“You don’t need to thank me. I didn’t do much. Just tried to block whatever it was from coming through.”
Janie sighed. “It sounds like you did it.” She nodded with a proud smile.
Arto squeezed her shoulder and assured her, “So you have nothing to worry about.” She’d already dealt with so much; he wouldn’t pile on more anxieties.
He exchanged a concerned glance with Roman, which indicated neither of them were completely convinced. And if that was the case, Arto would do whatever he could to keep her safe.
Roman declared, “We’ll all be on high alert until we’re sure we’re in the clear.”
JANIE
“Of all the stupid things I could’ve done. Of all the possible ways I could’ve made things worse.” Janie wrung her hands as she strode back and forth through her living room that evening. Her apartment was small and cozy, so she didn’t pace far before she had to turn directions. She pointed to her chest. “I figured out the way to make things worse.”
Larissa attempted to appease her with a placating gesture. “Nothing happened. I didn’t feel any energy in the room after that, so we must’ve prevented anything from happening.”
Janie pointed at her friend. “No, you stopped it.” Her shoulder slumped. “This reinforces that I don’t fit in with this world.”
Larissa furrowed her brows. “What are you talking about?”
“You. Arto. The Stone Sentries. You all have powers. I’m simply a clueless human who attracts danger. Look at what I almost did today. I could’ve unleashed chaos on the city!” She threw her hands up and dropped them back to her sides.
“Hey, come on, we both know could’ve, should’ve comments get you nowhere. Itdidn’thappen. You were being proactive in trying to protect yourself, which is exactly what I’d be doing if I were in your situation.” Larissa pursed her lips together. “It’s unfortunate that Arto gave you such a dangerous book.”
Janie caught the judgment in her tone. “You can’t blame him. I asked for information.”
“I’m not blaming anyone,” Larissa denied, spreading her arms wide. “This all started with my vision and snowballed from there. I should’ve kept it to myself until I was sure what I was seeing. Instead, I freaked you out and—”
“Hey, you just told me not to think of theshould haves,”Janie admonished by wagging her index finger, following up with a knowing smile.
Larissa laughed. “You’re right. Guilty. No moreshould havesand blaming each other or ourselves. Okay?”
“Okay,” Janie agreed. She raised her pinky finger. “I pinky swear.”
“Same.” Larissa glanced around. “What can we do to get our minds off it? Want to go out somewhere?”
“No, thank you. I’m happy staying at home in my protected bubble and some cheerful distraction.” Janie grabbed the TV remote and plopped down on the sofa. “How about a rom-com?”
“Sure.”
She turned on the TV and flipped through some options before stopping on one. “A movie with Hugh Grant and Colin Firth makes everything better.”
“With a glass of red,” Larissa added.
“I should have a bottle in the kitchen.” After she retrieved a bottle of wine and poured them each a glass, she returned to the living room with them and handed one to Larissa.
“To keeping darkness away.” Janie raised her glass.
Larissa toasted it. “Cheers.”
Around halfway through the movie,Larissa turned to Janie. “Roman said they haven’t seen any signs.”
She scrunched her nose. “It’s so strange how you can communicate with him like that.”
“You get used to it.” Larissa shrugged. “Part of the mate connection.” She tipped her head down as she assessed Janie. “Maybe you’ll know what I mean one day.”
Janie almost choked on the sip of wine. She put down the glass. “Absolutely not. Don’t go there. That’s not going to happen—especially after today.”
“What?” Larissa widened her eyes.
