Page 95 of Group Studies
Saffron widened his stance.
I lurched in between the two before they started to fight. “If you can’t hide Mercedes, how do we keep her out of MA's hands?”
Silence followed my words. I fingered the crystal at my throat, but I didn’t want to bring Professor Garnet into this if I didn’t have to.
“We could put her in my Golem,” Saffron begrudgingly offered.
“I’m not frick’n hiding in your Golem,” Mercedes hissed, joining us. “My dad will be here in two days. He made a few calls, though he’s not sure if they will make a difference. Saffron’s parents are blaming me for not being able to conceive….”
The air around Mercedes cracked slightly as she exchanged a look with Saffron. Deep pain flashed in her eyes before she quickly hid it. I stepped to her side. To my surprise, she accepted my brief hug before angrily pushing me away.
“I’m not barren, and I’m not hiding,” she ground out.
Saffron gritted his teeth. “I’ll take the blame for all of it, but that’s not what’s important now. Hear me out….”
My eyes widened as Saffron described his final project. A Golem. An actual ten-foot-tall suit of stone and steel which existed to be an extension of the person inside it. Every rune in the thing had to be charged at the same time for it to work. That was its biggest limitation at the moment, staying powered. When it ran out, however, it locked down to protect its charge.
“It’s your best bet,” Saffron finished. “You might hate me, but unless I power it, nothing can touch you once you’re inside and it won’t budge.”
I suddenly wished I could be inside the Golem, but I held my tongue.
Mercedes let out an annoyed breath and glared at all of us.
“Why would you make something like that?” I asked, trying to wrap my head around what it would actually do.
Saffron crossed his arms over his chest. “The magic from the fallout is tainted. The Golem will keep me safe and theoretically let me cleanse unwanted power. I’ve not started testing yet, though animals affected by the fall out shouldn’t be hard to come by.”
If a pin dropped, it would have echoed in the silence following his statement, but I didn’t exactly understand why.
“You really do want to work with animals?” I asked.
“In a way,” Saffron replied tightly.
Still, no one spoke. Tension swirled around us. Automatically, I stepped closer to Ashe, but he brought his hand up to his earpiece. Time slowed as we waited to see what side he’d choose.
“I’m with Aphrodite,” he answered. “She’s not reacting well to the situation with her roommate so I have her locked down. Mercedes is not with us.”
My heart sang. I silently promised Ashe he could sleep in the bed tonight.
Mercedes stomped on the ground. “Frick. Maybe.” She took a final look at Beryl, who shook his head, before turning to Saffron. “Take me to your Golem, assuming we can still get there, and I’ll look at it. I’m not fricking agreeing to anything though.”
“He’s in one of the equipment sheds outside Coach Robin’s office,” Saffron said. He looked at Ashe’s earpiece. “With some help, we should make it with no problem.”
Ashe narrowed his eyes at Saffron before stepping to my side and wrapping an arm around my waist. “I’ve been in the MA since I was sixteen, Kitten. I want you to see the good we do. If you need to feel Mercedes is fucking safe before I can prove to you how wrong you are, then that’s what we’ll do.”
I stood on my tippy toes and managed to kiss Ashe’s beard before nodding to Saffron. “Lead on.”
“Don’t fucking lead on,” Ashe growled, holding us up. “MA agents are swarming the outside of the building right now, looking for Mercedes. We can’t just fucking waltz there.”
Saffron pointed at Ashe’s earpiece this time. “Not without your help.”
“Even with my fucking help,” Ashe growled.
I wrung my hands together. “Can you operate it remotely?”
Saffron scowled. “It’s not a drone, and no, you know magic doesn’t work like that.”
I wrinkled my nose. I didn’t.