At first, Lane thought the kiss might signal some kind of white flag.  A glimmer of hope, like the light of the moon on glassy lake.  The moment he spoke, though, it shattered.  Before he had coaxed her into bed he had acted as if her worries were just the fault of those that came before him.  Now?  He had vindicated her need to trust her gut.  When he first started to speak, the sting of his words made her feel suddenly exposed and bare, so much so that Lane immediately got out of his bed and began to put her clothes on.  She did so with a haste and a fury.  When he finally finished his hurtful triad, her eyes were solid and heavy on him.<br/><br/>“No, not special, James.  That was just my own foolish hope.  Different.  You claimed to be different, but this sure feels the same,”  she growled as she pulled her shirt over her head.  Lane's stomach did flip flops as she tried to bolster her courage and fight back the tears that threatened to fall.  "You aren't stupid enough to believe anything you just said and the amazing thing is?  Neither am I."<br/><br/>Lane was not sure why she expected anything different.  She had called him to the carpet and he had clearly picked his addiction over whatever had been going on between them.  Or maybe that was his intention all along.  Maybe this was all use an elaborate ploy to get what he wanted: access to her and access to Adela's grimoire.  Lane didn't suppose it truly mattered either way.<br/><br/>She walked to the door of his room and turned back one last time.  The heartache that had threatened to overtake her went suddenly quiet as her eyes settled on him.<br/><br/>"Perhaps you choose all these terrible fates that come to court you, James Sinclair."  Her eyes shift suddenly, from their light color to a dark, cobalt blue that nearly hid her iris.  It was the Valkyrie, that part of her, the part that was all death, destruction and warrior staring down at him.  She wondered if the words were a warning.  Valkyries had once been the 'choosers of the slain,' who guided the souls of fallen men.  Except, James had long since cheated death.  Maybe he no longer had a soul to guide.<br/><br/>And then she was gone.  Out of his place as quick as her feet could carry her.  At first, she headed in the direction of her home, but she had done this song and dance before.  If his guilt or heart made him feel full of regret in the morning, she did not want him to find her first thing to express it.  So she changed direction, making her way toward her brother's house.  Steve would not be pleased, but they were siblings.  He'd take her in and help her through this, just as she had done for him many times.