Chapter 33: I Would Like That

Castian wasn't sure how long he listened to Harmony go on but he was rather fascinated. Not because he was particularly interested in merfolk but because he had never heard her talk like this before.

Was this the true face of the witch? He was willing to bet it was.

Witches were known for being the mad scientists of the fae world. They and elves were two sides of the same coin. Both goal-oriented and clinical but witches were far more enthusiastic because of how much they loved magic.

Castian had never seen it firsthand before last week but now that he had he wondered how Harmony had ever managed to act so low-key around him all these years when her natural state was like this. Probably because she saw their relationship as no more than their duty the same way he did.

That thought was oddly unsettling. Why? Why would that matter? That was how things had been from the start and more than twenty years of this arrangement hadn't changed them.

"I'm sorry," Harmony said suddenly, cutting herself off. "You probably didn't want to hear all of that. I got a bit carried away."

Castian shook his head. "Don't be. It was interesting."

"Really?"

"Yes. I've never heard you talk like this before."

Harmony rather sheepishly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I didn't think you would want to hear it. I'm a huge magic nerd."

Castian didn't think that was a bad thing. The fae community needed magic nerds to help keep it running. He had never been interested in hearing about it before because he hadn't thought it was necessary but now that he had he couldn't deny that it was interesting.

"Don't hold back on my account. I'll gladly listen to you talk about magic any time," he found himself saying and meaning it.

Seeing her get excited about things was new and undeniably strange but now he was curious. He wouldn't mind seeing more of her in her natural habitat, which was ridiculous considering the nature of their relationship.

Harmony smiled more widely at him than usual and leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Dangerous words, Castian Reycan. I'm going to hold you to them."

Castian already had goosebumps before she began kissing him again. He hadn't expected that sort of reaction from her but he wasn't complaining. Not in the slightest. He had things to do tomorrow and really should get going but ended up staying with her all night, unable to resist how she took the initiative.

He had never stayed all night before. When he woke up he wondered what on earth was wrong with him while he heard the sound of the shower being on.

Harmony came out wrapped in a towel with dripping wet hair and chirped "good morning" at him before going to blow dry her hair with her wand. He was so surprised by her nonchalance that he barely managed to return the greeting.

She put on another leggings and sweater combo before asking him if he wanted a bagel. He had no reason to say no so he nodded.

"Do you have anything going on this morning?" she asked as she spread cream cheese on one. "I can't stick around; I'm meeting Talori and Brennan in about thirty minutes. Otherwise I'd make something fancier for breakfast."

Of course she was. Witches, like elves, never rested. They didn't adhere to the concept of relaxing on the weekends.

Castian had been planning to do homework this morning before having a group project meeting after lunch and then getting back to his homework. He didn't have much if any time to do homework during the week so he had to do as much as he could on days he didn't have class or work.

"Nothing urgent until one. Why do you ask?"

"You said you were interesting in talking magic so I thought you might want to see some of it in action," Harmony said as she placed a plate with a bagel on it in front of him. "It's cool if you're busy though."

Castian was busy. He thought of the plethora of assignments waiting for him that shouldn't be dismissed so easily but this was the first time she asked him to do anything. Even if she hadn't used those words exactly it was still an invitation. It counted.

Why it counted was the real mystery. He shouldn't care. Saying no should be the only option.

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Instead, he found himself saying, "I would like that. Thanks, Harmony."

The witch smiled at him and, like last night, it was wider than usual. He momentarily held his breath, unsure why he was doing it, before getting a hold of himself and eating the bagel.

He requested that they quickly stop by his apartment so he could change and she didn't have a problem with it. He went in and came out in a pair of khaki pants and a light blue button-down shirt after brushing his hair a little.

Harmony let out a tiny laugh. "I think this is the most casual I've ever seen you."

Castian didn't know how to respond to that but once they arrived and met up with Brennan, who was in sweats and t-shirt, and Talori, who only had her scales, he felt rather overdressed. This was perfectly casual elf attire, okay?

Feeling unusually self-conscious, he surreptitiously unbuttoned the top button and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt to just below his elbows the way that was fashionable among humans. He didn't think anyone noticed him doing it because they were all rather absorbed in Talori's latest power test.

She had to sit in her wheelchair for this so she could manipulate water out of what appeared to be a giant beaker standing in the corner of the room. Harmony wanted to see if she was capable of grabbing objects with water.

Talori screwed up her face in concentration and used a tendril of water to pick up various objects that Harmony indicated before dropping them in the giant beaker. Castian had never seen anything like it.

Every time she managed to succeed with a bigger object, Harmony eagerly scribbled it down in a small notebook. She had a wild grin on her face the whole time and seeing her at work might have even been slightly more entertaining than Talori's display of her powers.

"Okay, now I want to see if you can pick up a whole fae!"

The mermaid did as she asked and used a much larger tendril of water to pick up Brennan, who had been quietly watching this whole time without saying a word until he protested for her to be careful with his wings. She immediately let go of him and turned her sights on Harmony, who seemed delighted despite the fact that she got soaked.

Talori put her in the beaker with everything else and she let out an exhilarated laugh once she floated to the top. She didn't seem to be the slightest bit upset that she was wet, though Brennan wasn't pleased now that he was dripping onto the floor.

"Amazing! I wonder how heavy you can go. Maybe we should get a small boat and get as many volunteers in it as possible to see if she can move that too. It would have to be at night or in the middle of nowhere with nobody around to see…" Harmony mused.

Brennan flew up to help her out of the beaker and she used her wand to dry them both off, to his great relief. Castian could only stare uncomprehendingly because he hadn't realized how hands-on witches could be about their work until he saw one in action. Really, he should have guessed.

The witch and the mermaid carried on most of the morning in a similar fashion while the elf and water fairy were more room ornaments than anything. Until they broke for lunch, that is.

Harmony had ordered them Chinese takeout and Talori seemed particularly curious about the variety of flavors. She frequently asked Brennan what things were and he patiently explained them to her.

"So what is it you have at one?" Harmony asked Castian before taking a bite.

"A group project for school. I'm getting a master's degree in Sustainable Business, along with a few others at the bank. We always band together for such projects so we can avoid dealing with humans as much as possible."

"I see! Interesting. Is this your first time getting a master's degree?"

"No. This is my twenty-seventh degree of some sort. The best way to come out on top in the human world is to have as much education as possible," Castian explained.

Harmony's eyes widened. "Wow! That's a lot of studying. Is that why you couldn't reschedule the other day?"

"Yes. I have class every night but Fridays."

"Ah, gotcha. Do you like what you're studying?"

"Well enough.. It's very useful information to have as we try to move into the future while preserving as much of the environment as possible considering what the humans have already wrecked."

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