Laureline slipped a velvet-covered box from her bag. Even before she opened it, Jamie knew exactly what would be in it—a Gem Nexus. Still, when Laureline flipped open the box, Jamie couldn’t help taking a sharp breath in—four identically sized diamonds and a single larger one. All of them cut from one original gem, resonating on a single frequency. A Diamond Nexus was incredibly rare and according to his teachers, they simply didn’t exist outside the confines of the Great Colleges.
A Diamond Nexus could only mean one thing—an Elemental ward, or at least one created by a full complement of Gifted. Jamie reached out with his Gift and found the ward surrounding the little cottage. It was perfectly made, and any Inferno threads were so tightly entwined between others that he couldn’t sense them.
Laureline pointed to Jamie and Allyra and said, “Inferno and Atmospheric.” Next, she pointed to John and Smith. “Terra and Oceanic. So, we have a complete set. This cabin has been very carefully hidden by one of the oldest Gifted families, and there’s information in there that we need.”
“You expect us to break this ward?” Jamie exclaimed. He looked at John and Smith. “We don’t know them, we’ve never joined our Gifts together, and even if we succeed, that ward will only break if our combined Gifts are stronger than the ones that made it.”
“I’m so glad that the Cleaners are teaching you something useful. But none of that changes anything,” Laureline said smoothly, glancing at Allyra. “I keep hearing about how powerfully Gifted your girl is here, so let her prove it now.”
Jamie fisted his fingers, tightening them until every tendon in his arm stood to attention. Frustration washed over him like high tide after a storm, it filled him, expanding in his chest until he felt like he could hold it no more. Then just as quickly, it deflated, like air rushing out a balloon. He turned to Allyra, a pleading look in his eyes.
Her gray eyes were troubled as she looked between him and Rob. “We need to talk,” she said pointedly, grabbing him by the sleeve and pulling him to the side for some added privacy.
“Are we really going to break this ward,” Allyra hissed, “on the word of Laureline?”
“What choice do we have?” Jamie replied, aware of desperation seeping into this voice. “We have to trust Laureline if we want to get Emma back.”
“She’s given us no proof that the Rising even has any information about Emma.”
“Then what?” Jamie asked, his voice rising as frustration and desperation threatened to overwhelm him. “It’s been two months, and I’ve found no sign of Emma, have you? If you have any other suggestions, now’s the time to share them!”
His words silenced Allyra, and she glanced at the cabin, her eyes taking on a faraway look. Eventually she turned back to him. “We don’t know who put up this ward or why. I think we’re making a mistake rushing into this.”
Her words lacked conviction, and he knew that she was wavering—it was time to push his advantage. Whatever the danger, he was willing to risk anything if it meant getting closer to having Emma back.
“Allyra,” he said evenly, “you said you trusted me—so show me. I’ve never asked much of you, but I’m asking you to do this for me. I’m asking you to do this for Emma.”
It was a low blow. He knew she wouldn’t refuse him, couldn’t refuse him.
She stared at him for a long time, her eyes stormy, but eventually, she nodded. “Fine.”
Chapter 20 – Allyra
Green was the color of desperation—Allyra had never realized it until she stood in the forest, surrounded by pine trees whose needles were the perfect mirror of Jamie’s eyes. She had stared into his eyes so many times before, but tonight, there was a hopelessness in them, as if they were made of sea glass just waiting to be broken.
How could she say no when he’d asked for so little and given so much over the years?
Allyra turned her attention back to the unremarkable little cabin and the extraordinary ward around it. Isolated Facts. She searched her memory; the words felt familiar, like she should know them, yet, no memory rose to the surface. The ward was old, the threads wound intricately and tightly together, done so expertly that it was hard to discern the individual threads. She could only feel the Gift of one person, like a single individual voice carrying a song. There was no doubt about it—this was an Elemental ward, created by one person. It meant that it had stood for a long time—more than a hundred and fifty years, and now they were going to try to destroy it, based on no more than a hope and whisper.
It felt callous and wrong.
Jamie had explained the theory of a Gem Nexus, and she managed to grasp the concept quickly enough, but putting it into practice could prove to be an altogether different story.
As the Atmospheric of the group, she took up the east cardinal point and waited for John—the Terra—to her right, in the north position, to start the sequence. He was obviously experienced and swiftly found the diamond’s resonance frequency. It started to glow between them with a gentle light that parted the darkness.
And then it was her turn. She reached out with her Gift toward the glowing diamond, careful to only use the yellow Air threads. It took her a little time, the remnants of her hangover making her slower than usual, but eventually, she managed to link with John though she was careful to ensure that the link did not encroach beyond the protections around her mind. She felt the steady flow of John’s Gift
