Flashback ( PDFDrive )

“Cool—the Prattles kraken! I’ve always wanted one of those!” He
held up the tiny replica of the giant sea monster. “Remember when the
Black Swan had us leap under the ocean and that kraken wanted to eat
us?”
“Kinda hard to forget,” Sophie told him. “And you can keep the
pin.”
“Uh-uh, it’s yours.”
“But you want it.”
“And I want you to have it! So how about we call him ours? We’ll
name him Krakie, and he can live right here.” He pointed to the
bandage covering her right hand. “That way Krakie can protect you
from the echo—not that you need protection. He’ll just be your
backup.”
Sophie wasn’t sure why her voice sounded so thick when she said,
“It’s good to have backup.”
“It is.” His smile softened into something that made Sophie’s
cheeks warm. And her heart seemed to trip over itself as he leaned
close and carefully pinned Krakie to the back of her hand, right in the
center.
His palm rested over hers when he finished, and she got the sense
that there was something he wasn’t saying. But then his eyes skipped
past her, landing on Fitz for a beat before he shifted his focus to
Elwin.
“Any chance you could get us a bucket of ice water for today’s
lesson?” he asked, straightening up and clearing his throat. “I promise
not to dump it on Foster’s head—unless she wants me to.”
Elwin sighed as he headed for the alchemy section of the Healing
Center. “Why do I have a feeling I’m going to regret this?”