He bucked and cursed and rolled, slamming me into the side of the cave. I held tight despite the pain radiating up my spine. He smashed me against the stone wall again and again, then stilled. My ribs ached, but I kept my hands clamped to his face. Pressed between him and the wall, I waited.

“Opal, why are you covering my eyes?” Leif asked. His voice sounded funny.

“Magic in the sea glass has made everyone insane with desire. I need you to build a null shield.”

“I’ll need to see, and breathe.”

“Don’t look at the sea glass,” I instructed. “Put the pieces in your pocket.”

He emptied his hands and I removed mine.

“I’ll be a date for a necklace snake,” Leif said as he surveyed the chaos. “All this for a…pretty…sparkle…”

“Leif!” I yanked his head around. “Don’t look.”

“Oh, sorry.” He shook his shoulders. “What did you need?”

“Null shield.”

“Oh, yeah.” He blinked.

“Now! Before the Stormdancers start sending tornadoes at each other.”

“Oh, right.” Leif focused on the ceiling.

I thought about asking him to move his weight off me, but decided to stay quiet for now. The sounds of fighting diminished. I risked a peek over Leif. The others stood panting and looking at each other in confusion.

Long scratches on Prin’s right cheek bled, Wick’s eye puffed, Raiden rubbed his arm, Kade pushed Skippy’s hands away from his neck, and Heli gaped in horror.

“Leif?” I asked.

“Hmm?”

“Move, please.”

“Oh, sorry.” He rolled away.

I sucked in a deep and painful breath. It felt like I might have cracked my ribs. “Keep the shield in place until we put all the glass away.” I staggered to my feet.

No one said a word. Heli’s mesh bag had fallen to the floor, landing under the table. I picked it up and noticed one piece of sea glass remained on the table. All the others had been snatched and fought over, yet no one desired the milky blue triangle.

I examined it. Was it the one I had touched?

“Leif, where is the shield’s boundary?” I asked.

“Past the fire.”

I handed the mesh bag to Heli. “Collect all the sea glass.”

She blinked at me as if I’d asked her to fly.

“Go on,” I urged. “Make sure you get them all.” I carried the little blue piece past the fire, bracing for the burning pain of magic. Nothing. Its magic was spent and it didn’t even sparkle as much as before. In fact, scratches marred the piece, rendering it ugly and ordinary. I put it into my pocket.

When Heli had gathered all the glass, she handed me the bag. Leif dropped the shield and the Stormdancers swayed in relief. Everyone suddenly found something to do, righting the chairs and cleaning up the mess made by the fight. No one wanted to talk about what happened, but we would have to.

Raiden stirred the fire, adding logs. Flames leaped toward the ceiling. I collapsed into a chair and Kade saw my wince of pain. He was beside me in an instant.

“Do you need a healer?” he asked.

“No.”

Leif poked me in the side. I yelped.

“How about you answer that question again?” Leif’s smug expression wilted as I glared at him. He hurried to his saddlebags.

Kade knelt next to me. “I pushed you down. I’m sorry—”

“Not your fault.” When tears flooded Heli’s eyes, I added, “Not anyone’s.”

“I’ll fetch a healer,” Kade said.

“I don’t need one. Does anyone else?” I asked.

No one spoke up. Leif returned with a variety of first-aid supplies. “If her ribs are broken, she’ll need a healer. But if they’re cracked, she can heal on her own without danger.” He sorted through his collection of herbs. “I’ll brew you a tea to help with the pain, but first I want to assess the damage.”

“Assess how?” I asked.

He gave me a grim smile, then turned to Kade. “Is there a private place where I can examine her?”

Despite my protests, Kade carried me to his cave. I grabbed the bag of sea glass, knowing better than to leave it behind.

After being tortured by Leif’s examination, he declared two ribs on my left side were indeed cracked. He wrapped a bandage tightly around my middle. I dressed as he hurried off to make tea and to check on the others. If the brew was anything like the horrid stuff he fed me after Tricky’s attempt to bleed me dry, I planned to dump it onto the ground.

Kade tucked me into his cot. He started a fire in the brazier, then promised to return after helping Leif. I squirmed, trying to find a comfortable position. A sharp point jabbed me in the leg and I remembered the blue piece. I pulled it out. Leaning over the cot and ignoring the pain, I opened the brazier’s door. In the firelight, I examined the glass. So much trouble for such a little thing.

The scratches seemed random until I flipped it over. It could either be my overactive imagination or someone had carved a letter into the glass.

Kade returned carrying a steaming cup. I showed him the glass before he could force me to swallow the tea. He flinched as if burned.

“Relax. This one is spent. No magic.”

He took the sea glass and handed me the mug. “Drink up.”

“Ugh.” The liquid smelled like a wet dog. “What do you think?” I pointed to the glass.