Page 139 of Harnessed in Gold

Rime tilts his head, a slow smile spreading across his face. “Heavies? What’s that?”

“What you are,” I answer.

Aaron chuckles, and Leo barks a laugh.

We detail for Rime, Topaz, and Liv what we found in Browne’s journal while they were gone.

“So, we have to find a bracelet. In a lead box. Buried in a stone house,” Topaz says, crossing her arms and revealing two Hello Kitty bandaids on the tip of her middle finger.

“With no other way to locate it besides what Betts might feel,” Liv adds, voice thin.

“We still have a few more pages to decode,” Leo says. “Maybe there will be more clues in there.”

Avery hops to her feet, crumpling her taco wrappers in her fist. “Then let’s get back to work.”

Wanting to contribute to the taco fund, Liv and I slip into Avery’s room to find our wallets and dig out some cash.

“How are you doing?” I ask her.

“Well, considering twenty-four hours ago I had no idea faeries even existed, I’d say I’m doing pretty well.”

“Better than I did,” I say with a sympathetic sigh. “Ugh, Liv, I’m so sorry.”

“If you don’t stop saying that—” she fake-growls.

“But you’re supposed to go out with Liam tonight and you’re stuck here.”Eating cheap tacos, decoding Enochian, and hoping evil faeries haven’t followed you to the door.

“Yeah, I texted him this morning. We’re gonna reschedule.” She avoids my eyes and waves off further questions with a dismissive flick of her hand. “But hey, I got to pet a hawk today, so that was pretty cool.” She unzips the front pocket of her backpack. “They’re incredible.”

“The hawks or the fae?”

“Both.” She shrugs and shyly looks away.

I make like I’m counting the bills in my wallet. “So, uh, were you okay out there with Rime? You felt safe and all that?”

“Absolutely,” she declares, an unmistakable sigh in her voice.

Between the two of us, we manage to scrounge up six dollars and eighty-nine cents. “Not enough,” I say, frowning. “When this is all over, we’ll have to take Avery out to lunch. Every day for a week.”

Liv drops onto the bed and looks up at me with anxious eyes. “When this is all over, what happens with you and Leo?”

“I don’t know.”

She pats the mattress until I sit down beside her. “He hasn’t told you how it’s supposed to work, like with faeries dating humans and stuff?”

“He says he’ll come back, but… but what if he can’t?” My entire body shudders with my exhale. “What if something happens to him?”

She wraps her arms around me. “It won’t. He’s too smart.”

I nod feebly, choking on a sob.

“Knock, knock.” Leo stands in the open doorway. One look at my face and he rushes to my side.

With a motherly stroke of my hair, Liv rises and gestures for him to take her seat. As she leaves, I hand her my money, then I bury my face in Leo’s neck.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

“Nothing.” Why bother talking about it? It is what it is.