“It’s far more complicated than that,” Winston said softly, a faint, sorrowful smile touching his lips. “The Architect may influence your future within this family, but he does not controlyou, Quinn. Do not forget that.”
I took a deep breath, prepared to argue, but Winston didn’t give me the chance.
“As for your placement among us… I would not presume to place you.”
My argument vanished on my tongue. I blinked a few times in confusion and tilted my head to the side.
“Commander Ezra may appear fearless,” Winston said with a chuckle, “but I wouldn’t be surprised if he nearly wet himself trying to make that decision. You are an enigma, Quinn. One who’s already demonstrated a remarkable disregard for the status quo. Every family in Edinburgh, perhaps even on this island, is watching to see how your story unfolds.”
The humor faded from his voice. “And the more distance the Architect keeps from you, the less room there is for anyone to claim he’s influencing your mind.”
He rested a hand gently on my arm. “Focus on your magic. That’s a task enough for anyone. Your place in this family will either reveal itself… or you’ll find it elsewhere. That is the nature of life.”
I wrinkled my nose. Busy was an understatement, and the Doggy Monster had good points.
The moment Winston left, Cayden marched to the door and chiseled runes into it only he could open. With that, the map room became our little fortress of solitude, and we got to work.
After spending so much time with super sweet and supportive Xan, who knew way too much about me, Cayden’s negativity and sarcasm brought me back down to earth.
It took me an entire day to realize the obvious. Only the metals and precious stones from my destroyed childhood actually needed to touch me. Xan had even given me a book on this exact law of magic.
Xan. Shit. I’d pretty much used him and then told him to fuck off. It had been the right thing to do. He needed to spend more time with his partner, not my confused ass. But I’d trusted him with my past, and that sharp, get-things-done energy of his would be really helpful right now.
Even with Cayden’s help, it took us another day of painfully sifting through thousands of tiny pieces of plastic and fabric to find a minimal amount of gold and a few ounces of mixed metals. By the end of it, I’d almost messaged Xan three times. Not only because I wanted an extra pair of hands, but because I missed his floppy hair and optimism.
“I don’t like that look,” Cayden said.
I blinked away my thoughts of Xan and focused on my friend. “What look?”
“Like you’re lost in another place… or person.” Cayden crossed his arms over his chest.
I bit my lips together. Cayden didn’t like Rowan. I doubted he’d have a different reaction to Xan. But he was going to have to get over both.
“You’re my best friend.” I leaned farther across the table. “And don’t you dare tell Brit I said that because she will skin me alive for choosing a man over either her or Everly.”
Cayden smirked.
“But you’re not my only friend, Cay.”
Cayden narrowed his eyes.
“And this”—I pushed up from the table, the box and its contents spread across it, and opened my arms dramatically—“is tedious. If I’m daydreaming about having an extra pair of hands, you can get over it.”
“Do those hands have a name?” Cayden asked.
I snorted. “Why, so you can add them to your little notebook?”
Cayden blinked at me. “I don’t know what that is.”
I sighed. Of course, he didn’t. I picked up my tweezers and explained to him the concept of a notebook with the names of everyone who’d wronged you so you could get revenge later.
“I like that a lot,” Cayden said, adding a piece of gold to the pile, from what I was pretty sure had been a stuffed bunny with a music box in its butt. “Who’s in your notebook?”
I paused my search and tapped the tweezers against the table. “Honestly, Cayden. I don’t have one, but if I did, the only name in it would be Quinn.”
Cayden also stopped working to look directly at me. “No one wronged you?”
I shook my head before letting out a regretful sigh. “No. A lot of people did, but until recently, I blamed myself for all of it.”
