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the other’s orbit. But each of them denied that there was anything between them. Maybe they had even convinced themselves.
    Drew offered me a hand up. “Explain it again.”
    With his help, I climbed to my feet. My body felt calm for the first time in days. Sated, like this was how I should be feeling every day. “She showed up last night and we had a chat. For someone that hated me on principle a couple of days ago, she was almost friendly. But I think she kept me around for a reason. I just don’t know what it is yet.”
    “Maybe she’s changing her mind about what she did. If she took your power, she could give it back, right?”
    “I don’t even know if that’s what I really want,” I said. “Maybe she did me a favor. I could go somewhere far from here and start over. Be normal.”
    “Yeah, but you can’t protect yourself,” Drew pointed out. “Is it really worth it?”
    “He can be normal, ” Jade interjected, turning a cold stare onto Drew. “How many times has he almost died? Maybe this is a good thing. He’s cured.”
    Drew’s eyes narrowed. “Just because he doesn’t have his gifts doesn’t make him normal. It doesn’t mean everything’s going to be okay. The world doesn’t work like that.”
    We weren’t talking about me anymore, were we? The air between the two of them was charged with sharp emotion. “Do you guys need a room? Because,” I gestured back towards the house, “I’m pretty sure there’s about seven hundred of them inside. You could pick one. Hell, pick a few.”
    Drew was the first to look away from their impromptu staring match. I took a closer look when his head dipped down. Was he … blushing ? Exactly how big were these lies that the two were telling?
    “Do you think Lucien would come after you?” Jade asked, studiously ignoring Drew’s presence.
    “Probably. He’s up to something, too. I’m useless to him now, so in theory he could kill me whenever he wanted. But he hasn’t. I don’t get it.”
    “So Lucien’s got a backup plan,” Jade said slowly. “One that involves you, I guess?”
    I nodded. That made about as much sense as anything.
    “So what do you want to do?” Drew asked impatiently. “Run? Or are you going to stay and fight? Because I’m not going to waste my time teaching you if you’re just going to bolt at the first chance.”
    “I don’t even know where to start,” I said. Because that was the crux of my problem. Fight or flight. Someone needed to stand up to Lucien and Grace, and all the other monsters in Belle Dam.
    “Start with Grace,” Drew said immediately.
    “Start with Matthias,” Jade said, at almost the same time. When we both turned to stare at her, she shrugged. “You said he helped you last night. At least he’s picking a side.”
    “He didn’t really pick much of anything,” I said. “I owe him a favor.”
    “Yeah, and what kind of favor is powerless you going to be good for?” Jade asked. “From everything that Drew’s told me about him, he’s not going to get involved unless there’s some benefit to him.”
    From all Drew’s told her? I turned to him, raising my eyebrows. He pretended not to notice me, instead staring at the house. “Daddy’s home. I’ll catch you later.” And without another word to either one of us, Drew shifted out of his human form and into something four-legged. I expected to see a wolf emerge from the silvery blur of Drew’s power, but Drew changed it up on me again.
    “A snow leopard?” I said out loud as Drew trotted away from the house and into the woods. I’d done a report on leopards when I was ten or eleven, and they’d been my favorite animal for all of ten days until I realized that falcons were way cooler. “What a drama queen.”
    Jade started laughing and couldn’t stop. After a couple of minutes she wiped at the tears in her eyes, her hand on my shoulder. “You have no idea,” she chuckled.

eight
    Jade stayed for dinner. Jason didn’t say anything at