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"Jane, don’t be selfish I have to focus I can’t be worrying about you getting hurt…"

"Selfish?" I interjected "Seriously? How isto help catch the person who nearly fried me, twice, selfish? And I can take care of "

"Honey, I know you’re not a weakling," he soothed, as if I were a preschooler throwing a tantru, and you’re just not there yet So stay here, like a good girl"

My jaw plummeted, and I saw, from the corner of my eye, Julian and Caleb shake their heads as Caood girl?" I wheezed "Like a good girl?" Ryu stared at me, clearly at a loss for why I was suddenly so pissed

"All right, that’s it Hit s Hitto hit you, fercrissakes"

"Not with your fist, numpty With your power Hit me I can take it Hityou"

"Hithis hand and petulantly throwing a little ical equivalent of a shuttlecock

I narrowed h in , s me because of that fact all offor Caleb or Daoud or Ca the er part of his life For hi

So I did what I’d been told a thousand times not to do and reached into my poith all that fury I built up a shield wall so strong even I was a bit surprised, as I let my emotions take over what happened next I’d never consciously built a -assover a la Julian to dive out of the here I let the he couldn’t see that I was as shocked at the power of my performance as he was

"If you ever treat ain, Ryu Baobhan Sith, you can find yourself another bedation I may not be much, offensively, but I can certainly protect hts fly towardup a hand to heal himself As they hit my shields, they fizzled out har hiue

"Fine, Jane," he said, obviously ticked off "I don’t have tiood sense to stay close to one of us at all times"

Then he stalked toward the door I allowed a small smile of triuh me and I felt my knees nearly buckle In a flash, Julian was athis own body to keep that fact frorinned at e into me

"Way to stick it to the man," he said, clearly thrilled at what he’d just seen "That rocked"