Page 63 of Inception

“What the heck is that?”

“Compliments of Dominic,” he said tartly. “He was pretty intent on giving it to you himself, though I insisted he not.” He chucked the rose sideways, and not a moment too soon.

“I didn’t know you were...” I trailed off, realizing Gabriel had been here this whole time, keeping watch. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” he said, glancing over at the door and then back at me, his expression troubled. “He intends to talk to you and he’ll try it again the first chance he gets.”

I felt my heart rate accelerate; an automatic response to the thought of having to see Dominic again. “Talk to me about what?” I asked shakily. He had his fun—the game was over. What more could he possibly have left to say?

“I don’t know, he didn’t say.”

I felt sick. I wasn’t ready to see Dominic. It was too much, too soon. I was starting to shiver now, though I told myself it was from the cold air, and not from the fear.

“I think you should reconsider going to the Council,” he said as he shrugged off his leather jacket and then wrapped it around my shoulders. “It may be the only way to protect yourself. You don’t know the real Dominic—what he’s capable of—especially when it comes to something he wants,” he added, tucking his hands into his dark jeans.

He was only wearing a fitted, dark green T-shirt now, though he was clearly unaffected by the cold.

“And what is it that he wants exactly?” I asked, pushing my arms through the sleeves. It smelled of leather and mint.

“I’m not sure yet.”

I swallowed hard. “But you think it involves me?”

He nodded, regretful.

The sudden rush of emotions caused me to stagger back, dizzy from the realization that this thing with Dominic wasn’t over yet, that I wasn’t free of him, or safe from him. I leaned back against the building and tried to steady my breathing.

“Are you alright?” he asked, taking a cautious step towards me. His concern felt genuine, like my safety and well-being mattered to him, which was strange because he didn’t even know me up until yesterday.

“It’s been a long day.”

He gestured to my neck. “Do you mind if I take a look?”

I nodded that he could and then tried not to flinch when his cool fingers brushed my hair back to inspect the wound. “It’s almost healed,” I told him absentmindedly, looking up at the pitch sky, the stars, the moon—anything but his face.

“Yes, it looks much better,” he agreed and took a step back, satisfied with his inspection. “There’s a number of different enzymes in our bite, one of which has a fairly powerful healing agent,” he explained, burying his hands again. “The mark should be gone by morning.”

“Great,” I mumbled. “It’ll be good and fresh for Dominic when he comes back for seconds.”

“You know what he is now. You don’t have to let him near you again,” he said, his green eyes gleaming in the dim light. “You canstophim from getting close enough.”

“And how do you suggest I do that?”

“You’re not as helpless as you think you are.”

“You’re right. I did take all those years of badminton in gym class. That’s got to count for something, right?”

He wasn’t amused. “I mean, you’re stronger than you think you are. Your power is inside of you, you simply haven’t tapped into it yet, but with a little training—”

“Training,” I huffed bitterly. “That doesn’t seem to be an option for me right now. I don’t have a Keeper, which means no Handler is willing to take me on, which means I can’t start training. So tell me again how I’m not helpless?”

“I’m sure the Council will find an alternate to stand-in and teach you some of the basics, at least until they can find a permanent solution. It isn’t ideal, but it’s not hopeless.”

“Then why haven’t they done it?”

He shook his head. “I’m not privy to all the details—”

“What about you?” I blurted out. “Weren’t you a Handler before? Why can’t you train me?”

---