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Realizing other humans would fear you, and treat you differently.

He remembered the rage. The feeling of being cheated.

Like Nick, Damon hadn’t gone into this willingly, either. His human life had been stolen from him, just like Brick had stolen Nick’s from him.

Nick saw some of that emotional see-saw reflected in Damon Jordan now, as they looked at one another. But Damon didn’t look angry, like Nick had been for so long. He didn’t look like he wanted to hurt people, or fuck, or drink excessive amounts of blood as a way to deal with his own rage at what happened to him.

He mostly looked afraid.

“Knock me out,” the newborn blurted.

His voice was different now. Deeper, more melodious. More vampire.

He put thrall into his words from the sheer intensity of his want. Nick would’ve bet a lot of credits Jordan had no idea he was doing it.

Still, it was eerie, the kick it had behind it.

Jordan already had a lot of power, even being so young.

More than anything, though, Nick felt relief at the other’s words.

If Jordan was self-aware enough to know he was completely out of control, he was already a few hundred steps ahead of where Nick had been when he’d been as a reckless, rage and revenge-filled newborn in Paris all those years ago.

Nick glanced at Tai, who nodded, once.

Then she closed her eyes.

Nick felt a twinge of nerves when a kind of current began to crackle around her.

The air itself seemed to vibrate, to nearly catch on fire, although Nick couldn’t see anything exactly, not with his eyes. It was a feeling, like she embodied that spark herself, and he could feel the fraction of a fraction of an instant right before it ignited.

He worried briefly she might kill Damon on accident––

––when Damon’s eyes abruptly rolled up, and he collapsed on the organic tile floor.

* * *

“Goddamn,”Tai huffed, sweat running down the side of her face. “You weren’t kidding about howheavyhe is. It’s like he’s made entirely of metal…”

She looked at Nick almost accusingly.

“Areyouthis heavy?” she asked, indignant.

Nick rolled his eyes, and started to answer, but Malek broke in, grinning.

“He’s heavier,” the older seer informed his sister.

Nick rolled his eyes for real.

“What the hell are either of you two doing on vampire-carrying duty right now?” Nick grumbled. “You should be upstairs.”

“Youput us on this,” Tai reminded him curtly, mostly to save her own breath as she struggled to hold up just one of Jordan’s arms. “You didn’t want us visible. And vampires are stealthier than we are. And they can hear cameras. So you and your new vampire queen told us to hang back until we could bring Jordan to the car…”

Nick acknowledged her words grudgingly.

She was right, of course.

Nickhadtold her to hang back, at least until there was some compelling reason to put her or her brother in harm’s way. He had them wearing their masks again, too, knowing that either of their faces showing up where Archangel operatives might see them would likely only bring more firepower their way, and likely faster.