"Where?" Julian asked, confused. "What are you guys talking about?"
We ignored him, our focus locked onto each other. There was an invisible thread pulling me toward her, something that I couldn't explain.
"I've changed, Jane," I said, my voice firmer than I felt. I tried to stand up, but a sharp spike of pain from my thigh wound made me hiss and stumble back onto the bench.
"Don't move!" she gasped, her hands flying up. This time she didn't pull back. She reached out, pressed her fingers against the wound on my leg, and dropped to one knee before me.
The moment she touched me, a sensation of biting cold swept through my leg. The throbbing pain died down instantly as a thin layer of crystalline ice sealed the torn flesh.
"Your mana..." she muttered, looking up at me. "It's... different. It feels... heavy. Darker."
