I forced a smile and immediately reached for the aspirin. Jared handed me the water and I tossed the pills to the back of my tongue, gulping down the cool liquid. It felt uncomfortable against my parched throat, as if my body wanted to reject any further fluids that might cause more anguish.

“I feel awful,” I groaned.

“I know.”

“I don’t usually get a hangover. I must have been absurdly drunk,” I said, rubbing my face with the tips of my fingers.

“You were,” he said flatly.

I sank into the mattress. “I’m sorry you had to babysit me. As if you don’t have to do it, anyway. I’m so embarrassed.”

Jared attempted a smile. “Don’t apologize for having a good time with your friends. It’s just…uncomfortable.” His eyes unfocused and his eyebrows pulled in.

“What’s uncomfortable?”

Jared rubbed the back of his neck. “This hazy, painful, tired, irritable heaviness you’re feeling.”

“Oh,” I breathed, still not understanding. I hadn’t considered that Jared would be sensing the same symptoms. I sank deeper into the mattress, feeling very selfish. “Do you have a headache?”

Jared laughed with a puff of air. “I don’t know. I’ve never had one before. I’m sure it’s a lesser version of what you’re feeling.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I thought it was faint, like a mosquito buzzing in your ear?”

Jared looked away from me, clearly troubled. “It’s getting stronger.”

“How?”

“I’m not sure. My father never mentioned our senses increasing more than what I’ve always experienced.”

“I’m sorry, Jared. I didn’t know or I wouldn’t have—”

“Hey,” he interrupted, “don’t worry about me. I just need to figure out what this is. It bothers me that I don’t feel one hundred percent.”

“Oh.”.

“What?” Jared asked, as if I’d pulled him out of a deep thought.

“The no-drinking policy. You feel off balance this morning and you like feeling in control all of the time.”

“You say it like it’s a bad thing,” he said defensively.

“You don’t have to be perfect all the time, Jared. It’s okay to let your guard down.”

I leaned in to hug him but he pulled away just enough to make me hesitate. As soon as he realized what he’d done, he seemed to regret it, which made him even angrier.

“You sound like Claire,” he snapped.

“Claire and I are in agreement on this one, then. You are half-human. It’s okay to make mistakes,” I said, my words more rigid than I’d meant them to be.

“Not for someone like me. Certainly not for someone that has the daughter of Jack Grey for a Taleh. It’s like you have no sense of danger, Nina. After everything you’ve been through lately, I don’t understand it.”