"Again," Melinda ordered as she marched around the training room. Her stern gaze weighed heavily on Emery's shoulders. 

"Maybe a break would be best," Poppy's voice was laced with pity. She grimaced when she saw Emery wipe beads of sweat off her forehead, her breaths heavy and labored. 

Emery didn't like being pitied, so she forced herself up once more, her muscles obeying despite how sore and tired she felt. Her eyes narrowed at the two tall torches placed in the middle of the room. The assignment was to move the flames from one torch to the other with her magic, but no matter how much she tried, the fire wouldn't flinch. The pillars stood just a mere four feet from each other, it didn't seem hard, but her body had never been under so much duress.

Melinda scoffed. "A break? No. What she needs is focus. Are you even trying?" She lifted a strong arm, fingers slightly curled in the direction of the fire. "Breathe in," she instructed, flexing her fingers wide. "Breathe out." Her hand clenched into a closed fist, condensing the torch's flames into a tight ball of embers. The arm swung toward the other torch, dragging the fire swiftly onto the next pillar. Her muscles rippled with the action.

Emery let out an angry huff of air, blowing loose strands of hair away from her face. She had to admit it. She wasn't focusing enough. How could she? Her nerves were on a fritz. The little adventure she'd so recklessly had last night put everyone at risk. 

Theo wasn't to be trusted, yet she'd basically given him a warm welcome to Bellenau. Come visit! At any. Fucking. Moment. 

Her imagination kept running wild while she practiced. Visions of Theo bursting through the House's doors and destroying everything kept playing through her head.

It wasn't my place to do that. My plan was way too risky. Theo could turn and betray me at any moment.

The worst part was, she still hadn't figured out what to offer the prince. Nothing felt equal to him giving up his key. Except, of course, giving up the Song of Fire but there was no way she'd ever give him that. 

"Emery, give it one last shot, okay?" Poppy tried to encourage her, "Remember: steady breaths and focused thoughts."

Neither of which she could manage right now. 

After stretching out the muscles in her arms and neck, Emery faced the fire once more. The embers seemed to mock her. Their heat egged her on. She lifted her hand, fingers long and wide. 

Breathe in. Breathe out. 

Her fingers curled into a fist. The fire reacted, compressing its shape into a flaming orb. Emery's muscles tightened as beads of sweat trickled down her forehead. It felt like she was holding up a forty pound weight.

"Good," Melinda noted, her studious eyes analyzing each and every one of her movements. "Now, move it."

Breathe, Emery. 

In. Out. In. Out. 

Theo's snarky grin invaded her mind without permission, breaking her concentration. Her arm moved but the fire didn't follow. Instead, the torch's fire dissolved, like a gust of wind had blown it away. 

The magic was too much. Emery's knees buckled under her, her arms falling limp next to her.

Melinda sighed. "If you can't focus there's no point in continuing today's lesson. We'll start again tomorrow. Enjoy your Saturday." Awaiting no reply, the tall woman turned back around and exited the training room, her heels clicking against the stone floor. 

Emery wiped the sweat off her face angrily. Her eyes were glued to the floor as shame clouded her senses. She'd caused such a good impression in her last training session; it made this failure even more embarrassing.

A yellow dress snuck into her view. Emery moved her gaze up to find Poppy extending a small towel toward her. "Don't feel bad. Melinda's just big on tough love. Fire abilities are really hard."

Thankful for the gesture, she accepted the white towel and pressed it against her forehead. "Thanks, but don't sugarcoat it. I'm weak."

"Nooo." Poppy had never sounded so unconvincing. 

"I'll get better," she decided, pushing herself up. "Starting with a jog."

"Or rest! Rest is good, too," the small girl insisted but Emery wasn't having it. She needed to train. At least ten minutes of cardio to build up her stamina. Poppy must've noticed her determination and added, "At least take a break and eat something. You've been at it since this morning."

"I will," Emery told her, shooting her a small smile before she made her way out of the House. Her step was brisk. She wanted to be nowhere near the House of Fire when the prince arrived. If he arrived that is . . .

As she made her way up the cellar steps, her phone erupted in a stream of bings and buzzes—a result of being cooped up in the cellar, where wi-fi was unheard of. Most of them were social media notifications and random emails. Everything seemed fine till the text messages popped into view. They were all from Seth.

"Hey, Em. Let's eat lunch together today."

"You're probably busy with your Nancy Drew business. I'll wait for you by the schoolyard, okay?"

"Hey, there's this guy here asking for you."

