“Visions are a tricky thing,” she said. “They can even be self-fulfilling. Maybe we misunderstood it. Maybe we made a mistake, but we just wanted to protect you.”

“Or maybe I’m a lost cause,” Wesley said.

“Quit saying shit like that.”

Tavia’s face was stern as she stepped in front of him, and it was only then that the fire on Wesley’s skin quelled. She was too close and his magic was screaming in desperation.

It scared him, and Wesley had never been truly scared before.

Tavia stood barely a breath away, her eyes locking onto his.

It was odd, that Wesley’s family had feared him so much that even as a child they sent him away, that even now they looked at him with apprehension, and that Wesley himself had somehow come to fear what he was capable of.

But not Tavia.

She didn’t look like she was afraid of anything.

He should have kissed her that day he came back, with the rain soaking them both and her eyes open with possibility. She’d wanted him to, he knew it, and he hadn’t had the guts.

He hadn’t felt like he was worthy of it.

“I abandoned Zekia,” Wesley said. “Twice now.”

Tavia didn’t step away from him.

“I killed the old underboss to take his place. I did Ashwood’s dirty work for years.”

“I don’t care about who you were or what you did,” Tavia said. “I know who you are. And it doesn’t matter if you’re Saxony’s family, because you were my family first.”

She took Wesley’s hands from behind his back and the shadows inside him retreated, fading into the air like they feared hurting her.

His magic calmed.

“I’ve already lost so much,” Tavia said. “I couldn’t take it if I lost you too.”

Wesley blinked.

That was all it took.

Tavia was quick and he had forgotten just how much until her free hand went to her pocket and was suddenly in front of him, filled with magic dust.

Wesley blinked and she took that second to blow the dust in his face.

In a weird way, he felt proud that she’d gotten the upper hand—that the student had, in some way, become the master.

Tavia squeezed his hand tighter in hers and Wesley tried to pull away, because he knew he was about to keel over and he didn’t want to take her down with him. Still, Tavia kept her hold strong and her eyes piercing.

“Just relax,” she said.

Wesley did.

He closed his eyes and felt the night smile.

IT WAS dream dust Tavia had thrown. Wesley knew that much and he welcomed the thought of sleep. The waking world had become far more bizarre than the dream world could ever be.