Page 49 of Our Radiant Embers

“He comes across as very sweet,” I offered. “Clever, too.”

“Yes to both.” Adam glanced away, then back at me. “You were right—he isn’t very powerful. It’s been hard on him.”

Brief surprise at Adam volunteering such delicate information sparked and died. We’d made a deal to guard each other’s secrets, hadn’t we? People he trusted were in short supply, and it was a basic human need to be truthful with at least a chosen few. We all wanted to be seen.

I just hadn’t expected to like him this much.

“It’s been hard on you both, I imagine,” I told him. Yes, the chronic disappointment to the Harrington clan must have chipped away at Gale’s confidence. But also, Adam was expected to shoulder the entire burden of his father’s expectations without batting an eye, and that was no walk in the park either. Especially not with a father like Benedict Harrington.

“It’s…well. Yeah.” Adam cleared his throat. “But anyway. Cooktop, right? So, walk me through what I’m supposed to do?”

“And the award for smoothest segue goes to…” I gestured at Adam, smiling to take any sting out of the words.

He smiled back. “I figured I can cry about my life another day.”

“Let me know, and I’ll bring the vodka. Until then—yes, let’s get to work.” With a light touch of his elbow, I turned us both to face the workbench. “So we’re looking at the electric coil here, right? With induction stoves, an alternating current moves through this coil. It creates a changing electromagnetic field, and that’s what makes your pan heat up. If you ever were to use one, that is.”

Adam slid me a bright look. “Might do it just to spite you.”

“Don’t burn down your flat in the process—it’s too pretty to die.”

“You just like me for my flat.” He paused for a dramatic frown. “Oh, wait—you don’t like me.”

“But I do,” I said.

“Yeah?” The upwards curve to his mouth was soft and sweet. “Me too.”

I winked to gloss over the stupid warmth in my cheeks. “You like yourself?”

“Oh, that part’s still up for debate.”

The truth dressed as a joke. Having to hide part of himself from most of his family was bound to weigh on his confidence. Funny how I’d mistaken him for conceited, back when I hadn’t known him—but that was just a mask he donned.

Maybe I’d been quiet for too long because Adam nudged me. “Anyway. What do you need me to do?”

“Right.” I dragged my attention away from him. “So, what we want is to replace the electric current with your magic. For that, we need to power it on, and then you feed it just a tendril of magic—enough to crowd out the electricity.”

Adam frowned. “A tendril?”

I’d never tried explaining what went into one of my devices to someone who didn’t know I could see magic, observe its flow in a way most couldn’t. George knew and trusted my lead entirely. We also hadn’t attempted anything quite this delicate together.

“Like…” I hesitated. “Definitely more than you’d use to light a candle. Roughly around what you’d need to light a normal fire in a fireplace, I guess? Like, it’s the kind of amount that means I can do one burner, and then I’m tapped out. I’ll guide you.”

“Okay.” Adam said it lightly, like he really did trust me. I tried to quell another rush of warmth.

“Good. So. Let me just…” I turned the knob to power on the first burner, letting my gaze soften until I saw the radiant orange glow enveloping Adam. Blinding light gathered around his right hand.

“Do I just…?” He reached out towards the burner, and I caught his wrist.

“Stop.”

He stilled. “Am I doing it wrong? I wasn’t about to electrocute myself, was I?”

“No.” I gave his wrist a gentle squeeze. “But it’s too much magic. I need you to use about half of that.”

“How can you possibly tell?”

I’d already shared one secret with him—what harm would it do to add another? But my ability to read people’s magic was dangerous, threatening to slice like a razor through the narratives of powerful families, revealing the emperor’s true state. But he hasn’t got anything on!

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