"His name's Theo. Do you know him?"

"No, no, no, no," each 'no' got louder and louder as she went up the cellar steps two at a time. Shoving her phone in her back pocket, her feet took off in a hasty sprint toward the library exit. 

I should've protected him. I shouldn't have left him alone. 

The town passed in a blur. She ran by building after building until the small school came into view. It was closed for summer break. There were no kids or teachers; there was no one at all.

Most importantly, there was no Seth.

The stagnant quiet did little to ease her worry. Emery leaned forwards, her lungs burning from exertion. Numerous strands of black hair spilled out of her bun, sticking to her cheeks. She tried her best to push the hair away as she made a move to look within the school, considering the possibility of them being inside. 

She was halfway up the stairs when she heard a familiar voice. "Em! Over here!" 

Seth's cheery greeting felt like a breath of cool, refreshing air. A sigh of relief escaped her as she turned back around.

Seth was alive. His mouth stretched into a beautiful, oblivious grin. "Jogging again?"

Emery's relief shattered when she zeroed in on another figure treading behind him. The Izovenian prince shot Emery a lopsided grin before shoving his hands in the pockets of his dark trousers. The blood in her veins simmered at his playfulness.

She wished he could read her mind. I'm gonna kick your ass, was plastered on every square inch of her brain.

Seth landed a kiss to her forehead before slipping his hand into her grip. "Why didn't you tell me you knew a historian? Here of all places?"

"Historian?" Emery whispered, her eyes bouncing between Seth and Theo. Her necklace felt warm against her chest again—a sure sign that she needed to get Seth as far away as possible.

"Yeah, Theo's really helped my presentation along." Seth—clueless, innocent Seth—nodded at him in acknowledgment. The prince had the audacity to look smug and accept the compliment with a 'humble' shrug. "I forgot to ask. How do you two know each other?"

"We go way back, don't we, Em?" the prince picked some lint off his perfectly pressed shirt, acting as if he hadn't a care in the world. 

Emery's breath had finally settled. Still, she pretended to take a few more labored breaths to come up with "Childhood friends." The word 'friends' left an acrid taste in her mouth, but the lie worked. Seth just nodded along.

"Well, anyway, you've been a great help. Thanks." Seth readjusted the strap of his computer bag over his shoulder before extending a hand towards Theo. 

Her breath hitched in terror as the prince shook Seth's hand. She feared he'd burn him or drag him away with some other kind of magic she didn't quite grasp yet. But he did let go and she sighed in relief.

"Something wrong?" Theo was so good at feigning worry. It made her want to punch him more.

Instead of giving in to her curled fists, she replied, "Just a little parched." 

"It's time for lunch anyways, you can get a drink at Baker's," Seth offered, placing a cool hand on her shoulder. "Theo, would you like to—"

"No," she interrupted, earning two curious gazes, one of them more amused than the other. "Theo needs to come with me . . . to help with work." 

"Do I?" Theo chuckled.

"Yes, for the book donations. Remember?" She stepped to drag him away but came to a dry halt. The Song reminded her not to touch him with another wave of heat. Theo's gaze magnetized to the necklace. So, she clasped it in her hand and said, "Well? Get a move on."

"Right. Guess I'll see you around," he told Seth. "Lots of work to do, apparently."

Seth's nose scrunched up ever so slightly, his brows knitting together in thought. Emery knew him well enough to know he was overanalyzing the situation and that their awkward interactions weren't adding up. 

No matter what Seth was thinking, her only focus was on getting Theo as far say from him as possible.

"I'll see you at the house after I'm done. I'll make lunch," she rushed out, standing on the tips of her toes to kiss his cheek.

Before Seth could protest or offer to accompany them to the library, Emery spun on her heels and, with brows raised, nudged her head toward the road. "Hurry up," she muttered, her tone saturated with annoyance. 

Her pace never faltered or slowed. She was eager to get out of Seth's hearing range and say, "I thought you'd give me more time." With a fleeting glance over her shoulder, she saw Theo easily kept up with her, looking infinitely calm. 

"I was going to wait till tonight but . . . I got bored."

By then, they'd turned onto the next street. There was no way Seth could see them.

Emery turned around furiously, her messy hair whipping over her gaze. She felt a few dark strands stick to her hot skin but couldn't be bothered to wipe them away. All her focus was directed toward the overwhelming loathing she had for the prince. "Why were you talking to Seth?"

