Free Origin of Angels: Elemental Legacy Book 1 by Christie Rich

knowing she was a constant experiment. No matter how much I wanted to argue with her, I couldn’t. Not now, when she was so vulnerable. For all I knew stress was making her condition worse. I hadn’t seen her mom in months, and I needed to pay her a visit. There really could be a connection to Cassie’s illness that had nothing to do with the bond, and the only way to figure out if it was something else was to have Amy Lambert tested. The last time I’d tried to talk to her, she couldn’t say anything about Nigel without crying. Keeping my thoughts to myself, I decided on a different approach for Cassie. “What do you think we should do?”
    She paused, her body relaxing slightly. “Aren’t you going to tell me I shouldn’t worry about him, or I’m in no shape to traipse around the world just to find someone who will die on his own?”
    I folded my arms against the unexpected chill in the air. “I don’t believe any of that. Just because the fae can’t discover what’s going on or how to help you doesn’t mean you should sit around and knit while you wait for the bitter end.”
    She laughed. “And that’s why I love you.”
    I pulled her in for a hug. “We’ll figure things out along the way. Even if you only have a year to live, I want to make sure you experience everything you want to and for you to find some peace.”
    Her voice turned to a whisper. “What if we can’t catch him?”
    I squeezed her hand. “We will.”
    Breathy hesitation made her words difficult to hear. “How can you be so certain?”
    I smiled. “We’ve got the best person for the job at our fingertips.”
    She laughed. “You really think Heath’s that good?”
    I gave her a sly smirk. “Who said anything about Heath?”
    “Then who?”
    Cassie hadn’t had the best experience with Gibbit, but she didn’t know him like I did. “Someone who can go places we can’t without being seen. Someone who has the ability to drift and find lost things ...”
    It didn’t take her long to catch my meaning. “Oh, no you don’t. He still has Gram’s broach!”
    “All the better to get it back,” I said without missing a beat. “He’s reasonable when you know how to play him.”
    She scoffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “And you do?”
    “Sure. Gibbit is easy to understand. He doesn’t trust anyone, but we don’t need him to. What we need are great items to bribe him with. He had his eye on a few Ignisian trinkets, and I just happen to know the current lord of fire. In fact, I’m sure Finn could come up with something acceptable.”
    Her eyes showed interest, but the real excitement was in her tone. “Do you really think he’d give it back?”
    As if. “No way, but he’d trade for something better.” A grin took my lips. “A broach isn’t nearly as interesting as a necklace.”
    She sniffed and turned away. I caught her arm. “Where are you going?”
    “I’m dying, remember? I have no time to waste chatting.”
    With that, off she went. Cassie wasn’t much for running normally, but she had a good excuse. I let her lead the way back to my apartment. I hadn’t made time for connecting with nature, and I was starting to feel it. So her departure from the norm was a welcome change.
    Normally, the wind carried the perfect level of warmth. Not tonight. There was a definite chill. Something strange was at work. The lights of the city beckoned us onward until we were in the shelter of the familiar walks near my home. The torches blazed along the arched entrance to the small building of four apartments. What surprised me was the glow coming from the upstairs window.
    My heart jumped, and I stopped cold, not from fear of who might be there waiting for us but rather who might not be. As the days passed, I had grown ever more worried for my husband. Heath had been gone for more than a month, as I’d counted, although time had different meaning here.
    I bypassed Cassie within three strides and raced up the stairs.