Mom brought me soup and beverages, attempting to nurse me back to full strength. Every time she sat near me, I averted my eyes from hers.During my first—and only—shift, I’d panicked. I’d reached out and grabbed onto her wrist and burned it. The guilt gnawed at my stomach, making it hard to eat. I didn’t remember doing it. And that scared me almost more than the power itself.There was no way I could go to the Academy, now. We both knew it. So I lay there, staring at the ceiling, wallowing in my guilt and self-pity. What was worse, I had to avoid Jace.I could keep Lana and Nick in the dark about my power—they wouldn’t press me the way Jace would. I had to find a way to get out of my promise to spar with him. I lifted my arm, watching the light twinkle off the blue gem of my bracelet. My chest ached, hollow and burning.Mom entered the living room, carrying a laundry bag. “I’m taking the laundry down to the cleaners,” she said. “I grabbed everything from your room already, so just lay there and rest.”