"I'm curious . . ." Theo remained unfazed, craning his neck to stare up at the clear summer sky. "You didn't offer your boyfriend as leverage because you were scared he'd get hurt? Or because you didn't think he was of equal value to my Song?"

She flinched, heat crawling up her ears. Even though she'd never put Seth's life at risk, back at the clearing, he didn't even cross her mind.

"Hmm, by your expression, I'm guessing it's the latter," Theo concluded, raising his finger to flick a stray hair away from Emery's face. The Song reacted to his touch, pushing him away with a wave of heat. The prince fumed as he stumbled back, his nostrils flaring. "Stupid little—I'm not doing anything!"

"I'm not using Seth as leverage," she growled, furrowing her brow.

"What else you got then?" He stepped around her, his attention shifting to a nearby bushel of orange flowers. Theo tied his hands behind his back and leaned forward, his eyelids fluttering closed as he sniffed. 

She tore her eyes away from the prince. "I don't know, yet. . . ."

Straightening up into his tall figure once more, he turned his head toward her. "Then use Mr. Vanilla McBland-bland."

"Who?" 

"Your boyfriend, Wright," he cleared up, with a roll of his eyes. "He obviously doesn't know anything. I'll keep him hostage until you come back. I get my Song; you get Seth. We erase his memory and then we'll be back to being arch-enemies. How about it?" His cheekbones met his eyes as he grinned. 

"No." No more messing with heads. She'd experienced it first-hand, and she didn't want Seth to suffer from the gaps of memory loss that had plagued her mind. Enough was enough. 

The edge of his mouth twitched up as he stared at her. "What's stopping me from taking him hostage when you're not here?"

Emery's fury got the best of her. Her feet stomped forward, while her first clenched tightly. A myriad of embers appeared around her hand.

At the sight of the flames, Theo's eyes went wide. "New trick?"

The words brought Emery to a dry halt, and the flames dispersed as soons as she looked down. Had she just created fire?

Focus on Theo.

"Isn't there anything else I could give you?" 

Theo raised his eyebrows at the question. His gaze traveled around her face, before settling on her eyes. "Yes, glad you offered." 

Emery bit the inside of her cheek to keep from punching that sly grin off his face. Her hand curled into a fist without her permission, ready to knock his teeth out if he stepped out of line. 

He either didn't seem to notice her aggression or didn't care. His tone was still teasing as he continued, "I won't harm your little human if you bring me something from Izoven."

Emery scowled. "What do you want?"

"A siren's amulet." He shoved both hands in his pockets once more. "It's in the Kingdom of Diuna. So, it's not entirely out of your way. I'll tell you how to get it."

A siren's amulet? What was that? 

It was almost like he read her mind when he added, "Don't worry. I promise it's entirely harmless." After a quick wink, he extended his hand in between them. "What do you say?"

Emery stared at his hand for seconds. She didn't exactly understand much about Izoven or magic, and she wasn't sure that the amulet wasn't to further his goals, but . . . It was either the amulet or Seth. 

She couldn't let Theo hurt him. 

She slipped her slender hand into his. His calloused grip tightened around hers before he shook it up and down. The prince never lowered his eyes, keeping them trained on her necklace. 

All of a sudden, his calm, cool demeanor vanished, replaced by a dark hunger. She felt a spark between their joined hands. The heat was beginning to burn. No matter how much she tried to pull back, he kept her in place. 

The Song refused to react to his nearness. Despite how much she wished it'd blow him away, it wouldn't even stir. 

He yanked her towards him roughly, making her crash against his chest. Emery was ready to raise her knee and kick him between the legs, but then he loosened his grip. He lowered his head close to her ear, so she could feel his breath on her skin.

His tone was deep and deathly serious as he whispered, "As soon as you get the gate back, I'm done playing nice, got it?" 

Emery shoved him back, making him stumble away. His green eyes turned sinister.

"Don't touch me again," she warned him, walking up to poke his chest as hard as she could. The threat only made him smile. 

"I'll meet you in the clearing at midnight. Bring the broken gate. I'll take care of the rest," was the last thing he said before turning away from her. 

Emery did the same, walking in the opposite direction toward Mrs. Baker's home. She didn't look back. She didn't fear Theo anymore, at least not for the moment. His little outburst had given her more information than he realized. 

He had her in his grip. The Song was close enough to yank away. But he didn't . . .

It was clear now that the prince needed her to go to Izoven. He needed the gate fixed as much as she did. As long as the gate was broken, he wouldn't harm a hair on her head. 

As long as the gate was broken . . . she was safe.