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Zaf started to answer, but soon erupted into a fit of coughing that shook her tiny frame.

Thorn looked away and began to pace. The angry jagged fist in her gut punched up her legs and arms, made her skin crawl and her blood thrum. Ferociously, she rubbed her right thumb against her left palm. If only she could kick something, she might feel better.

“She’s a stormwitch,” Noro answered, glancing curiously at Thorn.

Sly Boots pressed a damp cloth to Zaf’s forehead. “I’ve never heard of a stormwitch. Witches here in the Star Lands are quite different from you, Zaf.”

“I noticed that,” said Noro. “Your witches work their magic through animal companions?”

“They’re called monsters,” Quicksilver explained, an odd hollow note in her voice. “They can take different forms anduse magic in many ways, depending upon the will of the witch.”

Bear butted his nose against Quicksilver’s palm. She scratched behind his floppy ears.

“What kinds of things can you do with your monster?” Zaf stared awestruck at Quicksilver, little coughs shaking her every few seconds.

“All kinds of things. A monster can cloak his witch so she can’t be seen, or hit an enemy with pure energy if his witch is in danger.” That strange note returned to Quicksilver’s voice, like a shadow passing through sunlight. “If he has the right tools, a monster can send his witch through time. But that is knowledge I hope dies with me.”

Sly Boots reached across Zaf’s bed and squeezed Quicksilver’s fingers.

“Can you heal people with your monster?” Zaf asked. “Can you travel with your monster, like I did with my lightning?”

“I’ve never tried, but I suppose it’s possible. Unless the power of witches is simply different here than it is in the Vale....” Quicksilver’s voice trailed off. “Are you all right, Thorn? You seem agitated.”

Thorn stopped pacing.

Only then did she realize how out of breath she was, andhow her cheeks felt so hot it was like she’d been sitting too close to a fire, when in fact the little room Quicksilver had brought them to was made of cool stone.

“Agitated? No, I’m not agitated.” Thorn’s words tripped over themselves, but she didn’t think she could have slowed them down if she’d wanted to. It felt like a match had been lit inside her, and now everything was sparking out of control.

And Thorn realized, with a little thrill, that she didn’t mind the feeling.

In fact, she rather liked it.

You’re not stupid, Thorn, no matter what everyone says.Brier’s words from eight days before lingered in Thorn’s mind like nasty burrs she couldn’t pull free. But Brier and everyone else could say what they liked about her—that she was stupid, or dirty, or unimpressive. The shadow sister compared to Brier’s sun. They could say that, and if she heard them, if she ever saw for herself their smirking, scornful faces...

She flexed her fingers, itching to slam them against something.

“We’re wasting time,” she spat. “Every moment we stand here talking means the Gulgot’s getting that much closer to escaping.”

Noro pressed his muzzle against her neck. “Thorn, why don’t you sit down?”

“I don’t want to sit down!” Thorn shoved past him and marched over to Quicksilver. Tears were standing hot in her eyes again—ofcoursethey were—and the feeling of them disgusted her, made her stomach turn like she was going to be sick.

Why couldn’t she ever think or feel or sayanythingwithout crying about it?

“We came here to find you,” Thorn said to Quicksilver, her voice tight and trembling, “so you could travel back to the Vale with us and seal the Break, or stop the Gulgot from escaping, or maybe kill the Gulgot, I don’t know what the best way to help us is, but you should know, you’re a witch, and you can do magic—”

“All right, Thorn.” Quicksilver gently touched Thorn’s shoulders. “Slow down and breathe.”

Thorn jerked free. “Don’t touch me!”

“Thorn, what’s wrong with you?” scolded Bartos. “Just ask her not to touch you, if you don’t want her to.”

“Don’t yell at her, Barty,” came Zaf’s sharp voice.

Quicksilver stepped back, hands raised. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed it was all right.”

“Nothing’s wrong with Thorn,” said Noro, though he didn’t sound convinced.