Page 74 of Harnessed in Gold
I don’t want to be a wet blanket, but it needs to be said. “You all know there’s a chance that window doesn’t even exist anymore.”
Everyone nods, and Avery adds, “Or it may be nowhere around here. That candlestick could’ve come from Europe, for all we know.”
We let out a collective sigh, all except Topaz. “But there’s an even better chance that it’s here,” she insists. “So, everyonelook.”
Like a football team, we break our huddle and go our separate ways, each of us armed with a photo of the window.
On my walk back to Newberry, as the sky darkens from hazy white to charcoal gray, my anxiety mounts. I may’ve dodged a bullet this evening, but now the metaphorical shooter has me in his sights. Avery’s window puts us a step closer to the weapon and me a step closer to Ember’s energy. Inevitability blankets me heavier than the twilight. Iwillcome face to face with it; it’s going to happen.
And the emotional assault will shatter me.
I gulp and dash through the cold mist the rest of the way to my dorm. The moment the door slams behind me, I tap out a text to Leo:
I need your help.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The river isfull to bursting with the late winter thaw, and there’s a slight reddish tinge on the branches of the maples. The earth smells stronger. Fresher.
Small hints of spring.
I steal a glance at the man beside me. Here I am, walking alongside Leo again like I have so many times in the past. His hands are shoved into the front pockets of his jeans, the hem of his open jacket breaking over his forearms. The early March wind tosses his dark hair across his forehead as he gazes at the sky, working his lower lip, lost in thought.
Last night it took him over an hour to respond to my text. I suspect he was waiting until he was alone to reply, because the moment he did, our conversation took off like wildfire. There’s no way Rime was looking over his shoulder as he typed,I’ll do whatever you need. That’s what I promised.
Maybe it’s stupid to be alone with him. Okay, yes, it’s stupid. Really stupid. But there’s no one else I want helping me with this, no one who better understands my power. Leo is my original teacher and guide, and when it comes to my ability, I feel safest in his hands.
Not that I didn’t seek out Avery, too. Between the tips she offered last night on the phone and Leo’s hands-on coaching in harnessing this afternoon, I should be better equipped to deal with Ember’s emotions. Or, at least, I should have an arsenal of techniques to practice, something I intend to do every spare moment I find.
“Does Rime know where you are right now?” I ask, shrugging deeper into my coat. “Or who you’re with?”
“Yes.”
“And he’s not pissed off?”
“No, he is.” Leo huffs out a breath. “But he agrees that it’s smart for you to practice.”
“So I can find the weapon faster.” My mouth is so flat, I’m surprised the words made it out.
“No.” Leo stops walking and halts me with a hand on my arm. “So that you won’t have to suffer.”
Suffer? The word sends a shudder from my chest to my fingers and toes.
“I know he’s being an ass about it,” Leo admits, “but that’s because he’s conflicted. He’s torn between needing your power and wanting to protect you. It’s who he is, what he does. He protects.”
I study Leo for a moment, surprised at first that he’s defending his frenemy. Leo, the sensible scholar and intellectual. He’s more of a rock than Rime is, but I’m not fooled; he’s just as tormented.
It’s all in his eyes.
“You protect, too,” I say, resuming our walk.
“I know. And that’s the problem. I don’t do it the way he does.”
I cast my gaze downward, watching my feet as I step carefully across bare patches, tree roots, and high tufts of brown grass.
“Rime’s whole life has been one hard choice after another,” Leo explains, rather cryptically. “And the only way he’s been able to cope with it is to stick to a sort of rigid moral code. You’re a gray area, Betts. And he doesn’t know how to deal with that.”
So not only am I a distraction, I’m a moral dilemma? Maybe Ishouldbow out. Maybe I’m more trouble than I’m worth.
