Page 43 of The Shadows of Excess

His forehead creased in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

I gritted my teeth. “You used compulsion on me last night.” The words tumbled out, laced with anger and hurt.

“You were getting hysterical, and you needed to rest,” Justice blurted. “I was trying to protect you, that’s all.”

Anger and disillusionment burned inside me. I shook my head and clenched my fists. “Or control me. Don’t do it again, okay? I can’t… I can’t have you messing with my head like that.”

The door swung open abruptly, and Damon stormed in, holding a diet cola. His eyes were ablaze with fury and protectiveness. “Back off, fang-face,” he snapped, tossing the soda onto the nearby bed. He advanced toward Justice, his movements bristling with barely contained rage, like a predator ready to pounce. “Nobody messes with her head on my watch.”

Justice nimbly dodged Damon, his vampire speed giving him an edge. “I wasn’t going to compel her again.”

Damon’s face contorted in frustration, his hands balled into tight fists at his sides. “Well, you did last night, and now she’s as sick as a dog.”

“That’s not why she’s unwell,” Justice countered. “I’ve just returned from the PMC with some important information. Do you want to hear what I discovered, or are you going to keep throwing a temper tantrum like a pissed-off teenager?”

I forced myself to sit up and held his annoyed gaze. “I want to know.”

Damon narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, and how do we know you’re not gonna pull some of your vampire mind tricks on us next? What’s stopping you from turning this into a regular hocus-pocus show?”

I held up my hand. “Damon, please. I want to know what Dr. Gould thinks happened to me. I assume that’s who you talked to.”

After a moment of tension, Justice shifted his focus to the matter at hand. “Dr. Gould had some interesting insights about Sawyer’s eyes changing. According to him, it’s not uncommon for latent psychic abilities to manifest in times of extreme stress or exposure to supernatural events. He believes what happened to Sawyer might be awakening some dormant psychic potential she’s always had.”

I glared at him, skepticism evident in my tone. “I thought the PMC, including you, didn’t believe in psychics.”

Justice’s cheeks flushed slightly. “That’s true, to an extent. I should have been more specific. It was me who didn’t believe in them. My skepticism was…personal.”

I wiped my forehead, still trying to process everything. “What about Dr. Gould? He believes in this psychic stuff?”

“Surprisingly, yes,” Justice admitted. “He’s seen enough evidence over the years to be open to the idea. I’m learning there’s a lot more to our world than I thought.”

Damon crossed his arms. “Psychic? Since when?”

“It’s more common than you think in our world,” Justice continued. “Dr. Gould explained these abilities can lie dormant for years, even decades. The visions Sawyer experienced, coupled with her eyes changing color, are classic signs. The intense events of late might have triggered this awakening. Her body is likely adjusting to this new state, which is why she’s feeling ill.”

I processed what he was saying, but I wasn’t sure I bought it. “So, I’ve been psychic all along and never knew?”

“It appears so,” Justice replied, his gaze sympathetic. “According to him, that’s why the Fae weapon chose you and why the magic within the coin collided with you. Now, we need to figure out how to help you control it. According to Dr. Gould, uncontrolled psychic abilities can be overwhelming and even dangerous.”

Damon shot him a skeptical look. “So, let me get this straight. If psychics are real, how come my dad and I aren’t running around playing mind readers? Missed the psychic lottery, did we?”

“I asked Dr. Gould the same question,” Justice stated. “He explained that psychic abilities often run in bloodlines. In Sawyer’s case, he suspects it’s a mother-daughter link.”

“Mom wasn’t psychic,” Damon drawled. “I think I would’ve noticed if she started bending spoons with her mind or predicting lottery numbers.”

“That you know of,” Justice countered, emphasizing the possibility of undiscovered or hidden abilities. “These things aren’t always obvious, especially if someone chooses to keep them a secret.”

“I would have known if Mom was psychic,” I insisted, my tone firm. “She never predicted anything that came true.”

Justice met my gaze. “You were both only seven when your mom passed away,” he reminded me.

I couldn’t believe Dad would keep something that important from us. Or would he? Was that why the vampire attacked Mom? Did she know something she wasn’t supposed to?

“Psychics aren’t only mind readers,” Justice explained. “Your mom could have been an empath, an aura reader, or even a psychometrist.”

Damon’s eye roll was almost theatrical. “Could we stick to English here? Sounds like you’re reading off a menu at a New Age diner.”

Justice remained composed under Damon’s challenging gaze. “An empath senses others’ emotions, sometimes even feeling them as their own,” he explained.

---