"I understand," Nicholas said, resting his head against the pillow. He was already tired, and it was barely noon. The events from yesterday and today had already worn him out. The main relief, he figured, was that Mattie was okay. He couldn't believe he let her set him off like that. Enough to unconsciously shoot [i]fire[/i] out of his hands. He shook his head slightly against the pillow.

"Grab that shard off of the counter and bring it to me, please," he said to her.