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I was always aware of h iant or dould subconsciously sense their own inherent strength or huers and toes But now, that hidden force wasn’t there anymore It was like a piece of my heart had been cut out and all that was left was an e chasm inside my chest In a way, I felt as cold, nuht after Dekes had shot one," I whispered, looking at Jo-Jo "My one, darling Not entirely Your gas tank’s just running a little low right now That’s what happens when a vampire sucks so much blood out of you Reach for your power, really concentrate, and you’ll see what I mean"

I did as she said It took a ic was still there, that cool power deep down in the very center of- but there was just barely any of it to ith I reached for ic flickered in my hand, centered over the spider rune scar in low, no cold crystals, and no other indication that I had any kind of real eleain, and the sao of my power completely I didn’t want to waste what little I had left

"A vas that even I can’t heal," Jo-Jo said "I’m sorry, Gin I wish I could fix it for you like I did everything else"

I shrugged, struggling not to let her see just how upset I was, how hollow and eic "You did the best you could It’s not your fault Believeyou did heal"

I hesitated "But how long will it take? For ic to come back? Will it evencome back?"

Jo-Jo reached over and clasped my hand "Of course it will coic is a part of you, Gin It comes from you, not anyone else Never doubt that"

Her words htness in my chest ease

"As for exactly when it will coed "It’s hard to say It will probably take a few days, at the very least"

My sto?"

Jo-Jo nodded "You’re a strong elemental, Gin, with a lot of raer, but Dekes took alic, and almost your life Your neck was the worsetiers eased over to my neck, but the skin there was smooth and unbroken, and I knew there wouldn’t be any marks of Dekes’s vicious attack on me - not on the outside, anyway But the vathat I didn’t often experience - fear

The i with ic,like crih htened, as if the vaain

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jo-Jo asked in a soft voice

Despite how tightly I held on to ling with so - that’s hoell she knew nawed ona bone He hurt ht he could I didn’t think there was anyone as powerful as Mab, but Dekes showed ht I could go in and take care of him as easily as I did his men at the hotel, but he almost killed me instead Hell, he would have killed ed to play dead It was just duht with Mab was a long tiray ones "You’ve focused so y on her these past fewelse The fact is that there are people out there who are just as dangerous as Mab ever was, soic, and so at your hands doesn’t change that"

"So what do I do about it?" I asked, feeling just as lost as if I were still plodding through the dark marsh

Jo-Jo s You keep going and fighting and struggling - and then you take the bastard down any way you can"

The dwarf got up and started athered up some clean towels and clothes so I could take a shower and wash the rest of the stink of the long night offover her words in ht I’d been so focused on Mab that I’d forgotten that soerous - and that a vampire could kill me as easily as anyone else could Whether I liked it or not, Dekes had almost done the deed so many others had tried to do and failed But even worse, the vampire had scared et the best of ht Dekes would be such a threat, that he could coI’d been Sure, I’d had soiven Callie’s situation, but I’d been stupid, arrogant, and sloppy even to waltz into his mansion without ic he did or didn’t have, and I’d almost paid the ulti I was good at, it was learning froht, but I was still alive, still breathing, which meant I still had another chance to take the vaht have healed ruesome bites, but the horror that I’d endured at the vampire’s hands had still scarred rooves and nicks on side the ones that Mab, LaFleur, Elliot Slater, and so many others had before

But I’d repaid those marks in spades to the people who’d caused the to Dekes very, very soon

I got out of bed, took a shower, and put on some clean clothes I still felt a little tired, the way I always did whenever Jo-Jo used her Airme back from the brink of death It would take my mind a few hours to play catch-up and realize that one back to bed for a few more hours, but I couldn’t rest today

Not while Callie was still in danger Not while Vanessa and her sister were still being held hostage at the vampire’sI’d rest after the va to be sooner than he’d ever fucking drea in the downstairs living roo the waves or the bright, sunny beauty of the day They all jumped to their feet when I came into the roo ht I buriedhis scent fill le" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>