Adam by Jacquelyn Frank Page A

powerful, had a real reputation for being a badass, and dressed with such confidence and panache. You couldn’t miss her if you tried.
    But there was something in her eyes right then, something Leah would never have thought to attribute to Jasmine.
    Vulnerabiity.
    “Can you do it?” Jasmine asked.
    “C-can I do what?”
    “You know what!” she said impatiently. She reached out and took hold of Leah’s face by her chin. “If I could go back in time and change one thing, I would see to it that Prince Damien never met the Princess Syreena.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she slowly exhaled. “But that would be a selfish thing. A thing designed only to help him and myself. Perhaps even her as well, when you think about it. But you ...” Jasmine stared hard into Leah’s eyes, and Leah felt the soft coaxing power of the Vampire’s influence. It felt like being wrapped in a strange sort of warmth, something safe and caring. “Can you do this thing? Do you have the power?”
    Leah simply nodded in reply.
    “No,” Jasmine breathed, an expression of unbelievable pain lancing across her features. “The past must stay in the past where it belongs. Do you understand me, little half-breed? You cannot play with time in such ways! You will destroy people and you will torment others. You could make things a thousand times worse than they are now! Do not meddle with the past!”
    Leah was afraid as the powerful Vampire raged fiercely at her. This was no moralistic scolding like her other mentors had given. They had frequently hammered at her about the massive responsibilities that would come with her element. There was no other Demon of Time in the world and had never been one in history. She was the groundbreaker. But Elijah was very fond of telling her that just because she could do something didn’t mean that she should. He told her he could become a category four hurricane that would destroy everything around him, but that didn’t mean he should do it. In fact, the damage path would be a very obvious reason why he shouldn’t.
    Messing with Time could potentially create horrible damage paths. Some would be immediately visible, and others would not show themselves for years.
    “I just thought ...” Leah argued weakly. “Maybe if I could borrow ... for just a minute ...”
    The young girl teared up and immediately tried to hide her weakness from Jasmine. The Vampire softened a little, understanding very clearly why the teenaged Demon would want to change her history. As Jasmine herself had said, there were things she wished she could change as well, people she would save—people she would protect. But it wasn’t her place to try to go back to fashion the world in a way she thought it ought to be.
    “There is danger in the idea that we can create a designer life for ourselves by manipulating this thing or that thing in our past,” Jasmine said gently. “You might save your parents with one act, but that same act could end up killing Elijah, destroying the political stability of the Nightwalkers, or—I don’t know—any number of variables. I understand you have been given these powers for a reason, and perhaps that reason is to alter moments in time to create a better future, but you are too young to be making these decisions now. And you certainly shouldn’t be making them on your own. Your power is new yet. You don’t know all of what you will be able to do one day. At the very least I must beg you to wait. See how time unfolds. Have patience.”
    It wasn’t an unreasonable request.
    Just an unbearable one.
    Leah nodded in agreement, her face full of color and tracked with tears. Jasmine could feel the young girl’s frustration. It eddied into her psychically like a powerful, stormy ocean tide. It churned wildly with her emotions as all of the plans Leah had been forming were now suddenly dashed upon the rocks of responsibility and morality.
    Strange that it had been Jasmine to lecture about