“You left the note?” My voice echoes slightly in the chamber.
“We need to talk.” He watches me closely. “And I’m the only person who’s come into this room in days. It’s the perfect meeting spot.”
I step further into the room and… wow. Logan looks good. Unfairly good. His skin has a healthy glow, and his eyes are bright and alive. The hollow exhaustion Evie said he’d have after Miles’s death is nonexistent.
“How are you?” The question slips out before I can think twice. “With Miles, I mean. The backlash...”
“I’m fine,” he says, but it’s too quick. Too sharp.
“Evie said the backlash could last weeks,” I rush to continue. “That some people never fully recover.”
“I said I’m fine. And we’re not here to discuss my recovery. We’re here to discuss Kieran’s trials, and the fact that you’re going to expose yourself if you keep holding back as much as you’ve been doing.”
I swallow and stand my ground, preparing myself for anything.
He steps closer, the firelight from the chandelier overhead making his gray eyes look almost amber. “One month of training in the Scorched Circles. Multiple witnesses seeing you fail at exercises a child could complete. Either you’re the most incompetent witch ever born, or you’re hiding something. And we both know exactly what thatsomethingis.”
“So, what am I supposed to do?” The words come out harder than intended. “Stop holding back and let everyone see the electricity?”
“You’re supposed to let me help you.” He’s close enough now that I have to tilt my head back to meet his eyes. Close enough that I can smell that cedar-smoke scent that makes my brain short-circuit. Close enough that I can see the barely controlled tension in every line of his body.
It takes every ounce of effort to stop myself from reaching for him. “And how, exactly, do you intend on helping me?” I manage to say.
“Up until now, I’ve used compulsion on Kieran to keep you out of the circles most likely to force you to reveal your magic,” he says simply, as if this is a common fact.
“I was wondering about that.” I tilt my head, studying him, not surprised by his admission.
He gives me a single nod, then continues. “Because of the nature of the duels, you’re going to eventually end up publicly fighting in every circle. So, we’re going to train.” The words are simple, but the way he says them—certain and determined—makes my stomach flip. “I’ll teach you how to contain and control your magic when you fight.”
My mind immediately starts to spin. “How does that help when Kieran pairs me with Vera? Or Nina? They’ve been training their whole lives.”
“I’m going to make sure you’re prepared for whoever you face.” Something dangerous flickers in his expression. “And I’ll know which circle you’re fighting in before each match.”
“But Kieran isn’t going to tell us ahead of time what circle we’re going to fight in each week.”
“Compulsion, remember?” Logan actually gives me a small smile. “I’m going to tell him which circle to put you in each week, and who you’ll be fighting against. We’ll train specifically for that combination.”
The air between us buzzes with so much tension that I have no idea how my electricity hasn’t forced its way out of my skin.
I clench my fists, digging my nails into my palms to ground myself as the question I keep circling back to pops into my mind.
“Why do you care whether or not I get exposed?” I search his face, looking for the real reason, the one he’s been dancing around for weeks.
Why do I matter to you at all?
“Because I’ll help you control your magic during the trials, and you’ll keep quiet about what I can do.” His expressionshifts to something more businesslike. “It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.”
The warmth in my chest turns to ice.
A transaction. That’s all this ever was to him.
But I need to take every advantage I can get right now. Plus, I won’t exactly hate the time spent with Logan.
“Fine.” I cross my arms. “But we need to clarify what I’m working toward. Because right now, my goals are pretty simple: don’t die, don’t get exposed, don’t accidentally electrocute anyone, and maybe figure out why I have electricity in my veins when I should only have fire.”
“I just need you to trust me.” He says it like it’s simple.
“That’s not an answer.”
