I feel as if he’s swept my feet out from under me. Turned the world on its head. I’ve spent months wishing he’d say what he just said. Wishing he’d look at me the way he’s looking at me now—like nothing else matters if things aren’t right between us. But now that he has, I don’t know if I can trust him.

And I don’t get the chance to sort out my feelings before Talon steps forward and clears his throat. “I don’t mean to rush”—he waggles his fingers between us—“whatever is going on here, but we should probably make a plan.”

I tear my gaze away from Bram. Shake my head to clear my thoughts. “Yes, you’re right.”

“What do you need from us?” Jacey asks.

“Latham will be wearing protective magic,” I say. “If we can work together to remove it, he’ll be vulnerable to attack. The five of you can try to kill him, while I work on healing the bones.”

An awkward silence envelops us. They all avoid meeting my gaze. They’re not murderers.

“If you don’t want to kill him, then incapacitate him instead. Tessa, do you think you can control my pain while I work?”

“I’ll do my best,” she says.

Niklas twists the ring on his finger. “Maybe I can help. I fuse bone pieces together sometimes when I’m creating objects. It’s probably a similar magic to mending.”

I turn and give him a small smile. “I’m sure you could attach the individual pieces, but I don’t think it would work to change the past. I think the bone needs to be healed as if it were inside a body.”

“Why not let Tessa heal the bone?” Jacey asks. “Wouldn’t that work better?”

I squeeze Tessa’s fingers. “I don’t think she can. I think it has to be me. My bones have to be used to complete the spell.”

Jacey’s mouth twists. “How are you going to manage that?”

I glance at Bram. “I’m going to try to draw the magic from my own bones to heal Gran’s. Bram and Tessa, I might need both of you to help coach me if I get stuck.”

Talon throws his hands up in the air. “So I’m the only useless one here?”

Jacey nudges his shoulder with her own. “Did you bring your flute? You could provide some background music.”