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“Are you okay?” she asked with a concerned expression.
“I’m fine. Where do we start?”
I tried some semblance of passivity, but my aggressive nature had stepped to the forefront, wanting to claw her eyes out. But then, she was so fucking nice that I couldn’t even dream of actually doing such a thing.
She walked toward me, sympathy softening into a smile. “Well, did you show Jude how well you can shield?”
I shook my head no, remembering my idiocy at letting my guard slip after several beers last night with Malcolm.
“No, she didn’t,” he said, only a foot behind me. I jumped. Sneaky bastard.
“What! But, it’s so wonderful! You have to feel her when she casts illusion, Jude. It’s quite lovely.”
Okay. Jude’s possible girlfriend telling me he had to feel me in any context made my face turn seven shades of red.
He moved to stand in front of me and took my hands, swallowing them in warm, callused ones. He bent his head low to mine. I stared at the floor. Why did he enjoy my discomfort so much?
“I’m ready when you are,” he said.
“Really?” I mumbled.
Before he could answer, my mind sped through the Latin phrase of protection as I plunged into my safehouse—waves of golden hair, soft, lilting words, cocooned in dainty arms—then I blasted my VS into a shield around me. Moon-bright stars scattered through my mind, showering me in a protective shell.
Jude’s hold tightened. He gasped. Jude gasped? I opened my eyes. Black orbs fixed on me with confusion and surprise.
“Whoo-hoo!” laughed Kat, jumping in a cheerleader-like way. She knew Jude had experienced what she had yesterday. I’d actually managed to spread the shield much faster than I did with her. “Amazing, right?”
Jude nodded, still staring. I didn’t dare look away. I wanted him to feel the fury warring in my veins. He had deceived me with that kiss—more than a kiss—to prove a point, making me believe he wanted me, then snapped it off so easily as if it were nothing. As if I were nothing.
“Amazing,” he repeated Kat’s words. “The night. So fitting.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Your seal. A moon-bright glow in the night. It suits you.”
“You could see that?”
“I know,” Kat intervened. Jude dropped my hands. “It was like the cosmos had exploded everywhere when I experienced it yesterday. And wasn’t I right? She casts the shield in a split second, Jude!” she yelled exuberantly, snapping her fingers for effect. “It’s like she’s fully aware after only one week of crossing twenty? And she’s already casting without saying the chant aloud! It’s remarkable.”
One week? Was that all it had been? I reeled from all the insane feelings, unable to join in Kat’s enthusiastic celebration.
“It is remarkable,” Jude agreed, watching me closely, voice soft, gaze intent.
“Come on, then. Let’s see what else she has in store. It’s time to learn attack mode,” Kat said, taking my arm and leading me to the center of the room.
“Before we get started, there’s something that demon Garzel said to me. It’s been weighing on my mind.”
“What did he say?” snapped Jude.
It was so unnerving when he focused on me like that, making me feel like an insect in a jar.
“I was trying to find a way out of there, so I mentioned that Danté had marked me, thinking the demon would back off.”
I swallowed hard, feeling a wave of heat shimmer across the room. Kat glanced from me to Jude. His lips tightened into a line.
“Anyway, he said Danté would have to ‘mourn my loss’ and that his master wanted no challenger.”
Silence.
