Page 143 of The Rut in the Road

Now that I wasn’t driving, he walked over, stalking me.

“Rayn.”

I glared.

He reached out, setting first one hand, then the other, on my shoulders. “Rayn…”

I was panting. Angry. No,furious.

He sucked in a breath, his eyes suddenly black and wide with something that wasn’t anger.Fear. “Rayn,” he whispered, “please stop.”

I shoved him away from me, horrified, staggering backwards. My broken arm stung from the force of my push, but I couldn’t get him away from me fast enough, so I didn’t care.

Because when he’d put his hands on me, my rage—mymagic—had started siphoning off his. I hadn’t meant to. But that didn’t matter.

I stumbled, backing away from him, but not knowing where to go or what to do. Only knowing that I couldn’t let him touch me.

I tried to get back into the car, but he moved faster than I could, putting one big hand on the door. “Rayn.”

I shook my head. “Get away from me.” I was panicked, breath coming too shallow, the edges of my vision shadowed. I’d been angry with him—no,furious—but I hadn’t meant to use death magic on him. Ineverwanted to use it on him. Not Raj.

“Rayn.”

“No!”

But his arms came around me, and I found myself clinging to his shirt with my good hand, sobbing.

“Shhh.” He barely vocalized the sound, his arms tight, his chin resting on my hair. “You’re okay.”

“I’msorry,” I gasped into his chest.

“It’s okay,” he murmured. “You’re okay.”

I tried to push at him, failing to match his strength. “I don’t care aboutme!” I protested, panic mixing with anger.

“I’m okay,” he said softly.

“But—”

“Rayn.” His tone said that he didn’t want to hear whatever it was I had to say. “I’m fine. You stopped when I asked you to.”

“But I didn’t?—”

“I know.” I felt him move his head, place a kiss against my hair.

“Raj, I could have?—”

“But you didn’t,” he said softly. “You could have, but you didn’t.”

“But what if?—”

“There are a lot of what ifs in the world,” he said, his voice smooth and even. “We can’t worry about all of them.”

I pushed at him again. “I can worry about this one!” If I lost control and hurt him, or, worse, killed him?—

The tears came again, fast and frightened. His arms tightened around me.

“Jaanu, it’s okay. It was just a little magical tug. I’m fine.”