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The color drained from his face.

“Don’t overthink it,” I said quickly. “What I feel coming from you is nothing that I haven’t felt before.” Another lie, but I couldn’t bear to see the horror and humiliation in his eyes. He had nothing to be humiliated about. I hitched my bag over my shoulder and headed for the door.

“Jaz?”

I turned back, and he moved closer. “While you were healing me, and I...” He shoved his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry, I crossed a line—”

“Don’t be. You did nothing wrong. My magic, it’s powerful. It affects everyone differently. Please, don’t apologize. I promise, I’m not bothered at all.” I reached for the door, but Ren reached around me before I could open it.

“I just want you to know that. I’m not…my control…this isn’t…”

I turned and looked up at him, into his pained eyes, knowing exactly what he was trying to say. “You’re not weak, Ren. You need to know that and believe it. I know it. I feel it, how impossibly strong you truly are.”

He stared down at me as if he couldn’t register my words, as if they didn’t make sense or I were speaking a language he didn’t understand.

“You truly mean that, don’t you?” he finally said.

“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t.”

A few strands of my hair were stuck to my lip, and I was about to swipe it away, but Ren beat me to it, our hands bumping. “Sorry.” I had no idea why I was apologizing.

“I was just…” He carefully hooked my hair around his finger, brushing it back, then quickly crossed his arms, shoving his hands under his pits and taking a step back.

My face heated, but I pretended I wasn’t blushing, that Ren brushing my hair back was nothing, that the kisses he’d just given me were nothing, and I smiled. “I better get going. I have to be somewhere, so I’ll see you tomorrow.” I started to turn and Ren stopped me.

“Big plans?”

“Um…kind of.” Why the hell was my face getting hotter? Ugh.

His lips thinned, his gaze darkening for some reason. “You have a good night.”

“Thanks.” I walked away and felt his eyes on me until I was out of sight.

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Chapter 12

Jasmine

* * *

I looked up as Mags walked into the kitchen. “Hey.”

Thanks to my family’s association with a councilor on the witches council, I’d managed to get some names of some very powerful beings in the city who might be able to help me. Councilor Trotman had only been able to fit in a meeting with me last night after I’d seen Ren. He’d given me the names on the condition I didn’t share where I got them from. I was fine with that.

“Sorry, I hope you haven’t been waiting long?” she said.

“Nope, I just got here. No Bram?”

“There’s a blood-drunk vampire on the loose.” Mags shuddered. “So no Bram, but we can’t waste time waiting for him.”

I raised a brow. “Did you tell him that?”

She grinned. “Not exactly. You know how he is about me doing shit like this alone, despite the fact that I can kick all kinds of ass. I do have several vials in my bag that can melt a face right off, though, just in case.”

“Excellent.”

“I mean, it’s not like these people are dangerous, right?” she asked.