Page 146 of Harnessed in Gold

“Leo, call Rime. We—” A blast of defiance swallows my words. Heat explodes in my chest, a raging fire of greed and defiance. I laugh out loud, so low and deep and menacing, I cower in fear—from my own voice.

“Betts!”

Harness it, harness it!Inside my mind, I flail, grasping at the flames: fury, resentment, fear?—

The fire closes in on me, searing me with raw power. Exhilarated, I laugh. The young man’s lips part in shock.Scared? He’d better be.

“Get off,” I snarl when he traps me in his arms.I’ll burn him to cinders.

The craving for revenge fills my mouth with hot saliva. He tackles me to the ground.The weakling. He can’t keep me down.I call on my fire, hissing at him as he grips my shoulders.

“Betts. A chroí.”

My body melts into the cold earth.Who is this pretty man? What is he doing to me?A warm calm spreads from my chest to my fingers and toes, clearing the fog of my rage. “Leo?”

He exhales, but his hands don’t leave my shoulders, even when I grab his wrists and pull.

“I’m okay,” I assure him.

Dread mars his features. “It’s Ember,” he says, finally loosening his grip.

“I know. I’m sorry. I tried to harness, but I didn’t have the chance to dissociate first.”

“It was sudden,” he agrees, sliding off me to kneel in the underbrush.

“I let my guard down. I was starting to think the bracelet wasn’t here.” A stupid mistake I won’t make again.

To prove how strong I am, I spring to my feet. Fortunately, he beats me to it, steadying me as I wobble. I clutch his arm, tightenough that he won’t question what I’m about to say. “You have my permission to do whatever you need to do if I go crazy again.”

“If you go crazy again, I’m getting you out of here.”

“No! That’s the one thing you don’t have my permission to do.”

“Betts—”

“Shake me, hit me, knock me out, but?—”

“No.” He bends close and glares at me with wild, tormented eyes. “I won’t hurt you.”

Tears scald my throat. “But if I’m trying to hurtyou?—”

He shakes his head. “I still won’t do it.”

In the distance, birds of who-knows-what-kind let out an unearthly screech. We both look up, but the densely packed trees obscure our view of the midnight-blue sky. Burdock has to be out here somewhere, and I doubt he’s alone. Or are those Rime’s birds—a decoy to draw Brier’s team away from the riverside?

“They sound far away,” I say.

Leo nods.

“Come on.” I nudge him forward. “We’re almost there.” We have enough time to dig up that bracelet and get back safely to Avery’s before anyone sees us.

We race through the forest, Leo’s weaving magic hasty and slapdash. Overlooked vines snag our ankles and thorns tear our clothes. We’re moving too fast for me to easily hold on to him. Only the glow of his phone guides me through the dusk.

Why is he in the lead? Why am I doing what he wants? I don’t need him; he needs me. I’m the powerful one here.

Rules.

Demands.