Page 80 of Flowerheart

I nodded, cold and dripping and shaken after all that had happened.

You are nothing without me,said the familiar voice. It wassofter now, only a weak little whine of a thing.

But looking at Xavier, his bleeding mouth, his tired eyes, the iron cuffs around his wrists, I paid no mind to my magic.

I pulled away from Madam Ben Ammar and turned back to Xavier. With a weary, grateful smile, I knelt before him, pressing his palm to my cheek. The thorns on his arms clattered to the floor, leaving bloody gashes behind. The tulips, too, fell, whispering against the marble as they landed. The spark had returned to his eyes; they were warm and brown again. Tears clung to his lashes.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I was selfish and cruel and—and I’d do anything to make things better for you. I wish—” He paused, his breath hitching. “I wish I could help you endure this—”

I hushed him, touching my lips to the heel of his hand. His face flushed, and my stomach turned.

“Iamstrong enough to endure it,” I told him.

He nodded. “I know you are.”

Despite everything, despite the tears in his eyes, he beamed down at me. My heart swelled.

“Miss Lucas?”

Reluctantly, I looked back at Madam Ben Ammar and the other magicians now standing at her side. Some were creating small gusts of wind or little flames to help dry one another off—and they were laughing, both at themselves, and out of relief that the danger had finally passed.

“Miss Lucas,” said Madam Ben Ammar, “I’m afraid thatdespite our circumstances, we must proceed with his trial.”

I rose, standing in front of Xavier, my stinging hand still holding his. Imogen’s voice echoed in my mind. According to her, these people had no true authority. They chose right and wrong based on their own whims. To deprive someone of their magic, when they were repentant and wished only to do good—surely that could not be right. They’d planned to remove my magic too, when all I had needed was the right teacher and some more time.

“Wait,” I said, my mind racing, my heart bounding. “This is too early. Midsummer isn’t until tomorrow!”

“Tomorrow is only a few hours away,” she said. “And in light of the revelation that Master Morwyn tried to use your magic to subvert the Council’s punishment, I think justice is long overdue.”

No. They were wrong about him; he wasn’t a criminal, he wasn’t a monster. They had to see that.

“He is not a cruel man,” I said, my voice breaking. “He’s done nothing but try to help people. Even with half his power, he worked tirelessly to find the cure to Euphoria. He has done his penance; he has served his community even when he barely had the strength to—”

“Clara.” Xavier squeezed my hand. I turned back to him, and despite the blood on his chin and the wounds along his arms, he smiled. “I accept their punishment.”

21

The words chilled me. And so did this: my hand against his, his skin against mine, and neither of us burning or hurting. His thumb brushed back and forth against the top of my hand, and my heart swooped.

The blond Councilmember stepped to my side, touching my elbow. “You’ll need to leave while we proceed with the trial,” he said.

I pulled away from the wizard trying to keep me back. Now that I had touched Xavier’s hand once, I didn’t want to let go; I clasped his hand tighter and looked down at him in his chair, my heart twinging at the sight of him. Bruised. Bloody. Afraid.

“This iswrong,” I said. “He doesn’t deserve to be punished. Xavier, did you mean to cause any harm by creating Euphoria?”

He shut his eyes, his brow lining, like the memoryphysically pained him. “No. I just wanted to help treat melancholy. To help people like my sister.”

I turned back to the Councilmembers. “You see?” I could not forget the hopelessness of the man in the market; the desperation that would drive people, young people like Emily and Daniel, to seek such dangerous relief. And my mother’s words—that the Council simply refused to create any potion that could treat issues of the heart.

“We cannot leave our patients without hope,” I pled. “This emptiness that they feel... I know it well. Master Morwyn should not be punished for trying to help those in need—”

“Miss Lucas, cease this outburst,” said Master O’Brian, frowning. “The Council has made its decision about Master Morwyn. And as Madam Ben Ammar said,newtransgressions have been brought to light—he accepted your magic from you for his own gain, all while knowing full well that we would disapprove.”

A witch with scarlet hair raised an eyebrow at me. “Am I to understand yougaveyour power to Master Morwyn?”

“She didn’t know about my punishment,” said Xavier. “I was the one who asked for her magic in the first place.”

Looking the Councilmembers in the eyes, he sat tall despite the irons on his ankles and wrists. “She has done nothing but help others. Therefore, while I still have the authority to do so,” he said, “I hereby propose to you that Miss ClaraLucas should join our ranks as an official witch.”

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