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Only this one was shattered into a dozen or more pieces.
“H—How did…” She lifted the broken length of gold chain. Picked at the jagged shards of purple gemstone. “Wait! Where did this come from?”
“The man you arrived here with,” Lucus said. “The one I warned you about.”
“I told you, I didn’t arrive with him. I just—”
“He brought it.”
Melody’s current thought process stopped dead in its tracks. She sifted through the pieces of the broken amulet, holding them up against her own. They weren’t just similar, they were nearly identical.
“Eric had one of these?” she asked.
Lucus nodded. “When he first came here, yes.”
Her mind reeled. Her brain kept trying to put the puzzle together, but it was like none of the pieces made any sense.
“But… But how—”
“He’s dangerous,” said Lucus. “He’s been here before.”
“What does that even mean?”
“I… I can’t say,” he answered. “It doesn’t work that way.” The smith’s expression changed slightly, then morphed into a frown. “I’ve said more than I’m permitted to already.”
“Permitted to?”
He sighed and closed his eyes. When he opened them again there was still some defiance there. Some resolve.
“There are… consequences,” Lucus e
xplained.
“Consequences to what?”
“To talking like this.”
His hands were in his lap, resting helplessly. Melody leaned her face against his shoulder. She put her own hands over his reassuringly.
“Lucus, no one’s going to punish you. I won’t let them.”
“It’s not your choice.”
She pulled him close. Kissed him again. She could feel him melting into her. The tension draining away from his body as he allowed himself to let go.
“Tell me.”
He kissed her back, holding her tight in the warmth and sanctity of the high-flung little loft. It felt good to be in his arms. Good to be safe from everything below.
“Something happened to this place,” he explained. “Something terrible that happens again and again, and it can never be stopped.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t really know…” he replied. Melody searched his expression, and there was honesty in the statement. “I don’t always remember…”
“How many times has it happened?” she asked.
He didn’t answer. He merely stared blankly, straight ahead.
