“And Todd,” he agreed. “And then you absorbed another wizard’s magic and called upon the earth and encased them in stone.”
“That’s about the gist of it.”
“Is it.”
“Yes.” I smiled at him.
“You said something earlier.” His look was calculating.
My smile faded. I hated calculating Morgan. “I said a lot of things earlier. It’s kind of my thing.”
Morgan said, “So, ha-ha, fun fact: I might have something to tell you in just a moment. Consider that a teaser, but you totally can’t get mad because it’s not my fault.”
“I really hate your photographic memory,” I said. “So, so much. And that voice you just used? If that was you trying to do an impression of me, I am insulted. I do not sound that high-pitched and whiny.”
“I was trained as a master impressionist,” he said, completely serious.
“Okay, so maybe I do sound that high-pitched and whiny. That’s disheartening.”
“I am devastated for you,” he said. “So. You teased me. Give me the rest. I wait with bated breath.”
“You can’t get mad,” I said.
“Whenever you start stories like that, I usually end up mad.”
“Crap.”
“Sam.”
There was no point trying to lie about it. Morgan would know. “I think Ryan might be my cornerstone.” I closed my eyes and waited for the yelling to commence.
It never came.
I gave it a minute, just to be sure.
Nothing.
I opened one eye. Then the other.
Morgan just looked sad. “Oh, Sam,” he said quietly.
That was worse than yelling. It was pity. And I hated pity. “I know, I know. It’s not… ideal. And it’s not… happening. I know. I know this. But you have to believe me when I say I didn’t know. I didn’t mean for it to happen. I was just there and he stood by my side and something just clicked in my head. And then when they threatened him, all I could think was how I would never let them do that. I would never let that happen. But it’s okay, because it’s not permanent. We’re not bound. I just need to keep my distance from him and find someone else. Todd is… nice. I’ll go on more dates with him. I’ll go on so many dates that you won’t even have to worry about it. You won’t even—”
“Sam.”
“Shit,” I muttered. “I fucked up. I’m sorry.”
He sighed. “You didn’t. It’s not as if you did it on purpose. That’s not how it works. You can’t force something like that.”
“I know. It’s just….”
“What?”
“It’s just of course it’s him. You know? The one person I can’t have. Of course. Because that’s how my life works.”
“There doesn’t have to be romantic involvement in a cornerstone, Sam. You know this as well as I do. Mine was certainly never romantic.”
“Because you’re asexual,” I said, treading lightly, because things made so much more sense now. Morgan never talked about the past, at least not something this personal. A wizard’s cornerstone is private. The details of the relationship are usually only for the two involved. Most were romantic, but not all.