“I couldn’t sleep,” I said.

He nodded as if he understood completely. “This place has a certain draw. Know what I mean?” Piecov gestured to the kiln.

“I do. There is such potential contained within the cauldron. A whole vat of melted glass just waiting to be gathered and spun into something…wonderful.”

“Yes!” He looked surprised by his outburst then ducked his head in embarrassment. “Well…I only made a lumpy paperweight so far.”

“I still have my very first paperweight.”

“You do?”

“I had to stand on a box to reach in with the punty rod. But I did everything myself. It resembled a squashed apple, but my parents were so proud of my creation I thought it was the best paperweight in the world.”

“I guess I’ll keep mine.”

“It’ll be a good gauge of how much you improve. When you become frustrated when a piece cracks or turns out wrong, you can look back at that paperweight and see just how far you’ve come.”

He brightened at the idea and I suggested we work the glass together. He made another paperweight and I helped him craft a swan. The items in the annealing oven had finished cooling. I removed them and put his new creations inside, marking the date and time on the door as I moved the oven next to the kiln.

Inspecting the finished pieces, I lined them along the table. Two of Ulrick’s vases popped in my hands. One of Mara’s bowls had cracked so I tossed it in the cullet barrel. The contents of the barrel would be added to the cauldron and remelted. Four of my glass animals survived the cooling process.

Among the four was a little dog sitting on his haunches. His ears perked forward as if he hoped for a treat. He glowed with magic and promise, reminding me of Piecov.

At dawn, another student arrived to feed the kilns. Piecov and I left. I brought the animals with me. Zitora needed them and I planned to drop them at her office before going back to my rooms. On the way, I stopped at the infirmary.

Healer Hayes was just leaving Pazia’s room.

“She’s regaining strength. We won’t know about her magic for a while,” he said.

“Can I visit?”

“As long as you don’t wake her.”

A lantern burned on the night table in her room. Turned down to the lowest setting, the feeble flame cast a weak light. She didn’t stir at the sound of my arrival. Nor when I sat in the chair beside her bed.

I remembered watching my brother, Ahir, sleep. Relaxed and innocent, masking the high energy, annoying and smart-assed boy underneath. Asleep, Pazia’s smooth beauty held a regal quality. Easy for me to imagine her a queen of the Cloud Mist Clan, needing no gems to augment her loveliness.

Underneath was another story. While she plagued me over the years, working the diamond mission had given me another perspective. Perhaps she was right. Maybe I was the one with the attitude and big chip on my shoulder. Maybe I nursed it. Clung to it and refused to see the positive. Maybe I had kept everyone at a distance, afraid to make a new friend. Afraid to care about someone, because I might lose them the way I had lost my sister, Tula. I probably had acted as Kade does now. Cold and aloof.

The realization shot through me like a crack zigzagging through glass. My loneliness had been my own fault. The blame rested solely within me. I gazed at the sleeping girl, wishing I could help her.

I left the little dog by her bedside. His hopeful demeanor might brighten the room. Before I left, she said my name. I braced for her recriminations, determined to listen to her.

She held the statue, examining it in the dim light. “For me?” she asked.

“Yes. Can you see the glow inside?” I waited. If she couldn’t then she had lost all her magic.

“Purple fire.”

I knelt beside her bed with relief. “Pazia, I’m so—”

“Shut up,” she said. “Don’t apologize.”

“But—”

“Didn’t you hear me? Are you a simpleton as well as talentless?”

I clamped my lips together. Her anger and hatred were justifiable.

“Don’t say another word. I had a lot of time to think about this. Losing my powers was my fault. Opal,” she warned, correctly reading my desire to contradict her, “I was sure I could beat you. I wanted to make your experiment a failure. You only stole what I offered. And I offered you everything.” She placed the dog on the nightstand. “My current state is the price for my conceit. Now we’re even.”

A few moments passed as I tried to comprehend her words. “Even?”

She closed her eyes. “Those accidents over the years weren’t due to your clumsiness or lack of magic. I am…was…responsible for all of them. I did it to torment you, and to prove to everyone that you didn’t deserve to be here.”

I laughed long and hard.

Pazia stared at me in disbelief. “You’re not upset?”

“This morning, I would have been. But I realized you were right about me. I kept my distance from everyone because I was afraid of getting too close. Plus I’m happy I didn’t cause all those accidents.”

“I still think you don’t belong here.”

“Even now?”

“Yes.”

“Guess I’ll just have to prove you wrong.”

Of course, Ulrick wasn’t happy I left without him. He thought my new abilities made me reckless. No sense contradicting him. Maybe having the spiders and bees with me added to my confidence.