the potion tasted like rot. If it made Aries even marginally safer, it was worth it. I could quietly poison myself on wolfsbane for all I cared, so long as it meant he never crossed paths with my wolf.

Lastly, he was doomed. The prophecy wasn’t new. It was a decade old and no one even connected it to Aries until a few years ago. I learned through Marblebrook that sometimes things were less set in stone than they seemed. But with Aries? No, this always happened. The future changed but this part of it never did.

I love him. He might not know that. Probably doesn’t. And it’s cosmically unfair that he’s meant to die, probably by my own hand.

Fate really is cruel like that sometimes.

Anyway, I’m getting this out now. Best have it off my chest. The full moon was still days away. Aries was annoyed, but physically fine. I had this moment, so I was taking it.

So, that’s where I was: I showed up at Aries’s door. With a rose. In my best coat.

The rose might have been overkill. It was overkill. I’d never given anyone flowers before. Not even Ianthe. They’d been expensive in Caburh. Too hard to grow. Too little sun. But here, there were flower shops, vendors with carts, bushes on the roadside. This one I’d bought for a few copper pieces. A yellow rose. It made me think of sunlight. Made me think of him.

I told the vendor I was planning a date and she tried to take it back— apparently yellow is the wrong color. It meant “friendship” or “I like you but not in that way.” But I hadn’t known that. I could bet money that Aries didn’t know that either. I was going with the yellow one.

When he got the door, Aries was squinting, a little disheveled. There was a smudge of ink on his cheek. I’d caught him mid-studying, mid-nap. And all I could think was, good, you’re not busy.

He was confused at first. Saw the coat, the rose, whatever idiot expression I was probably wearing.

“Did I miss something?” he asked, leaning into the doorframe. He was dressed for comfort– wool pants, a loose knit sweater, cute as hell.

I held up the rose. It was absolutely ridiculous. But he’d picked one when I’d conjured them in the statuary and I was pretty sure it was still somewhere in his room.

“No, you didn’t miss anything. I’m taking you out,” I said.

Aries eyed me a second too long, tapped his signet ring against the door frame. “What do you mean, out? Out where?” He took the rose, sniffed it.

“On a date, you idiot.”

He twirled the rose between his fingers. I’d thought when I picked it that it was the same color as his hair. But now, in person, it wasn’t true. Not really. Though he still looked like sunshine incarnate.

“With a flower too,” he said. “You didn’t drink that love potion, did you?”

I rolled my eyes. “You like flowers.”

“I like fights too, you gonna hit me?”

“Only if you ask,” I said.

Aries nearly dropped the rose, scrambled to catch it. Caught it in his fist tight enough to almost snap the stem. “You’re serious?” He meant about the date– not the hitting. With him, it was worth a distinction.

“I’m trying, Aries.” I couldn’t bring up the prophecy. It was a guaranteed way to have him shut me out. He wouldn’t talk about it. And right now, I wanted his presence enough to pretend the prophecy wasn’t eating away at me completely.

“Yeah. Okay.” He shut the door over to quickly dress.

He emerged a few minutes later in a getup I’d never seen before: a powder blue cloak lined with ermine, a navy military jacket with gold braiding, and a white starched shirt. Whatever trousers he was meant to wear with the rest of it, he’d either lost or didn’t like, because he was still wearing his wool pants. But for the first time since we’d met, I could actually believe that he was a prince from Caburh. It was all a little old, a little gilded. A little too flashy for the Stag’s Court, but still distinctly reminiscent of home. I imagine he was also probably meant to wear a tie, maybe a cravat, but this was Aries. But he wouldn’t have worn either, at least not by choice.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“You’ve had this hidden in your closet all this time?” I asked.

“Is it appropriate for tonight?”

I laughed. “You look like a fucking fairytale.”

He froze, momentarily unsure.

“And maybe I like the thought of kissing a prince,” I said. I pulled him into me and pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

“I mostly try to make people forget,” he said.

“Well, it worked. I can forget again tomorrow.”

The restaurant, oddly enough, I’d gotten from Blackclaw. He pulled me aside after class this morning. At the feeling of his hand on my shoulder I’d snapped, “Fuck off if you think I’m breaking up with him-“

Blackclaw pulled his hand back, kept it raised defensively. “Whoa, there. Mood swings.”

I grumbled, but he went on, “I was trying to catch you about the full moon.”

The short of it: Blackclaw’s ditching me. I’m on my own next time. The stupid Grand Illumination. Triple full moon rituals apparently called for all hands on deck. His included.

