Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted novel Chapter 410

LISA

Lately, the Grand Sage has been buried deep in his magic energy flux capacitor thingamajig research, insisting there has to be a way to create a renewable energy source. Which is why he’s the last person I expect to see when a knock raps against the door of Kellan’s cabin.

Our cabin now, I guess.

"Grand Sage?" A little flummoxed, I open the door wider. "Did you need something?"

"Yes, actually."

"Bring your brace and come with me." The Grand Sage bounces on his toes, his eyes bright with that manic gleam he gets when he’s made a breakthrough. "I’ve had an idea."

"Right now?" I glance at the clock, despite already knowing what time it is. "I haven’t had breakfast yet."

"Indeed, now would be preferable."

"It’s freezing outside."

He stops bouncing, looking at me over the rim of his glasses as if I’m a recalcitrant child. "It has been well below freezing for months, child."

He has a point.

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I grab my heavy coat and boots, knowing better than to argue when he’s this excited. The brace is easy to find; it sits on my bedside table. "Should I be worried?"

"No, no. Well. Perhaps a little. It’s somewhat unorthodox."

Those words from the Grand Sage have the uncanny ability to send chlls down my spine. I’m incredibly fond of this short little man and his eccentricities, but there are definitely things I’ve come to understand about gnomes.

Like, they don’t understand the limitations of a human body.

And sometimes they don’t really think of humans like people. Not in a bad way, but in like… I don’t know. A sciencey way.

"Define unorthodox," I say, with a lot of foreboding.

He trudges along the worn-down paths in the snow, slipping on occasion. The gnomes don’t have anything that really fit them; his coat is too large, even though it’s sized for children. He looks funny as he walks. Like a kid, but with white hair and a long beard.

"I believe I’ve found a way to increase the efficiency of your brace. It involves quartz stones—a matched pair. A linked pair, to be precise."

So far, it doesn’t sound terrible. "Okay..."

"One would be embedded in your upper arm."

I stop walking. "Embedded?"

"Yes, and the other in the brace. The stone in your arm would draw power directly from your blood’s magic and feed it to its twin in the brace."

"Like a wireless charger," I mutter, thinking of my phone.

"A what?"

"Never mind." My brain returns to the most important thing. "What exactly do you mean by embedded in my arm?"

"Ah." He tugs at his beard. "That’s actually why we’re heading to the hospital. I need to consult with someone who understands human physiology better than I do. I’m not entirely certain it would work with a human body." He ushers me forward, and I follow blankly, not really thinking about what I’m doing.

"But it would work with someone else?"

"Oh yes. The Fae used to do this quite regularly—those at the highest ranks would have jewels embedded within their bodies. The most skilled gnome artisans would create these connections."

"If it was so great, why isn’t it common now?"

His expression turns sheepish. "Very few possess the necessary skills to create such a connection. Knowledge lost in time, as it were."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Do you?"

"In theory." He straightens his tiny shoulders. "I’ve studied the old texts extensively."

Oh, hell no.

I’m all for helping this eccentric little old man figure out all his little research. I’ve shot fire at trees and nearly murdered my own guards—on accident, of course. The brace he’s given me has literally saved my life.

But I absolutely will not be a part of some experimental body-modifying surgery. No, thank you.

"Absolutely not." I come to a screeching halt. "No. Nope. I’m not getting some bizarre rock put in my body over this theory."

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