Then he scooped the small cat up from under the reflective foil blanket and set her gently on the floor. Nova’s tail flicked passive-aggressively in response.
“Tell Skye,” Leland said to the cat, “it’s not her turn.” My eyes must’ve mustered some emotion or curiosity because he added, “We met on the way over.”
“I lost it,” I said, vacant and a bit random as I suddenly remembered that Skye was going to be mad.
“You lost what?” he asked, checking the temperature of my forehead with the back of his hand.
“Skye’s pen.”
“That doesn’t matter,” he said.
“It will to her.” It was why I took them.Borrowed. But . . .
“Ember,” Leland said. “It’s just a pen. Dropping it down the stairs to test the Illusion, and everything you did after, was incredible. Skye will beproud, not mad.”
Nova wasn’t fond of being relocated outside our cocoon, but she got over it quickly, leaving us to follow the cloaked figure who was Vanishing all the blood and water tracked across the room. I didn’t know who it was. Maybe Rayne had come to help, in disguise in case she was caught in the temple, but I lost interest thinking about it.
“What else?” said Leland. “What else do I need to tell youyou’re wrong about?”
“Pepper is . . .” I craned my neck, looking but not really looking at the well that had changed her into something darker than what burned inside me. “I corrupted her. I made her into a monster.”
“You didn’t corrupt her,” Leland said, laughing a little. “You did the right thing. Belinda was so happy she got to watch you coming to rescue her. She didn’t have to wait one second to hold her Familiar. Because of Pepper, we knew where to look.”
“It happened after she slipped. If I hadn’t brought her here — ”
“Pepper didn’t change.” The way he said it was direct, each word spoken like its own individual sentence. “Familiars fill in the gaps an Allwitch is missing.Pepperis what happens when an Allwitch is sweet and sensitive.Pepperis an animal, because Belinda won’t be. You just didn’t see it because . . .” He looked fondly down at my chest, shaking his head like he was battling disbelief. “YourFamiliar is going to be proud and cynical. You did nothing wrong. Nothing.”
Then why did I feel like I couldn’t breathe? Like I shouldn’t be.
“Ven,” Leland went on, his expression turning serious, “did what I would have done. He fought violence with more violence. He was protective. That’s me, Ember. That’s not you.”
My mind drifted to the first time Leland told me about him. I was in the ether, and Leland had looked so sad as he described to me how Jaxan had Severed them. He told me Ven had died, and he meant it. Which meant — Leland’s first time seeing Ven in fourteen years . . . was this.
Under the blanket, Leland’s hands were on my back. I felt the exact placement of theVon his left ring finger below my ribs.
“I’m not upset,” he said. “Helen was wrong. Lying. You don’t control Ven.Idon’t control Ven. He’s a predator. I’ve always known that. What I didn’t know was that he lived. I only know that now because he thought you were worth finding, and I’mthankfulfor that.”
I let out a small breath. Clarity. Light. Hope. They slowly entered back into my soul. My shoulders loosened somewhat, and breathing was getting easier. The Ring of Greatest Fear had warped my brain, but it wasn’t stronger than the gift of Leland’s truth, the undeniable belief I had in him because of how our gifts worked together. Leland, my Counterpart, my Truth-Teller, perhaps the only one who could’ve brought me back from the artifact of mental magic’s spell. Because when he said these things . . . I believed him.
The cloaked figure strode by us on their way out of the chamber, Nova dutifully following at their heels. It occurred to me they didn’t walk like Rayne, nor were they as tall. They paused before us, looking at me for a few minutes too long before some kind of nod of understanding passed between them and Leland. I didn’t ask how they knew one another. Their outfit was dark and unpleasant, like something for digging deep graves and burying chopped up body parts in Gnarlton. But Nova liked them. And Leland picked good friends. So they probably weren’t terrible.
After they left, I still didn’t move. I still whimpered in Leland’s lap, still too shaken to stand.
“Do you believe now,” Leland said seriously, “that you’re not a problem? You never have been.”
On the ground next to Leland’s knee, I spied a close-by sedative. One of the tranquilizer darts that missed. I considered taking it. Rest always helped Dad.
Leland said, “I never talked about this with you because I don’t think being sad makes you any less whole, butI have been there, Ember. I know how you feel right now, and I know what I needed was a friend to pull me out. How you grew up — it changed how you see yourself. I don’t say this because I think you need to be fixed, but because I see how incredible you are. And on theother side of this is you doing good things. Your heart making a difference in the world.”
“Look where we are,” I said. “Look at this mess. You’re involved. Skye’s involved. I pulled you into this. I think I’m cursed. I feel it in my blood. Cursed half witch — Helen meant that. There’s something wrong with me, something to be afraid of. I know there is.”
“No.” Leland met my eyes with a stern look in his. “What your mother said about everything being your fault isn’t true.Youdon’t cause problems. Okay? Helen was lying. None of this is because of anything you did.”
I didn’t have the energy to ask what happened after an Echelon’s death. I looked toward the stairs, the room a cold, wet prison. So what if we’d found the Aspirants? None of us were allowed to be here. What was going to happen to everyone who helped?
It didn’t matter that I didn’t ask the question out loud. Leland and I, we understood sometimes. He saw my face and knew.
“Things are under control. Helen’s mind was emptied by my Mentalist. Dashell’s body was relocated to a part of the desert where mountain lion attacks occur. Jaxan still wants you in Everden. He’ll protect your reputation and control the narrative. Whatever else, we’ll handle it. Time will pass. You’ll get better. Right now, that’s all I care about.”
