Taking his seat at the dinner table, Aiden looked over at Tiago. The other boy looked a little tense, and Aiden hoped it was just nerves. Tiago had said hello to his parents every time he came over, and he’d spent a few moments talking to them here and there. So he knew them a little.
“Thank you for uh… feeding me,” Tiago said as Aiden’s mom came in carrying a steaming dish of ground beef.
“You’re welcome, Tiago. We’re glad Aiden is making more friends.”
Aiden thought the unspoken addition to that was besides Dylan. They knew he was the one who had burned Aiden, and it was Dylan’s stupid insistence that they tell both their parents that Dylan had hurt him during a fight. They could have explained it away as a training accident and that would have been easier. Now they saw Dylan as dangerous.
Dad joined them with warmed taco shells and fresh guacamole. “Okay, dig in.”
Tiago looked at Aiden as if asking for permission. He didn’t know what else to do, so he nodded. Tiago picked up a shell and reached for the meat. The dishes were passed around as they built their tacos.
“So, how is school, Tiago?” Dad asked.
Tiago tensed slightly. “Fine.”
Mom’s eyebrow went up briefly. “Is Aiden’s tutoring helping?”
Tiago glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. “Uh… yeah.”
“That’s good.” Mom looked at Aiden as if asking for help.
“He’s making really good progress. I’m worried he might not need me much longer.” Aiden could have smacked himself. Why did he have to say it like that?
Tiago frowned at his food. “I appreciate what you’re doing for me.”
“It’s no trouble at all.” Aiden’s voice cracked a little, and he shoved a bit of taco in his mouth to spare himself further embarrassment.
“So where are you from, Tiago?” Dad asked.
Aiden could practically feel Tiago wall himself off. Oh no. He should have warned his parents not to ask questions.
Strained silence filled the table. After a long moment, Tiago said, “All over the place. We moved around a lot.”
Dad asked, “Did your parents travel for work?”
Aiden bit back a groan.
Another tense pause. “No.”
Aiden had to figure out something to shift the conversation. But what could they talk about? Tiago didn’t want to talk about school, and he really didn’t want to talk about his parents or his life before Shadow Valley. “Our training has been going well.” It wasn’t something Aiden really wanted to talk about, but it was better than this.
“Oh?” Mom said. Both his parents looked surprised. They knew he was practicing with Tiago, but he didn’t talk about it much.
“Yeah. I’m not as scared as I used to be. I’m even trying some new things, like using two spells at once.”
“Your son is very powerful.” Tiago looked more relaxed.
Mom blinked in confusion, like she didn’t know how to take that. Then her expression brightened. “We’re very proud of him.”
“What kind of spells do you practice?” Dad looked between him and Tiago before his gaze settled on Tiago. “Aiden never told us what you… um, what kind of magic you have. Is have the right word? Or use?”
Aiden looked over at his friend, worried that the conversation had turned uncomfortable again.
“Have is fine,” Tiago said, looking thoughtful. Not upset or closed off. “I’m a werejaguar.”
“A what?” Mom asked.
Dad seemed to get it, though. “Is that like a werewolf, but you turn into a jaguar instead?”
Tiago nodded and took a bite. Something flickered across his face while he chewed. After swallowing, he said, “It’s strange to say it out loud like that. What I am. I have to keep remembering that here it’s… normal.”
Aiden made a fist against the table, fighting an urge to put a hand on Tiago’s arm. He wanted to tell him he understood how he felt, at least a little. Maybe he could say something later.
“We’re still adjusting too,” Mom said. “Did you know,” she started cautiously, “what you were before you came here?”
Tiago took a deep breath and Aiden tensed. “I always knew, since I was little.”
Aiden looked at him, hoping he’d say more. That he’d start to open up about his past.
Then Tiago’s mood shifted and the wall went up again. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“That’s okay. We can talk about something else.” Mom’s tone had a bit of false cheeriness.
God, what must she be thinking? Her son had brought a broody monster home for dinner again.
“So… what do you like to do for fun?”
* * *
Aiden was finally able to escape the awkward dinner and take Tiago up to his room. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to be uncomfortable.”
Tiago shook his head. “No, I’m sorry. I don’t think I was a very good guest. I, uh—” He cleared his throat. “I’ve never eaten over at someone’s house before.”
“Really? Why not?” Aiden sat on the bed. “Sorry, you don’t have to answer that.”
“It’s okay. You’re curious.” Tiago stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I still don’t get why you trust me. You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know you’re nice.”
Tiago scoffed.
“You’ve never been mean to me or anyone else. Well, there’s Conner, but he’s an asshole.”
That got a chuckle out of him. Tiago spun the desk chair around and sat facing him. “I’m not really sure what I’m doing, but I guess I’m doing okay if you like me.”
Aiden’s heart lurched. He didn’t mean it like that.
“I hope I didn’t weird your parents out. They’re so nice. Are they always like that?”
“Pretty much.”
“My parents were never—” Tiago pressed his lips together. He stared at Aiden, then got up. Crossing his arms, he looked down at the floor and paced. “They always made sure I knew my place. That I did exactly what they told me.”
Cold worry spread through him. “Did they… hurt you?”
Tiago stopped pacing. He was facing the other way, so Aiden couldn’t see his expression. After a long pause, he said, “Yeah.”
That one word carried so much weight.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Not your fault.”
“I’m sorry it happened.” He wanted to hug him, but knew that was out of the question. “Is that why you left?”
Tiago started pacing again, keeping his eyes down. “Part of the reason.”
“If you want to talk about it, I’m here.” Aiden’s heart slammed against his chest. Was he being too nice? Girly? “You don’t have to or anything, but if you want to, I’m happy to listen.”
A half laugh escaped Tiago. “Thanks.” He took a breath and looked at Aiden. “The warden really didn’t tell you?”
Aiden shook his head. “He said I had to ask you.”
“Hm. I guess you’d act different if he’d told you.”
Aiden swallowed. “Something bad, then? No, never mind. If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine.” Although he burned to know what it was.
Tiago gave him a searching look that made his heart skip a beat. Those dark brown eyes. “We all have our secrets, right?”
Wait, what the heck did that mean?
“I guess we should do that stupid homework.” Tiago went to the desk and pulled out his notebook.
“Yeah.” Aiden slid closer, armpits and the small of his back getting sweaty. Oh God, did he know?