“So the question remains, what else have they discovered?” Leif asked between bites.

“What’s the plan?” I asked.

“You and Ulrick go back to the Citadel. Mr. Lune may return with your real diamonds and you need to be there to purchase them,” Yelena said. “Leif helps me with tracking down the surveyors and Irys stays here and babysits the Councillor.”

“Why do I have to babysit?”

Yelena laughed. “Imagine you’re the Councillor. Who would you rather have watching your back—a Master Magician or a scary Soulfinder with an Ixian boyfriend?”

With no way to dispute her, Master Jewelrose conceded the point, but she wasn’t happy about it. She left the room to attend to her “babysitting” duties.

“What about Kade?” Yelena asked me. “Do you think he wants to help us?”

“He’s tracking down a group of troublemakers,” I said. “I’m guessing after we talk with him, he’ll want to continue searching for them.”

“You two aren’t planning to gang up on him, are you?” Leif asked. “Because that’s not fair.”

I shook my head, glancing at Ulrick. He had remained quiet during the meeting and I wondered if he felt left out.

The rest of the time we made arrangements for our assigned tasks.

“If we discover any questionable gemstones, I’ll send them to the Citadel with Leif,” Yelena said to me.

“Yippee. I’ve been promoted from fire lighter to delivery boy. I’ll write a letter home to Mother. She’ll be so pleased.” Leif ducked his sister’s swing.

As we returned to our rooms, Ulrick’s gloom continued. I thought about our trip back to the Keep. Now that these nightmares invaded my sleep, Ulrick would be alarmed. I understood the need to keep certain secrets, but this one could ruin our relationship. By not confiding in him, I wasn’t being honest with him. I pulled him into my bedroom and closed the door.

His shock was almost comical, until I realized I hadn’t been alone with him in a long time.

“Sit down. I need to talk to you.” I gestured to the only place to sit—the bed.

“What’s wrong?” Ulrick held my hand in his. “You’re not telling me everything.” His gaze bored into me. “How can I trust you to make the right choices, if you don’t trust me?”

“This is big. Telling you could make you a target.”

He refused to back down. Just being with me endangered him, so I explained about finding the glass prison.

“What did you do with it?” he asked.

“Gave it to Yelena.”

“Wow. It must have been difficult to turn down all that magic.”

“It was painful. But an increase in power is an increase in responsibility.” I thought of Zitora’s warning about being considered a threat. “I already hurt Pazia, killed the storm thief leader and almost released a Warper. I don’t need any more complications.”

“At least the prison is no longer a problem.”

When I didn’t agree, he asked, “Or is it?”

“The trapped souls haunt my dreams. I think all I need to do is get close to another prison and I’ll be able to find it.”

“We’ll stay away from them and I’ll ask Leif to brew you a sleeping potion.” He pulled me down next to him. “And here I was afraid you were leaving me for that Stormdancer.”

That Stormdancer had no desire to be with me. Mara’s advice, make him forget about his troubles sounded in my mind.

I leaned forward and kissed him. His surprise didn’t last long. He kissed me back with passion, wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. For a while, I forgot all my problems.

When his hands tugged at my shirt, I pulled away. Another of Mara’s comments floated in my mind, I’ve seen turtles mate faster. But I couldn’t continue. I wasn’t ready.

Ulrick said he understood, but the pain in his eyes haunted me for the rest of the day. Eventually, he would give up trying, and then how would I feel? The answer eluded me.

The next morning we visited Ulrick’s sister.

“Seems silly not to,” he said. “Besides, you should meet her.”

“Maybe I can get her to tell me a few embarrassing stories about you. My family has an endless supply.”

He grinned. “I will admit, the one your mother told about the sandpile—”

“Stop. I’ve heard it a million times, I don’t need to hear it again.”

The streets of Fulgor buzzed with activity. Wagons rumbled along the cobblestones, dogs barked and merchants called. With the blue sky above and not a hint of a breeze, the air warmed.

Whenever I contemplated the weather, my thoughts automatically turned to Kade. Yelena had received a message from him. He had left for the Cloud Mist Clan’s main town of Ognap, hoping to interview lava flake suppliers. He would meet up with us back at the Citadel to get another list of sand merchants from me. The dry wording of the message made it quite clear to me that Kade viewed me as a colleague. I vowed to forget about his “spark” and focus on Ulrick by following Mara’s advice.

Gressa’s shop was on the end of a long row of stores. Displayed in the window was a variety of glasswares. Sunlight glinted off the exquisite vases and bowls.

“It’s one thing to have a talented sister, another to have a glass genius,” Ulrick said.

“Does she have any magic?” I asked.