“You’re gonna be alright,” he said. I hadn’t even exactly expected him for the last full moon, but still was glad he’d been there anyway. I might actually have to learn to cast his electric blast spell to use on myself this time around…

“Yeah, fine,” I said. It was annoying but I was already planning tonight. I had better things on my mind.

“You are,” he said again. “And how about we don’t blame your love life on me going forward?”

I glared. He’d caused it. Maybe he could help fix it. “I’m taking him out to say I’m sorry. Where do I go?”

It was The Sea Parlour at The Larkspur Hotel. I was skeptical, but Blackclaw said it was one of those serious date spots in a town that didn’t exactly have many of those. He said it wasn’t really to his taste, but that I’d probably like it. I was still trying to decide whether or not to take it as an insult.

The Larkspur Hotel was an old manor turned boutique hotel and restaurant clinging to the cliffside a half mile down the road from the Midnight Court. It wasn’t quite in town or out of town, but a sidestop to view the flat expanse of ocean. It was the kind of place that had once been pretty nice, but by now, the wainscoting was chipped, deep plum wallpaper curled up in the corners of the rooms, and the air was salt-damp. The restaurant, The Sea Parlour, was lit by oil lamps. The far wall was black, with a dozen aging window panes, peering out over the sea. Dark now, it made the shadows of the room close in deeper. Aries squeezed my hand in the dark.

It was the kind of place with white tablecloths, linen napkins, and tables just small enough Aries and I had to adjust our chairs to keep our knees from knocking uncomfortably. Even at opposite sides of the little round table, we were close. I didn’t need to see the prices on the menu to know it would be expensive. Of course it was.

I still had money. Enough not to overthink it. And this was important enough that even as I was deciding between the cold mackerel salad and the winter squash risotto — the cheapest things on the menu, both options went out the window the second Aries asked, “Can we get oysters?”

We ordered an oyster trio served up on crushed ice, a cup of cockle chowder, the broiled sea bass and the braised duck— Aries couldn’t decide on a main, so I ordered both. And a hot toddy for him, a house red for me. He didn’t care about expensive wines. He cared about dessert.

“Are we celebrating something special tonight, gentlemen?” our waiter asked.

Aries laughed. “I don’t know actually. What are we celebrating, Zeph?”

I froze. It was a beat too long. “The good days. However many we get.”

The waiter seemed to realize he’d accidentally stumbled into something too private. There was a flicker in Aries’s eyes and for a moment I thought I’d ruined everything, but he shoved it down and said, “In that case, can we also get the Devil’s Deep for two?”

I skimmed down the menu and found it under dessert. It required an hour of prep time for the kitchen. It was a spiced chocolate cake laced with plum brandy and dripping with caramel sauce. The description promised it was heart-shaped, sticky, and served with two spoons. Of course Aries wanted it.

The waiter raised an eyebrow, as if suddenly reappraising us all over again. He said nothing other than that he’d be back with our drinks shortly.

“You can’t take me out like this if you’re going to mope about it,” Aries said. “Is that really the only reason we’re here?”

I accidentally kicked him under the table. I’d only meant to sit back in my chair, but there wasn’t the space. “Of course not, Aries.”

I mean, obviously it was, but there was no admitting that now. I couldn’t not think about it. I was doing what I could for now. If I could keep him here, with me, well-fed, and a little giddy, then maybe fate would never find a crack to slip through to get to him. I know it didn’t work that way, but there had to be a way out of it, had to be something.

I brushed my foot up against his ankle, a little more intentionally this time. “We don’t need a reason,” I said. “I love you. Can’t that just be enough?”

I wasn’t thinking, or I was, but not us right then at the dinner table. My mind was still clouded over by darker fates. There was no getting out of this.

And suddenly, Aries’s eyes were a little too wet again. I half expected him to snap back at me about the prophecy. It took me a moment to realize what I’d said. That I loved him.

Not in theory, not one day— now. Here. At this ridiculous little table, with the candlelight, and the linen napkins, and the overpriced duck.

It wasn’t how I’d meant to say it, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t true. It’d been true for a while now. This was just the time it’d finally slipped out.

Aries leaned across the table and grabbed one of my horns, to pull me in. He didn’t kiss me, I think even he realized that grabbing me by the horns was bold enough that a few heads had already turned. He just set his forehead against mine, stroked his hand down the back of my neck.

“You really mean that?” He kicked the table leg. All the silverware jittered. “You know, no one’s ever done this for me before. All this.”

“Don’t get too used to it. I’m going to have to get a job this summer,” I said.

Aries rolled his eyes. “I didn’t mean dinner, Zeph.”