Looking over her shoulder, I spotted the drink on the table just inside the foyer. I smiled slightly. “It’s right there, on the table.”
Kat turned around. “Oh. Well, thank you.”
I stepped aside, brushing past her. Stopping a few feet in, I shoved my hands in my pockets to stop myself from touching her, because as she pointed out in the past, I did have boundary problems. Leaning against the wall, I watched her…watch me. Blood was creeping into her cheeks.
“Kitten…”
“Daemon…?”
My gaze moved over her face, lingering on the swollen eyes. “You look tired.”
She crept closer. “I didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Thinking about me?”
There wasn’t a moment of hesitation. “Yes.”
Surprise flickered through me. Did she just admit that? Were pigs flying outside? “Well, I was preparing this whole speech about how you need to stop denying that I consume your every waking thought and haunt your dreams. Now I’m not sure what to say.”
Kat leaned against the wall, right in front of me. “You, speechless? That’s one for the record books.”
I lowered my head and whispered, “I didn’t sleep well last night, either.”
She moved closer, her arm brushing mine. I stiffened. “Last night—”
“I wanted to apologize,” I said, and I knew I needed to for what I said about her being a problem. “I’m sorry—”
Someone cleared his throat.
My gaze snapped up. So caught up in Kat, I hadn’t heard him walk through the open door. Douche Bag was here.
“Am I interrupting?” he asked.
“Yes, Bart, you are always interrupting,” I responded.
“Sorry it took me so long to get over here,” he said, ignoring me as Kat faced him.
“Too bad it didn’t take longer.” I stretched idly “And too bad you didn’t get lost or—”
“Eaten by wild boars or killed in a horrific ten-car pileup. I get it.” he interrupted and then walked past us. “You don’t need to be here, Daemon. No one is forcing you.”
I pivoted on my heel, following him. “There’s no other place I’d rather be.”
Kat shuffled into the living room. “So, um, how are we going to do this?”
“What we need to do first is figure out what you can already do,” he said.
She tucked her hair back, obviously not entirely comfortable with both of us staring at her. “Uh, I’m not sure there’s much I can do.”
His lips pursed as I sat on the couch. “Well, you stopped the branch. And the time with the windows. That’s two things.”
“But I didn’t do them on purpose.” Kat glanced at me. “What I mean is, it wasn’t a conscious effort, you know.”
“Oh.” His brows lowered. “Well, that’s disappointing.”
My gaze slid to him. “What a great motivator you are.”
He ignored me. Again. “So these have been random outbursts of power?” When Kat nodded, he pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Maybe it will just fade?” she said, sounding hopeful.
“It would’ve already done that by now. See, one of four things happens after a mutation, from what I could learn.” He started moving around the living room, giving Kat a wide berth. “A human can be healed, and then it fades after a few weeks, even months. Or a human can be mutated and it sticks, and they develop the same abilities as a Luxen—or more. Then there are the ones who kind of…self-destruct. But you’re out of that stage.”
“And?”
“Well, and then there are humans who are mutated beyond what would be expected, I guess.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, my fingers tapping along the arm of the couch.
He folded his arms and rocked back. “Like in the freakish-mutant-looks department and in the head, and it’s different for everyone.”
“Am I going to turn into a mutant?” she squeaked.
He laughed. “I don’t think so.”
My finger stilled. “And how do you really know all of this, Flake?”
“Blake,” he corrected. “Like I said, I’ve known others like Katy who have been sucked into the DOD.”
“Uh-huh.” I smirked. This boy had bullshit tattooed on his forehead.
He shook his head. “Anyway, back to the important stuff. We need to see if you can control it. If not…”
Not liking where that statement was heading, I came off the couch and I moved fast, just to remind Douche Bag of what I was. I was in his face in under a second. “Or what, Hank? What if she can’t?”
“Daemon.” Kat sighed. “First off, his name is Blake. B-L-A-K-E. And really, can we do this without any macho-man moments? Because if not, this is going to take forever.”
I spun around, pinning her with a dark look.
“The best thing to start with is to see if you can move anything on command.” He paused. “And I guess we can go from there.”
“Move what?” Kat asked.
He looked around the room. “How about a book?”