Free A Matter of Heart by Heather Lyons

us, but at the same time, it’s never felt real. Until the Elders, I
     never thought much about death. Now, every time they’re around, I think about
     it way too much.
    Thanks to Caleb’s updates, I
     know we’re at the end of our second day in the cave. We slept last night on a
     blanket that I managed to make before Kellan nearly ripped my head off for once
     more wasting “valuable energy on something insignificant.”
    When he was asleep, I made
     another pair of blankets to cover us. It comes as no surprise he was unhappy
     about this.
    “They just don’t give up, do
     they?” I ask after the cave is rocked particularly hard.
    He’s leaning against the
     wall, a safe distance away. His laugh, warm and resigned all at once, curls
     around me.
    “We’re going to die, aren’t
     we?”
    His head jerks sharply away
     from the wall. “Why would you say that?”
    I feel calm saying this,
     which is funny, since I’m talking about death. I shouldn’t be calm. I ought to
     be hysterical. But I’m not. It’s like I’m on autopilot. “We have no idea if the
     rest of our team is alive. No one knows we’re here except Jonah, and he’s
     trapped, too. And even if they did, they’d have to get past the Elders outside.
     There are more than two now, aren’t there? Can you feel them?”
    “I don’t want you thinking
     like this.” He rubs his eyes. “Do you hear me?”
    My lips twist, just a
     little. “Gonna make me stop?”
    He looks away. “You need to
     stay positive.”
    I humor him before asking if
     Jonah’s free yet.
    A flash of uncertainty
     streaks across his face. “I don’t know.”
    “Ask him!”
    Both hands run through his hair.
     “I can’t.”
    Come again? I stumble a bit
     closer. “What do you mean you can’t? Is he okay? IsJonahokay ?”
    He’s quick with his answer.
     “Last I heard, he was fine.”
    “Then . . .?”
    His fingers grip at his hair
     now. “It’s just . . . it’s hard to concentrate, you know? To connect with him.
     I think I can hear him better than he can hear me.”
    This makes no sense. They’ve
     always been able to communicate in their heads. Even when they’re so pissed off
     they refuse to speak in person, they always continue talking to one another in
     their minds.
    Caleb finally says something
     other than the time. Ask him if he’s been working his mojo on you.
    Huh?
    Ask him .
    I cut off some ridiculous
     excuse Kellan is rambling off with Caleb’s question. Without blinking, he tells
     me yes.
    Order him to stop ,
     Caleb barks.
    I don’t see how this—
    NOW!
    “Whatever you’re doing, stop
     now,” I tell Kellan. His eyes go flinty. “I don’t want you to work on me,
     okay?”
    FORBID IT!
    “I . . . I forbid it.” And
     then, a flood of emotions crash down upon me like a tidal wave: terror and
     hopelessness, fear and panic.
    Oh my gods, oh my gods, OH
     MY GODS.
    “What the hell, Kellan?” I
     shriek. “How long have you been doing this to me?”
    He looks me straight in the
     eye. “Since the moment I left you in the dark to hunt for a way out.”
    I can barely even focus. The
     emotions crash against each other in me, making me so nauseous all I want to do
     is lay down and sob.
    Why didn’t I see this? Caleb
     frets. Here we were, so worried you’d deplete yourself when it should have
     been obvious he was taking the hit so you could stay calm. This is why he can’t
     talk to his brother. Do you understand? He’s been using up all of his Magic to
     keep you safe.
    More importantly, how had I missed it?
    I promptly burst into tears.
     The moment I feel even the slightest bit calmer, I shout, “STOP THAT RIGHT
     NOW!”
    Anxiety rushes back, even as
     he attempts to assure me he’s okay enough to continue influencing me. So I cry
     even harder—how could I have even entertained the slightest notion of picking
     fights with him earlier? Why would I have done that? What kind of crazy, sick
     girl am I?
    He’s way too