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“It sells my soul.”
“It indebts your soul to whoever you’re thanking. Depending on how powerful and how malicious they are, it can be detrimental. What do you do instead?”
“Maintain a closed circle.”
“Provide examples.” He wipes some flour onto his cheek after putting the next batch in the oven.
I stare at the powder. “I am grateful. I appreciate it.”
“Good. Next.”
I chew my lip. “Um…never agree to anything.”
“If someone verbally offers you something, what do you do?”
“Decline.”
“And if they ask if you want what they’re offering, and you do, what then?”
I exhale a breath. “Deflect. Or say no. Because I, in my finite humanity, can.”
“If we are proceeding under a possibility you will one day decide to become fully fae, I would prefer you lean on tactics for protection that don’t include deceit.” Ollie pulls out the chair next to me, looking precious with that little flour spot on his cheek. “When can you trust a stranger’s gift?”
“When it comes without words from someone we know and trust. Like when Cael handed me that drink or when Pila gave us those zucchinis.”
Ollie nods. “By the way, those zucchinis are pies now.”
I glance at the five pies on the counter. “I was a tiny bit suspicious. What are we going to do with them?”
“I have friends. What else have I taught you?”
“Never expect introductions. Never initiate small talk.”
“How do you greet someone?”
“‘Hello. I want to talk about insert interesting topic here.’” My lips pinch. “What counts as an interesting topic?”
“What do you like?”
“Doliver from dolivers_not_trending.”
A dimple sneaks out in his rueful smile. “What else do you like, my sunshine?”
Fanfiction. No. Not that. Note: adding my to a nickname makes it better somehow. The reason is, likely, magic. “Dressing…tiny dogs? By the way, I’m going into withdrawals.”
“It occurs to me your life has revolved around me and work for as long as I’ve known you.”
I close my fingers together to keep them from brushing the smudge on his cheek off. “I am a very boring creature with no noticeable personality. My only hobbies are doom scrolling the internet and echoing trending sounds under my breath during meetings that could have been emails.”
“You are—” He swears. “—precious. And I already don’t want to share even a moment of you with people I do not wholly trust.”
“I appreciate the compliment.”
Ollie’s smile widens some. “Good practice. Now, is there anything else you should remember?”
I let my brain drift through all the basic rules and regulations Ollie has been teaching me each evening for the past two days while lying on top of the comforter on one half of my bed as I lie beneath it on the other. Untouching. Because of annoying oaths and my sheer embarrassment to make demands in such a setting.
At the core of my fae education, it’s simple enough. Words mean what words mean, so you can’t be careless with them. Useless words that just fill space achieve nothing. “Tone,” I murmur. “Tone, facial expressions, body language…none of it is reliable.”
