Quinn gave me a little grin before she picked up my pasty. “You’re a much deeper thinker than your partner.”
“Ha.” The laugh-snort was out of me before I could stop it. “Ezra exists in the moment. We balance each other well.” My love for Ezra swelled in my chest. I had to fix the rift I’d put between us. I met her gaze. “So, why yet?” I asked, focusing on her aversion to food.
Quinn took a big bite of the pasty and chased it down with the apple juice. Her lips pursed around the wooden mug, and her neck curved as liquid ran down it. I knew she didn’t intend the motion to be sensual, but everything about her lit my libido on fire.
“I’m sure it’s common knowledge by now, but I’m struggling to use my magic.” Quinn set down her mug. “Has Ezra said anything to you?”
“No,” I said in all honesty. “We’ve not been communicating well.”
Quinn reached out as if to comfort me, but I’d kept our chairs a respectful distance apart. Silently, I cursed the choice.
“Still?” she asked.
I nodded. “But we’re not talking about my problems; it’s your turn. Maybe you could bounce some ideas off me?”
Quinn rocked in her chair, and I couldn’t help myself. “You’re showing signs of magical overload. I had them a lot as a kid. My magic is the reason my dad sold me. Please let me help you.”
Quinn bit her lower lip. “I don’t think you can.”
I scooted to the edge of my chair. “How will you know if you don’t reach out?”
Quinn’s eyes unfocused, and the tap tap of her toes filled the quiet nook. I leaned back, giving her the space she needed to think. Slowly, she copied my posture, kicking off her shoes and crossing her legs on her chair.
“I don’t want to care what people think of me, but I do.” Her gaze focused on me. “I’m afraid if people know too much, I’ll be treated differently. Again.”
I didn’t look away. “Fortunately for you, we just met, and I’m going to treat you differently regardless because you’ve somehow managed to get under my partner’s skin.” And mine, but sharing that would send her running.
Quinn’s eyebrows pinched adorably. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”I leaned forward. “You tell me.”
Tension filled the air between us before bursting like a bubble.
Relief and hope filled Quinn’s tether. She’d made a decision. “The Architect holds my life in the palm of his hand.”
Me again. I tried not to react, though my shoulders stiffened.
“I’ve not been placed in the family,” Quinn said quietly. The fear and anxiety she’d felt since I woke up, stabbed at her. “Every enforcer knows my face. I can’t leave these walls without him knowing.”
…not until you’re safe.
“The Architect wants my fertility.”
… I don’t. That’s not why I saved your life.
“And despite being awake for almost two weeks now, he’s not spoken to me.”
… I wanted you to know me, Xan, first.
“I don’t know what he’s waiting for, but I can’t be helpless when the bell tolls.”
… Helpless.
Her words bounced around my head and multiplied. I, who created this family to empower others, made her feel helpless. My muscles locked as shock paralyzed me.
“I can only use Majekah to do one thing.” Quinn picked up the little wrapper her pasty came in. One minute, it was there, and thenext, a pile of beeswax and fiber lay on the stone floor in front of her chair. “And if there’s a component of power in the item, a little dragon pops into existence, or at least two of the three times I’ve done it.” She wrinkled her nose. “Which means I am doingsomething.I’m affecting energy, so I should be able to use magic. After talking to Chancellor Morgen, I think I need a converter… or a wand, or something. The magic I can use is old, like BT old, and this is a hundred years in the future as far as I can tell. Chancellor Morgen had to live in a tree for fifty years to get her magic. But I don’t have fifty years. The Architect could walk in here right now!” Panic edged her voice.
Although the facts she’d told me were important, essential, as they hinted at her being a time traveler. Her assessment of her situation was all I could focus on. Her every conclusion was wrong. I wanted to scream my denial.
But words were meaningless.
