“From where I flew it looked like Bex was trying to kill you and Jamessavedyou,” I counter.
He stares at me a long moment, startling blue eyes wild in anger. Then they calm, like something just clicked into place. I hope it’s common sense. “No, you saved me,” he says. The rest of Colm’s demeanor changes at the statement, his mouth breaking into a smile, his eyes softening.
He leans forward and for a moment I think he’s falling from dizziness or some undiagnosed head injury. So, I don’t immediately pull away. In fact, I do the opposite in order to catch him. But as I clasp his shoulders his lips smoosh against mine, then move with intention. Shock charges through me like I’ve burned myself. He… he’s kissing me.
I lurch back and on instinct craft, seizing the metal closest to me to push. The table wobbles as Colm crashes against it, his elbow catching himself to save his wounded back.
“What was that?” he asks. We both look down. A bronze necklace sits heavy on his chest. He rubs at the spot under the medallion like it punched him. I think that’s exactly what I did. Pushed that necklace into his sternum like a weighted stone to get him away from me. “Did you just craft bronze?” There’s surprise in his voice, but it’s hard to tell underneath the anger.
No. No, no, no.My rage shrivels into fear.
“I…” I retreat, scrambling for an explanation.
“You’re a copper,” he spits the word like it’s an insult. “How the—”
“That was me,” a voice comes near the tent opening.
We both whirl to find James standing there, looking pissed. “Don’t you dare touch her.”
Immediately, Colm takes the explanation, not at all surprised to find James here. “Figures. First on the track and now this. Can’t tolerate anyone being better than you or taking what you think is yours when you have no claim.” Colm glances at me before continuing. “You said I could go for it.”
“What?” I don’t mean to speak, let alone be loud, but I am. Anger brings heat to my face. I feel like I’m boiling over.He said to go for it? Does that also mean he put Colm up to this, told him that it was okay?
James hands curl into fists. “I didn’t mean it like that, and you know it.”
“And yet, those were your exact words.”
I intake a breath so noticeable James’s eyes cut to me before focusing back on Colm. “Did you ask her though? Did youaskher?” I’ve never heard James so upset. An echo of my own feelings. If for even a moment I had thought Colm was trying to kiss me I’d have moved away, not allowed myself to be even in distance for him to…
That wasn’t my first kiss, my every cell wants to scream. That can’t be the first time I kiss someone.
“You’re the one that broke us apart.” Colm smiles as he says this. If it’s possible, my stomach sinks lower and my body trembles in disgust. To claim I pushed him away would out my crafting ability. Which means I have to follow this narrative: Colm kisses me, James forces him away. My own thoughts and feelings discarded.
“We’re done,” James says low and quiet.
“What?”
“If you ever need anything again, don’t look to me for help. You’re dead to me.”
Colm laughs. “All this over acopper? You are seriously deranged in your taste for—”
James sticks out his hand and crafts. I can feel it, the wave of weight coursing past me and directly at Colm. That bronze necklace becomes an anchor, slamming him down on the table with a bang. He lands on his back,right on his wounds. The cry that comes out of him can only be described as brutal.
When James doesn’t let up, I step between the boys and right in front of James. I catch the invisible stream of his power, cutting it off from Colm and holding the pressure steady. “You’re supposed to hate me, remember,” I whisper.
My words stop James cold. The crafting drops like a weight on the floor. And I know he’s realized what this looks like. Or more what this doesn’t look like. Because James’s actions sure don’t tell the story of two people who hate one another. He looks like someone defending my honor.
“I—” James starts.
“What’s going on here?” Dr. Burke asks from across the room as he takes in the scene. Colm rolls to his side, groaning. “James?” Dr. Burke cuts toward me. “Farren?”
“Sorry, Dr. Burke. He’s going to need more tea. He fell,” is all James gives. With a flap of the medical tent he’s gone. I refuse to stay and try to explain in his absence, especially as Dr. Burke watches me, like he knows what I’m hiding. I don’t know how to explain this. I don’t want to explain this. So, I follow James.
Crowds of people surge out of the stadium. I’m swallowed in the onslaught, fighting against the current. James is just ahead.
But before I reach him, his father grabs his shoulder. I stop dead in my tracks.
“Where have you been? You’re needed at the award ceremony.” Even feet away I can hear the irritation. Or more than irritation, an edge of anger. I step forward, not liking the way he’s holding James’s shoulder, like he doesn’t care how much pressure he’s placing.
