“Alexis.” Rina’s voice rang loudly in my head. I peered over at where she stood, off to the side of the party. Even at a child’s birthday party on the lawn, she wore a long, sequined ball gown that sparkled like champagne in the sun. “I would like you to practice with me.”
The group had already divvied into teams and started their game. As I headed toward Rina, I hoped Dorian wouldn’t get an urge to do something . . . unusal.
Okay. What do you want me to do?
“Let down your wall. Hear their thoughts. They should be harmless enough while they are playing. How many can you hear at once?”
I dissolved my wall into a screen and let everyone’s mind signatures float in and around me. I latched onto Dorian’s thoughts, which were single-minded and simple at the moment. Understanding what Rina meant, that they would be focused on the game and their thoughts wouldn’t be threatening or overwhelming, I felt enough courage to try another. Keeping Dorian’s thoughts running in one part of my mind, I grabbed onto Tristan’s and then Owen’s, but I couldn’t focus on any of them. Tristan had many thoughts running through his mind at once, and all of them jumbled together with Dorian’s and Owen’s into a mind-piercing cacophony. I instantly pushed them all away at once without realizing I did so until a deafening silence filled my head. Then came Rina’s voice.
“Take a walk with me,” she said.
I strode off after her into the woods, toward the beach where Tristan and I had first arrived on the island. We walked several minutes in silence until we hit sand, when Rina stopped and gazed out at the sea. Waves came and went, spraying foam as they crashed their way onto the beach then swirled in their retreat, building up for the next attack.
“You have been practicing and have become stronger,” Rina finally said. “Do you feel it?”
“I think so. I mean, I can identify every mind signature of everyone at the mansion—all of us, the staff . . . I can tell when Charlotte comes on the grounds for training.”
“How far out can you go?”
I shrugged. “I sense when Charlotte’s in the gym before we leave the mansion. But I haven’t sensed anyone beyond that. I don’t know if I can’t or if there just isn’t anyone to sense . . . if there’s anyone else farther out.”
Rina nodded. “You have been confined, I understand. It has been good practice for you, but I believe it is time for you to be among new people, new mind signatures.”
Yes! Finally.
“The council?” I clarified before my hopes rose too high.
“I believe so. Do you think you are ready?”
I didn’t know, but I wasn’t about to tell her that. This was the moment I’d been waiting for—excitement crackled through my veins. “Yes.”
“I will bring only one in at a time, as they are available,” she said. I tried to hide my relief. All of them as a group would probably still be too much for me. Rina broke her gaze from the ocean, turned to me, and took my hands into hers. Her eyes pierced into mine. “Alexis, you will be among people with whom you are unfamiliar.”
“I think I’ll be okay. You said my shield was strong, and I haven’t had any problems controlling that part.”
Rina’s lips pressed into a thin line. “No, you have not. I am actually concerned about that. I thought you would have relinquished that shield by now.”
My brows furrowed. “What do you mean? I thought it was good.”
“Just now, with the others, you had a difficult time listening to more than one, no?”
“Yes,” I admitted. “I had Dorian, Tristan, and Owen, but all together, all at once, it became too much, and I panicked.”
“You closed them off without meaning to, yes?”
My eyes widened. “Yes. How—? Were you in my head?”
Rina shook her head. “No, darling. You would not let me in. You were surrounded by people you know and love, and still, you would not loosen your hold.”
“So why is that bad?”
“It means you are not comfortable with your gift yet. You cannot relax enough to use it properly, not even when surrounded by those closest to you. The tight control you keep on it prevents you from using the real power it contains.” She freed one of my hands while holding the other as she turned back down the path toward the party. “Do you remember during the battle many years ago, when we were in the cellar of the safe house, and I shared what I saw through others’ minds?”
I nodded. How could I forget? It had been the worst day of my life, watching through Rina’s mind, which saw through soldiers’ eyes, people destroying each other on the battlefield outside the safe house. Tristan even probed straight through one soldier’s mind, past Rina’s and right into mine to say his last goodbye. Rina had used her gift far beyond any capabilities I had. Oh! That’s it! The thought hit me as though Rina had actually slapped me. That was the only way to convince her of what I heard from the council—I needed to be able to share with her, let her hear it for herself.
“How do I do that?” I asked.
“It is not too difficult. If you are at ease with your gift, that is. Not only one-on-one with those closest to you, but comfortable in various situations. With strangers, especially in groups, in any kind or size of crowd.” We’d returned to the lawn and the barbecue. She stopped walking and made her next words slow and deliberate to ensure I understood. “Comfortable enough to let your shield down without losing control. You will have to allow it, Alexis. It is up to you.”
With that, Rina slid off her heels, hiked up her sequined gown, and ran for the football game.
“You are going down, big man!” she yelled as she plowed into Solomon, who chased Dorian, the ball carrier. Rina tackled the vampire to the ground, but right before they hit, he swung her around so his body would take the impact while she landed on top of him.
Although my mind still chewed on what she meant—“you will have to allow it”—I couldn’t help but laugh at them, along with everyone else. Who would have thought with those two? Dorian rolled on the ground with whole-body hysterics. But then I caught something in Martin’s eyes that didn’t match the grin on his face.
Was that a look of disgust? Or annoyance at the matriarch’s behavior?
He caught me watching him, and whatever I saw disappeared. His eyes were just as warm as the rest of his face as his smile widened. I returned his grin before realizing I did so.
Chapter 7
Were-birds were freaky. At least the one on the council was. Her name was Robin. No joke. She morphed into a falcon, which she inherited by birth, not by being infected, so her parents knew what they were doing when they named her. Why do parents do that to their children?
Robin was the first council member I was able to listen to, and her thoughts were . . . uh . . . flighty. I felt sorry for her, though. She seemed to have similar problems as mine during sex—she couldn’t let herself completely go or she’d turn into a bird. My issues weren’t so bad after all. At least I could enjoy it when (if ever again) we were alone. Robin and her husband, who wasn’t a shifter, had to deal with it every time, feathers flying as she reached her orgasm. I picked this up while Robin sat in Solomon’s office waiting for him to begin his meeting with her while I sat in Rina’s office to mentally eavesdrop. TMI was one of many aspects I hated about my gift.