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"What is it?" Daniel laid a hand on her shoulder
Luce didn’t want to say She didn’t want Daniel to know that every tiusted with herself
The wind surged around the theFerris wheel on the other side of the river People twirled in its circle as if the world would never end, as if the wheel would spin forever
"Are you cold?" Daniel draped his white wing around her The supernatural weight of it felt sos as athery, and tired, but she didn’t want Daniel to coddle her They had is to do
"I’m fine"
"Luce, if you’re tired or afraid--"
"I said I’m fine, Daniel," she snapped She didn’t h the blurring fog, she couldtourists and the hazy outlines of people tracing out their lives Just like Luce was struggling to do
"Have I complained too much since we left Sword & Cross?" she asked
"No, you’ve been a to die or faint just because it’s cold and rainy"
"I know that" Daniel’s directness surprised her "I should have known you knew it, too Generally, mortals are limited by their bodily needs and functions--food, sleep, war fear of mortality, and so on Because of that, most people wouldn’t be prepared toway, Daniel I want to be here I wouldn’t have let you go without reement"
"Good, then listen to me: It is within your power to release yourself of mortal bonds To be free of them"
"What? I don’t need to worry about the cold?"
"Nope"
"Right" She stuffed icy hands into the pockets of her jeans "And apple strudel?"
"Mind over matter"
A reluctant smile found her face "Well, we’ve already established that you can breathe for me"
"Don’t underestimate yourself" Daniel smiled back briefly "This has to do more with you than ry, not tired"
"All right" Luce sighed "I a, but then she caught Daniel’s eye Daniel, who believed she could do things she never thought she was capable of, who believed that her willit slip away She was holding it in her hands Proof
Noas telling her she had ht she did She decided to give this crazy idea a try She straightened her shoulders She projected the words into the ry, not tired" The wind blew, and the clock tower in the distance struck five--and so lifted off her so that she didn’t feel depleted anyht called for, determined to succeed
"Nice touch, Lucinda Price," Daniel said "Five senses transcended at five o’clock"
She reached for his wing, wrapped herself in it, let its war welcomed her into a powerful new dimension "I can do this"
Daniel’s lips brushed the top of her head "I know" When Luce turned froer hovering, no longer staring at her through dead eyes
They were gone
"They’ve left to seek the Scale," Daniel explained
"Daedalus gave us clues of their whereabouts, but I’ll need a better idea of where and how the others are being held so I can distract the Scale long enough for the Outcasts to rescue theold-painted statue of an eagle over-looking the city Luce sank to his side
"It shouldn’t take long, depending on how far away they are Then h the Scale protocol"--he tilted his head, calculating--"unless they decide to convene a tribunal, which happened the last tiht, postpone it to some other date I won’t keep" He took her hand, refocused "I should be back here by seven at the latest That’s two hours from now" Luce’s hair et from the mist, but she followed Daniel’s advice and told herself it didn’t affect her, and just like that, she no longer noticed it "Are you worried about the others?"
"The Scale won’t hurt them"
"Then why did they hurt Daedalus?"
She pictured Arriane with bloated purple eyes, Roland with broken, bloody teeth She didn’t want to see the like Daedalus