Page 126 of Fortress of Ambrose
Ube glares at her.
“I strongly suspected it.”
“Start listening to her.Run it again.”
“A vessel more compositionally similar to the object we are putting the toushana in would be better. Have you come up with something that we can use?”
Excuses.
Choke him.
It hasn’t felt right to ask Quell for a keepsake from here that could be hunted or eventually destroyed when she is still grappling with how she feels about this place. “You were supposed to tell me if there is anything else more easily procured that we could use. A gem perhaps. Gems absorb magic.” Like the cave in Aronya we nearly depleted of resources.
“There is nothing I can think of,” he says.
“The next time we run this procedure, I will useyou,Ube, instead of a rock! Stay here all night if you must.”
He doesn’t move. “Uh, we were going to finish up early for dinner with the Headmistress tonight.”
Quell’s dinner. I’d almost forgotten. “Plan to eat quickly.”
A rap on the doorframe fractures the tension. The magic bleeding from my hands siphons back inside.
“Jordan?” It’s Abby. She eyes the mess warily. “Do you have a moment?” When we leave the room, it takes a few paces before the anger burning through me at them subsides. When we reach the stairs, she pulls me aside.
“I was wrong.” She struggles to meet my eyes. “You’re planning toextract the toushana inside you because if it stays inside you, it’ll kill you eventually. But…”
She tucks her lip, hesitant to go on.
“Tell me.”
“It won’t work. It’s too much. The Sphere’s toushana is so strong and already partly bonded to you that itcan’tbe removed without killing you. This procedure you’re planning will be the death of you. Jordan, either way, you—”
“Die.”
We’re first toarrive. I enter the dining room with Quell on my arm, and it makes my pulse race. I am dead, no matter what.
“Are you alright?” Her palm rests on her chest.
“I’m fine. Do you know if any letters have come for me?”
“I haven’t seen any.”
Quell hugs tighter on my arm, which only makes my heart rattle faster. I remind myself where I spent last night. It should be safe to be near each other for a couple of hours of dinner.
“Did you hear about the brawl in the Elixir session yesterday?” she asks.
“An actualfight?”
The doors open again, and our guests enter, greeting us as they pass.
“Two are unconscious in the Healer office. One of Zecky’s mixed an elixir and tossed it in Dimara’s eyes, who of course went feral, attacking them back,” she says through a plastic smile. “If you weren’t so busy with Ube and Erla, you’d know.”
There is no pleasing these people. They are here, have access to magic, work a few hours a day, but otherwise can do whatever they want as long as they don’t leave. The ingratitude is grating. “Can’t Willam and Knox help Dexler make sure their people are under control?”
“Ourpeople.”
Now isn’t the time to tell her that my feelings on roping inallsafe house people into a new Order haven’t budged. It’s not prudent. Once allthe guests have arrived, I lead us to the dining table set with a four-course meal. Ube, Erla, and Yani are already seated. Yani wears a black dress ribbed with red detail. Erla has thrown a suit jacket over her T-shirt with a pair of slacks. Ube wears a tailored tux as fine as the one I’m wearing, with a watch on his arm that’s blindingly glitzy. Their discussion promptly stops when I pull out Quell’s seat and take mine. Erla watches Yani with a perplexing expression somewhere between curiosity and annoyance. Yani sits back in her chair staring daggers across the room at Erla, who I realize is wearing little to no jewelry. Ube straightens his silverware, ignoring both of them.
