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I nod.
“We’ve heard whispers about her. But we didn’t have orders to officially pursue her, so we haven’t. But Quell, this feels like an inside job. I’m going to volunteer to help with the investigation. It’s not my House, so I have no grounds to, but—”
“You want to.”
“Yes.”
“So you’re leaving again.”
“It’s the right thing to do. This reeks of treason.”
The more he’s with them, the greater chance he could rub elbows with the Dragun after me. I don’t like this. I want to keep him in my presence, plug my fingers in his ears. I want to shield his eyes from a world that would tear us apart. I want to hold what we have, selfishly, with both my hands. And I refuse to feel wrong for that. “Stay, please.”
“I won’t be gone long. She is probably . . . you know.”
Dead. I swallow and nod.
“And if so, I intend to get to the bottom of who killed her and why. This has got to stop.”
I tense in his arms, and he wraps me tighter in them.
“Please, remain on the grounds while I’m gone and . . .” He pulls away from me. “I need to show you this. But you can’t tell anyone.” He presses his hand firmly to himself. Then his fist disappears into his chest. I gasp as he pulls his hand back out. His kor flickers on the tip of his finger. With his free hand he gathers a fistful of air. Fog forms at his lips and in seconds shadows appear inside his palm. He joins the toushana to the red flame and it flickers silver. “I can shift my kor from just an energy source to a magnetic one. It’s called Tracing.”
“I’ve never heard of—”
“And you wouldn’t. It’s a mystery, written into the folds of Dragun lore.”
“What does it do?”
He holds the silver fire to my chest. “Magic is strongest in the heart, that’s why when you bind, you press your dagger into it. If you let me put a piece of my kor inside you, our hearts will be like poles of a magnet, tethering us together, so that anytime you’re experiencing extreme distress, I can sense it and come to you immediately.”
“You think I’m in danger?”
“No, but all it takes is an overly ambitious fool,” he snaps. “Please.”
“Does it hurt?”
“It shouldn’t. It just can’t be removed. Ever.”
I can think of a thousand reasons to say no, but I can think of several others to say yes.
“Okay.”
He holds the silver flame to my chest, and pressure gathers at the meeting of my ribs. He flicks at the base of the silver fire, and a single lick of flame leaps from his hand to my chest. He places his palm over the spot, and his kor seeps into me, its flicker glowing beneath my skin. He replaces the rest of the flame back into himself. For several moments, I’m a bit woozy. Then I wriggle as it settles deep inside with a shudder, the metallic glow dimming. I touch the spot where his magic disappeared. There’s no going back now. I have to keep myself under control, calm. And get through Cotillion.
“Promise me you won’t leave the grounds until I return.”
“I promise.”
He turns to go, and my heart pounds faster.
He stops. “It’s going to be okay.”
“You can feel that?”
He smiles and walks away.
FORTY-TWO
