Page 62 of Bombshell

Arsenio’s smile was sharp and slow as he turned to face me fully. “Right you are, Euphemia. It seems there’s at least one Finch who understands what must be done.”

“Get these cuffs off of me,” I told him, ignoring his smug tone.

James materialized to my left, an equally annoying look on his face as he used the magical key to unlock the dampening bracelets.

No, you can’t do this,the Source whispered in my mind.Just let me destroy this place once and for all.

And then what happens to all of the people you hurt in the process? My friends, my family? They didn’t hurt you,Arsenio did.

The Source was silent for a beat before giving an exasperated sigh.If you do this, you will be beholden to Arsenio for centuries and maybe even for eternity. You are a brand new being, even I don’t know how long you will live. That means you and I will be connected. Forever. Whatever Arsenio says, we do and I know how much you hate him.

I ignored her and approached Arsenio who gestured to a basin of water in the center of the cave.

“What do I have to do?” I asked him.

“Euphemia,” Alexander tried to scoot in between Arsenio and me, but I didn’t look at him, afraid his face and sudden fatherly instincts would shake my resolve. “Think about this. You won’t be able to leave this cave. Ever. What about Dallan and the rest of the people at that shop of yours?”

I glanced down at him and found a pleading look on his face, his dark brows drawing together with misery.

“They won’t exist if a tsunami washes everything away,” I told him softly before turning back to the basin and looking inside. There, underneath some of the clearest water I’d ever seen, sat a glowing brooch.

“That’s the Source, Euphemia, all you have to do is touch it and let it mold to your magic,” Arsenio instructed, but I ignored him.

Seriously?I asked,you have all of this power and you’re a tacky-looking brooch?

The Source snorted.I didn’t pick it, but that’s another, much longer story. My true form is much more beautiful than this ugly thing.

I see…I reached for the brooch.

Wait!The Source stopped me.Are you sure you want to do this?

To protect my family? Definitely.

I’d spent my entire life trying to prove to everyone that my existence was more than an experiment gone wrong. That I was more than the halfling who didn’t fit in with either of the worlds I seemed to be straddling.

If all of it culminated in my being able to keep Dallan and the rest of my people safe… then so be it.

I reached forward, plunging my hand into the surprisingly warm water and wrapped my fingers around the brooch.

“Effie, no!” Dallan’s Scottish brogue filled my ears just as white enveloped my vision.

“What happened?” I asked out loud, my voice echoing in the vast blankness.

“This is what being the Guardian is,” the Source said as a pale woman appeared in front of me. She was taller than me but so thin that it looked like a stray breeze would blow her right away.

Not that there was any breeze in here.

“But the other Guardian—the druid—he lived in the cave,” I said, confused as I looked around at the white backdrop.

The Source’s smile was sad as she lifted a hand and our blank surroundings melted into a replica of the cave. “We’re bondedtogether, Effie, which means that we live in your head and there’s no leaving it now.”

“That’s—” I glanced around at the fake-cave and the realization at what I’d just done began to sink in. “So, I won’t go back? Ever?”

The Source shook her head. “The amount of magic it would take for us to detach from one another…”

She didn’t have to finish her sentence. I already knew. It would take an impossible amount of magic. I was stuck here.

And the worst part of it all?

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