“That’s you asking nicely?” I lift my brow, noticing the way she eyeballs the space between the banister and me, as though plotting to sneak through it, prompting me to quickly grab hold of it, blocking all access.

She mumbles under her breath, gripping the stair rail so tightly her knuckles blanch to an impossible shade of white, looking at me with eyes so red they’re practically bleeding from the effort, leaving no doubt that she’sthis close to snapping when she repeats, “Just give it to me already!”

I take a deep breath, and concentrate on surrounding her with a stream of calming energy. Hoping it will help to pacify her, cool her, ease some of the anger, temper and tone down the rage. The last thing I need is for her to go off, to explode in some sort of meltdown. Even though she poses no real threat to me anymore, she’s still a very real threat to everyone around her, and I can’t afford to let it get to that point.

But when I see the way my bubble of peace once again fails to penetrate, bouncing right off her in much the same way it did the last time I tried, I decide to give her what she needs instead. Figuring a couple sips of elixir can’t hurt—if anything, from what I can see, it should go a very long way toward taming the beast.

I turn, slowly, cautiously, careful not to alarm her or set her off in any way, heading up the stairs and motioning for her to follow, when I glance over my shoulder and say, “I’m happy to share, Haven. I’ve got more than enough, so no worries there. Though I am curious—” I stop on the landing and face her.

“Why do you needmy juice? What happened toyours ?”

“I ran out.” She shrugs, glaring at me as she adds, “I ran out because you stole a bunch of it, and now I’m gonna take it back.”

She grins, the promise of a drink seeming to appease her just the tiniest bit, though her words leave me chilled. I have no idea how much juice Roman might’ve kept on hand, but if he was anything like Damen it must’ve been a pretty healthy supply, a year’s worth at the very least. Since it’s forced to ferment under the proper moon phases, it’s not like you can just whip up a batch spontaneously. And the fact that Misa and Marco only made off with a bagful means she’s managed to plow through the rest of it in such a short amount of time it’s not only alarming but goes a long way toward explaining the state that she’s in.

I head for my den and over to the mini-fridge that’s placed just behind the wet bar. Reaching for a fresh new bottle as I say, “I didn’t steal your elixir. I have no interest or need for that kind of thing.”

Seeing her stand before me, hands shaking in outrage. “You’re such a liar! You think I’m stupid? How else did you survive? I know all about the chakras—Roman told me and Damen told him! It was back when Roman was controlling him, back when he convinced him to spill all kinds of secrets. I hit you in your weak spot and youknow it. I hit you before you went down and after you went down, and I even hit you one last time for good measure just before I left you for dead. It should’vekilled you! I thought itdid kill you. I was sure the only reason you didn’t disintegrate into a big pile of dust is because you weren’t as old as the rest of them. But now I know the real reason for why you’re still here—”

I look at her, knowing full well what that reason is—the fact that I watched my lives unfold right before me. The fact that I witnessed thetruth. And because of it, I made the right choice, the only choice, which allowed me to rise above my weak chakra. No more, no less. Still, I’m interested in hearing her take on it.

“You drank Roman’s elixir.” She shakes her head, allowing the blue gemstones on her earrings to chime softly together. “It’sway more powerful than yours, as you well know, which is exactly why you drank it.

It’s theonly thing that saved you!”

I shrug, catching our reflections in the mirror on the far wall behind her—noting the difference between us—her darkness versus my light. The contrast so stark, it takes my breath away. Then averting my gaze just as quickly, determined not to overfocus on her sad, sorry state. I can’t afford the sympathy, not when I may be forced to kill her at some point. Switching my gaze back to hers when I say, “If that’s so true, then how come it can’t seem to saveyou ? And how come it couldn’t save Roman either?”

But Haven’s done chatting. She’s determined to get what she came for.

“Give me the elixir.” She takes a slow, unsteady step toward me. “Give me the elixir and no one gets hurt.”

“I thought we just covered that.” I keep the bottle behind me, holding it well out of her reach. “You can’t hurt me anymore, remember? No matter what you do or how hard you try, you can’t get to me, Haven.

So just maybe, instead of threatening me, you should try a whole new approach and try to get on my good side.”

But she just smiles. Causing her face to widen and lift in a way so ghastly it only serves to emphasize her hollow, red eyes. “Maybe I can’t hurt you, but trust me, Ever, I can still do some serious damage to the people who are near and dear to you. And, as good and fast as you may be, well, it’s not like you can be inall places atall times. It’s not like you can saveeverybody .”

And that’s when she does it—that’s when she takes advantage of my momentary shock at hearing her words and lunges straight for the elixir grasped in my hand.

And that’s also when I react just a little bit quicker than she planned.