Page 42 of Golden Star

“People don’t ‘accidentally’ run their swords through other people,” she says. “You could have died.”

“But I didn’t die,” I remind her. “I’m here. I’m fine.”

“But you would have been dead if your real self was there instead of this half-there, projected self.”

“You think my duplicate was some sort of projected version of myself?” I ask, my head spinning as I try to get this straight.

“That’s what it sounds like,” she says, as if this is a normal conversation we’re having over coffee. “Anyway, what happened with Riven when you—well, your projected self—was in his room? Other than him trying to kill you?”

“I told you—he wasn’t trying to kill me.” I glare at her, exasperated, but also relieved that the frost in her hair is melting, thanks to Riven’s jacket. There’s a bit of pink creeping into her cheeks, too.

“I guess I have to believe you.” She sighs. “Since you’re magically bound to not be able to lie.”

“Apparently being unable to lie comes with some perks.” I smile, trying to find something positive during all this craziness. “Everyone’s forced to believe me.”

“Having magical control over water comes with perks, too,” she points out. “As does projecting your spirit—or whatever—to another place.”

“Itwaspretty cool.” My teeth chatter a bit as I talk, the cold in the tower catching back up with me.

“You’re freezing.” She takes off half the jacket and motions for me to come over to her. “Get in. But only ifyou tell me everything else that happened when you were inPrinceRiven’s room.”

Sapphire

“Try again,”Zoey says, and I close my eyes, picturing Riven’s room for the fifth time in the past hour.

As per Zoey’s instructions, I’m sitting with my back against the wall, so my body won’t have an unfortunate collision with the ground if this works.

I’d probably heal relatively quickly, but still, it’s better to be safe.

Project,I think, as if thinking the word can ignite my magic.

Nothing happens.

I open my eyes again, frustrated to find Zoey frowning in disappointment.

“I can’t do it,” I tell her.

Even if I could, what am I going to do? Tell Riven I changed my mind, and hook up with him to get what I want?

That’s what Zoey said I should do. It’s whatshewould do. It would also be better than staying in here and freezing to death, but I’d rather figure out a solution thatdoesn’tinvolve sleeping with the enemy.

“Maybe you should try covering less of a distance,” she says, and then she stands up, glancing out the window. “There’s a guard down there now, and there’s no sign of Ghost. It’s not safe. But what if you try projecting yourself right outside our cell? Just to see if it works?”

“It’s worth a shot,” I say, since we’re not doing much of anything else in here, other than freezing and starving to death.

I close my eyes again.

“Wait,” she says, and I open my eyes to look at her. “You said that when you did it before, you werelookingat the place next to Ghost at the bottom of the tower.”

“Yes.”

“You have to repeat exactly what you did. So, don’t close your eyes. Look at the hall outside of the bars instead.”

“Okay,” I say, since even though Zoey’s the one without magic, she seems to have a better basic understanding of it than I do.

So, I shift my position and focus on the narrow hallway just outside the cell.

Project,I think again, picturing myself standing out there, beyond the bars.

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