She shrugs, sensing exactly where I’m going with this when she says, “Fine. He’s just fine, thanks for asking. But I’ve got nothing to report. Or at least nothing that would interest you.” She glances between Damen and me, her lips curling up at the corners as though it’s all a big joke, a game she hasn’t fully committed to playing, despite the assurance she gave. Switching her focus to her nails when she says, “Jeez, do your nails grow this fast too? I mean, I just cut them this morning and check it out, they’re already long again!” She holds her hands up so we can see. “And my hair—I swear my bangs have grown a full half inch in just a few days!”

Damen and I exchange a quick glance, both of us thinking the same thing: All of this on just one bottle of elixir? And knowing I’ve no choice but to tell her, and hoping I can pull it off convincingly, I say, “Listen—about Roman—”

She drops her hands in her lap, cradling the box as she looks at me.

“I’ve been thinking—” I pause, aware of Damen’s gaze, deep, intense, boring right into mine, wondering where I’m headed with this, since I certainly haven’t discussed it with him. But the truth is, it’s a conclusion I’ve only just come to myself—a result of all the creepy things that have happened in the past twenty-four hours. “I think you need to avoid him at all costs,” I say, eyeing her carefully. “Seriously. If it’s money you need, I can totally float you until you find another job, but I don’t think you should be working there. It’s not—safe. And even though I know you don’t believe me, even though you think I’ve got it all wrong, the thing is, I don’t. Damen was there too, he can tell you.” I glance at Damen, seeing him nod in agreement, but Haven remains unaffected, her face so placid it’s like she hasn’t even heard. “I can’t express it enough,” I urge. “Seriously. He’s dangerous. A complete and total menace. Not to mention he’s—” Evil and awful, and devastatingly, alluringly irresistible—his voice in my head, his face in my dreams—always there, ever-present—and no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to shake him—can’t stop thinking about him—can’t stop wanting him—can’t stop dreaming about him—“And—um—anyway, I’d hate to see you get hurt.” I swallow hard, my body so ramped up with just the thought of him, with that strange, foreign pulse stirring inside me, I come this close to blowing my cover.

But when she looks at me, her brow lifted as though she heard the words in my head, sees what I really am up to, I panic. Privately and quietly panic. Until I remember that my shield is in place. And no matter how powerful she may be, if Damen couldn’t hear me, then neither could she.

“Listen, Ever, it’s been covered, and now you’re just being redundant. I heard you the first time, just like I heard you this time. And if you’ll remember, we agreed to disagree. Besides, how you gonna get what you want if I don’t cozy up to him?” She glances between us, eyes narrowed, catlike. “Trust me, Roman’s hardly a threat, at least not to me. He’s so incredibly sweet, and kind, and loving—he’s nothing at all like you think. So if you two want to be together”—she wags her finger between Damen and me—“then you’ll probably want to stay on my good side. As far as I can tell, I’m pretty much your only shot at this point—no?”

Damen steps forward, his eyes sparking, angry, voice low and menacing when he says, “It’s a dangerous game that you’re playing. And while I realize you’re excited about your prospects, thrilled with this new power that’s raging inside you, it’s all too easy to get in over your head. I know, because I was once like you. In fact, I was the first. And even though it was a very long time ago, I remember it like yesterday. I also remember the long list of mistakes I made, the regrets I accumulated when I let my hunger for power override my common sense and human decency. Don’t be like me, Haven. Don’t make that mistake. And don’t you even consider threatening either Ever or me in any way. We have plenty of options, plenty of means, and we don’t need you to—”

“Enough already!” Haven shakes her head as her eyes dart between us. “I’m sick of you both talking down to me all the time. Did you ever stop to think that maybe I can teach you guys a thing or two about how to use all this power?” She rolls her eyes and scowls, answering her own question when she says, “Of course not! It’s just, ‘Do this, Haven, do that, Haven, we’re rationing your elixir because we don’t trust you, Haven.’ I mean, come on. If you refuse to trust me, then why am I supposed to trust you?”

“It’s not you we don’t trust,” I say, eager to defuse this, calm things down before it gets any more heated. “It’s Roman. I know you don’t want to see it, but he’s using you. You’re just a pawn in this twisted little game that he plays. He sees all your weaknesses and he’s using them to pull your strings like a puppet.”

“And what weaknesses are those?” She drums her fingers against the box and presses her lips into a thin, grim line.

But before this can go any further, escalate into something we’ll all surely regret, Damen holds up a hand and jumps in. “We’re not trying to pick a fight with you, Haven. We’re trying to protect you. It’s for your own good.”

“Because I need protecting? Because I’m too dumb to figure stuff out for myself?” Her gaze darts between us, and when Damen sighs in frustration, her eyes grow cold. Then she nods, grips the box tighter, and stands. “I wish I could believe you, but the thing is, I just can’t. Because you’re the one holding something back, Ever—I can feel it. And even though I have no idea what it is, one thing’s pathetically clear—you’re jealous.” Her lip curls when she adds, “Yep, believe it or not, perfect Ever Bloom is jealous of me—little Haven Turner.” She shakes her head. “How’s that for a change of events?”