Memories rose up, coloring his vision as red and hot as the fire he'd kindled in the hearth. His hands began to grow warm and the seat of his magick tingled. He closed his eyes and forced himself to cool down.

"Adam?" came a small female voice to his left.

"What is it?" His voice came out as a growl.

Silence.

He opened his eyes to find Claire gripping the back of the fancy couch, her face as white as the fabric. Adam stood. "What's wrong?"

She only shook her head. Her knees gave out and he was there in a flash, helping her to sit. "I tried to separate the magick… but it was like pulling off my own fingernail. The elium is seared to my seat." She went green and he pulled her against him, resting her head on his chest. "I can't extract it. Not on my own."

"So don't try. Wait for Micah, okay? Pulling off your own fingernail is not cool."

"I would do it in a heartbeat if I really thought it was something so minor," she whispered. "The more I tried to separate the energies, the more it hurt. I don't think I can live though the extraction."

"Can you control it? Rue's power, I mean. Do you think you can wield your magick and the elium together?"

Claire didn't speak for several moments, only drew shuddering breaths. "I don't know yet. The one time I did it involuntarily, I passed out. Tomorrow I'll start experimenting."

"I want to be there when you do."

She flinched. What an odd reaction. "Thank you. Really, this… searing of the elium to my seat, it isn't so different from the experiments that Rue did on me. He grafted daaeman magick onto my earth magick and I had to learn how to manage it. He totally altered my power that way. This is just on a larger scale, and I need to be sure of what he gave me in order to proceed. Tomorrow I'll find out what this is for certain, whether it's the elium or not."

He nodded. "I'll start talking to Micah about your problem tomorrow." He glanced at the clock. "Now it's time to get some sleep."

She made a scoffing noise. "Sleep? Tonight? I don't think so."

Yeah, I know what you're saying." He rubbed his chin. You have to be hungry. Want something to eat?"

She grimaced. "Almost all the food I've had so far has been disgusting."

He recoiled as if in shock. "Whoa! That's only because you haven't tasted my famous banana pepper sandwich." He drew her to her feet. "It'll help you sleep, promise."

"Banana peppers will help me sleep?"

"Yeah, it shocks your body right into a deep slumber. Kills all your dreams for the night as an added bonus. Works like a charm."