“It’s for me. I know. I don’t want it, because I don’t like you pushing yourself this hard. So you think that if you choose to do it for me, that’s okay. Except I believe I should have a say in that.”

“I…”

“This isn’t the time. I know that.” He took the book and shoved it in his pocket. “If Jacinda’s driving I’d like you to rest on the ride home. Not study. Okay?”

I looked up at him. “I’m sorry. I—”

He cut me off with a kiss, reaching down to cup my face in his hands as he kissed me, sweet and gentle and long, not breaking off until Moreno cleared his throat across the campsite. Even then, he only pulled back a little, keeping my face in his hands.

“I’m not mad,” he said. “I get why you’re doing it. I just want to talk about it later. Okay?”

I nodded, and he took my hand, and we headed for the parking lot with the others.

Sean arrived a couple of hours after we got back. He’d texted when he got in, telling me he was in and that we could get some sleep before we talked. When he arrived, we were waiting in the community center. Moreno showed him in, and I handed him a coffee.

“There’s more where that came from,” I said. “But we’d like to do this tonight.”

He smiled and took the mug. “That makes sense.” He waved at the collection of couches and chairs in the meeting room. We settled in and explained everything.

“Does that make more sense to you than it does to us?” I asked when we finished. “That they wanted Tori because she fulfills some prophecy? Being both a sorcerer and a witch?”

“I do know what so-called prophecy they’re talking about. I say ‘so-called’ because our experts were never able to dig up definitive proof it existed, and we suspect it was at least in part concocted by a guy who was using it as proof that it was time for supernaturals to reveal themselves to the world.”

Maya snorted. “Oh, yeah. There’s a good idea. Because none of us spent any time locked up and being tested because of our powers. And that was by fellow supernaturals.”

“This particular plot was overthrown about four months ago, which is why I’m rolling my eyes at these guys trying to take Tori now. I suppose that proves there are still pockets left, and we need to root those out. At least I’m comforted by the fact that this group only hoped to sell Tori to believers and weren’t rekindling the movement themselves.”

“That might not be nearly as comforting to Tori,” Maya said.

Sean chuckled. “True. Sorry.”