Page 16 of Harnessed in Gold
“I can handle it.”
“Can you?” Leo’s voice is laced with anger. “You forced her to look at you unglamoured.”
“No,” Rime counters, “I forced you to tell her the truth.”
Ears burning, I relive that moment in Leo’s living room. Rime’s red eyes peering at me as Leo pinned him to the wall, the two of them too busy fighting to care about the humiliated little human whose world they were destroying.
“You can’t heal her,” Leo bites out.
Rime snorts. “What do you think is going to happen down there? She’s not going to need healing.”
Down there? They must be talking about going to the river. Considering how pissy Leo’s been since Rime agreed to play the part of my boyfriend, I assumed they were arguing about bingo.
“No, but she might need calming,” Leo argues. “And you’re not the one who can do that.”
Rime is unfazed. “I don’t need magic to keep her calm.”
Excuse me, what? Calmingmagic? Is that part of Leo’s healing ability, that he can calm his patient? Has he ‘calmed’ me before?
Without my consent?
Crack. One of the plastic cups splits in my fist.
“Those two arguing again?” Aaron stands beside me, the rest of the dirty cups pinched in his fingers. “What’s up with them?”
Hoping my face isn’t as red as it feels, I shrug and take the cups from him, hiding the split one in the stack. Whatever its source, Leo and Rime’s deep-seated animosity isn’t about me, even if it seems like I’m at the center of it right now.
When I enter the kitchen, Rime smiles, but Leo frowns. And just like that morning, I feel an urge to soothe him, to protect and shieldhim from this threatening stranger. Like he’s still the Leo I thought I knew.
I gulp and push my way to the trash can. He’snotthat Leo. He never was. The snuggles in the library, the gifts, the promises—they were all lies to draw me in and earn my trust. A way to mold me into a tool he can use, one he’s convinced he’s better equipped to manage than Rime.
I hold my breath to contain my aggravated scream. Why can’t I let go of this resentment? I need to stop licking my wounds and wallowing in all the feelings I caught. I mean, who even knows if those feelings are real? If Leo can calm me, what else can he do?
He rakes a hand through his hair and glares at his toes. The energy of his frustration is like a wallop to the chest, tempered only slightly by Rime’s self-satisfaction.
Rime turns his attention to me. “When do you want to go down to the river, little psychic?”
“My last class is over at three tomorrow, so how about three-thirty?”
“Okay. I’ll come get you at your dorm.”
“No,” I gasp. “No. Not a good idea.” Bringing Rime into a building full of college girls? No one has time for that kind of chaos.
“Why not? I’ll be glamoured.” There’s a hint of a grin playing on his lips.
“You know why not. I’ll meet you at the tennis courts.”
His brow furrows. “Tennis?”
“The sport? The one with the net you?—”
Leo grumbles, “I’ll show him some pictures.”
“Okay. See you tomorrow.” With a wave, I slip from the kitchen, leaving Rime to gloat and Leo to glower at the floor.
CHAPTER THREE
At Avery’s yesterday,Leo reminded us psychics to keep our senses honed, especially while we’re walking around campus and town. Unfortunately, I’m so well-practiced at ignoring or running away from emotions, that I don’t have the slightest clue how to pay attention to them, at least not while going about my daily life. My strolls from class to class today were grueling.What was that twinge of anger? Was that the weapon? Why do I feel sad all of a sudden? Oh, it’s just that girl over there, frowning at her phone.
