“Doug and I were both using our earth magic inside the same plant. We were grappling for control of it, and I think we got tied together somehow. It all happened so fast,” she says, the words tumbling out in a rush. “There was a quake. Gaia’s orb fell on the floor and broke, her magic was free, and we were fighting for it. Doug got to it first, but when he breathed it in, it must have latched on to me instead. It’s holding on, Jack, and it won’t let go, and now a piece of my magic is trapped inside him.” She shakes out her hands. Her breath flutters.

“What happens if you leave?”

She throws back her head, as if she’s struggling to find the words to explain. “You know how when I use my earth magic, I can sense someone coming through the grass? How even if they’re far away, I feel their vibration through the ground? It’s like that. The farther away Doug is, the harder he is to feel. I feel him now,” she says, putting a hand to her chest. “He’s far away, but we’re connected through the magic, and if I wanted to, I could trace that line back to him, like following a string through a tunnel. Eventually, I would find him.” Her mouth turns down. “And he’ll find me, too, Jack. No matter where I go, he’ll be able to track me.”

A million nightmares claw their way into my mind. “No! I’m not leaving you with him! That’s never going to happen, Fleur. He wants to kill you!”

“He won’t hurt me.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because he can’t!” She bites her lip and turns away.

I cup her cheek, making her look at me. “What do you mean, he can’t hurt you? How do you know?”

“Because I’m stuck inside his head and I just . . . know.” She slides my hand from her cheek and paces away from me, as if she needs to move. Or think. “Gaia’s magic is clinging to mine. For some reason, it’s drawn to me. Maybe because it feels some affinity with my earth magic.”

“Can you control it?”