Page 128 of Harnessed in Gold

Topaz narrows her eyes at him and sets her fists on her hips. “How did you do that, by the way?”

“Healing?”

“No, not healing,” she snorts. “The roots. How did you get them through that wall? And how in Lugh’s name did you make that tunnel? It was extraordinary.”

My face grows weirdly hot. Was the tunnel not something Leo could normally do?

He clears his throat, eyes on his glass of iced tea. “I dunno. Maybe I get a power-boost in a crisis?”

“How?” she demands. “Betts is the one who feeds on emotions, not you.”

Leo shrugs. Whatever he did to make that tunnel, he doesn’t want anyone to know.

Liv turns to stare at me. “What does she mean, you feed on emotions?”

“It’s just… you know, the whole empath thing.”

Leo spills the truth, albeit gently, “Betts is psychic. So are Avery and Aaron.”

“Psychic?” Liv’s expression holds more curiosity than disbelief. “Like you can tell the future and stuff?”

“No. Not like that, exactly.” Together, Leo and I explain clairsentience. Well, he does mostly. He’s a lot better at being detached and academic about it. I remind Liv about Jason’s overdose, how I felt it before I knew it happened. And about sensing the fight she had with her parents on Parent’s Weekend, all the way down the hall.

When Leo and I tell her about the mill-workers, her jaw goes slack.

“It was that bad?” she whispers.

I nod.

“And it felt like you were one of them?”

I nod again, tears blurring my vision. “I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t figure out how.”

She rises and tugs me up with her. “Come on.”

Alone in Avery’s room, the door closed but everyone most likely eavesdropping, I apologize a thousand times over for all my lies. “I was scared you’d think I’d lost my mind.”

“I already thought you lost it! I mean, for god’s sake, I was so worried I snuck and followed you to the library.”

“And I almost got you killed!” I unleash a fresh burst of tears. “It’s my fault you went through all that. If I’d just told you?—”

She cuts me off, “If you’d just told me, I wouldn’t have believed you.” With a sigh, she shoves aside a green duffle bag to make room for us on the bed. “I would’ve thought you were making up some dumb story because you didn’t want to hang out with me anymore.”

“What? No. No, no, no. That’s not it. At. All.”

“Well, yeah, I know that now. But that’s Liv Shah for you.” She shakes her head in disgust. “Always gotta learn the hard way.”

“No, don’t you dare blame yourself. I could’ve told yousomething. I’ve been acting so weird and secretive and shit, and there you were, freaking out, and I just ran off in the middle of our fight.” I throw up my hands in self-defeat and drop onto the bed beside her. “I should’ve just told you ages ago. Whether or not you believed me.”

Then maybe she wouldn’t have followed me into danger. And maybe her face-first crash into the truth wouldn’t have been so catastrophic. Even more catastrophic than mine.

Shit, my heart hurts.

I fess up about what happened the morning after I first slept with Leo. How blindsided I’d been, with nothing to cushion the blow.

But instead of calling me out for my hypocrisy, Liv takes the high ground. “I knew your heart was broken. And I knew it was Leo. But you wouldn’t even admit there was something going on between you.”

My shoulders sag. “I know, I should’ve. But I thought you wanted me to get back with Zander.”