“Has the answer to that question ever stopped you before?” Lucian replied mildly.
Nord grinned, his smile looking roguish behind his beard. “Perhaps we’re going about this the wrong way.”
“By all means, enlighten us,” Lucian muttered, taking Effie’s hand and leading her to the chair he’d vacated earlier.
“Maybe one of us should show her what it’s like.”
Effie’s brows veed with confusion. “I’ve seen Lucian access his power before.”
“No, not watch us as we gather our power, but experience what it actually feels like, specifically the first time.”
Kael was nodding, while Lucian looked thoughtful.
“It could work,” Lucian agreed.
“At the very least, she’d have the memory of the experience to draw from during her next attempt instead of blindly trying to make the connection,” Nord said.
She was intrigued by the idea, although Effie wasn’t sure how they were expecting her to accomplish this feat. As the Triumvirate, the Guardians used their telepathic powers to experience the Keepers’ visions. However, that required them to use their power. How exactly was she supposed to pluck memories from their minds in an attempt to better understand how to access her power when she couldn’t access it in the first place?
“Uh, guys . . .”
Lucian must have already picked up on the direction of her thoughts, either that or she’d unconsciously projected them. “Our power connects us, remember? You don’t have to do anything. I can simply recall the memory, and you’ll be able to experience it as if it were your own.”
“Really?”
The men nodded.
“Oh . . .” She’d known they could carry on conversations in their minds because of their power, but she hadn’t understood the full scope of what that connection allowed.
Lucian squeezed her shoulder. “Would you like to try it?”
“Might as well. Not like it can make me do any worse, can it?”
His lips twitched up in a smile, but he had the decency not to outright agree with her assessment.
“I’m happy to share—” Kael broke off at Lucian’s look. “Right, you’re up.”
Nord snickered and leaned back against the wall, his arms across his chest and one foot propped up behind him. Kael remained seated, his attention returning to the few books of prophecy they’d been able to recover from the citadel.
“Do you need me to close my eyes or anything?” Effie asked, looking up at Lucian.
He shrugged. “You don’t need to, but it might help you focus.”
“Here goes nothing,” she muttered, wrinkling her nose at him before closing her eyes.
Lucian chuckled and brushed his lips against her forehead. As he pulled back, an image started to take shape in her mind. It started as a dark blue cloud, the mist dissipating as images unfolded before her.
As the picture crystalized, Lucian’s thoughts merged with her own. It was then Effie realized, she would not be mere witness, but a participant. She was struck by the sensation of being in two places at once. Even though Effie could feel her physical body sitting in the chair, so too was she kneeling in the center of a tiled room. The chill from the floor permeated the thick leather of her pants, but it wasn’t enough to mute the dull throb of pain caused by kneeling for hours. Despite the ache, her—Lucian’s—body was frozen in place, without so much as a muscle twitch to expose his discomfort.
Anticipation swelled, as footsteps echoed loudly in the silence of the room.
“Initiates, rise.”
Soon the footsteps were replaced by the rustle of fabric as a dozen men rose in unison. From her position in the front, Effie could not make out any of the others around her, except as hazy outlines in her periphery.
“Through your studies here you have proven yourselves worthy of bearing the incredible power, and with it, the responsibility of the Brotherhood. Henceforth, you are a Guardian of life—in all its forms. Above all else, your primary duty is to maintain the balance. Together we are the beacons, protecting those unable to save themselves and guiding the ways of man to ensure the continued survival of all. Do you so solemnly swear?”
Pride rippled through her as Lucian’s deep voice rang out with a resounding, “Aye!”
“Come, then, and make your tribute.”
Lucian was the first to step forward. A man with black hair liberally streaked with silver and familiar umber eyes grinned as he approached.
“Your mother and father would be proud of the man you’ve become, nephew.”
Ancient grief rose in response to the words. Even though the emotion was not Effie’s, it lodged itself in her throat, making it almost impossible to breathe.
Those dark eyes missed nothing. “Aye, feel the sorrow, Lucian. Hold it close. ‘Tis your reminder of what we stand to lose when the balance is broken. Now, make your offering and step from this dais as a full Brother.”
Since being transformed it had been almost impossible to ignore the teasing allure of his gift. It called to him, a siren song that would have been irresistible if not for the iron-clad control he’d been taught. Instead of giving in to its call, he’d pushed it to the furthest corner of his mind, into a place hereto reserved for memories he chose to ignore. He could still feel it there, but it was no more than a dull hum.
Giving in to it now brought with it a heady sense of release. Electric tingles were already racing through his veins, eager to be unleashed. Lucian focused on the buzz of power, allowing it to fill his lungs and explode throughout his body.
Waves of power continued to build and crash within him until he could no longer separate himself from the sensation. The raw vitality was not just surging through his blood; it had taken over completely. He was no longer contained by something as insignificant as flesh; he was pure, unbound energy.
Light exploded around him, the world no longer a series of shapes and colors, but one breathtaking sea of golden light.
The part of Effie that could still distinguish herself from Lucian’s memory recognized his dull hum as the itch she couldn’t reach. Following Lucian’s example, Effie concentrated on the sensation and took a deep, calming breath. Understanding how he’d pushed the buzz away until it was a distant thought, she reversed the action. No stranger to compartmentalizing that which she did not want to remember, Effie pictured a door. One that was made of impenetrable metal and locked with several thick padlocks. As she continued to breathe deep, the imaginary locks began dropping to the floor with loud reverberating thuds. With each crash, light began to pulse along the edges of the door, growing in intensity until the last of the locks fell away.
Effie’s breath quickened, the hair on her arms and neck standing on end as what had laid dormant flared to life within her. Silently, the door swung open, filling her mind with more of the golden glow until there was no differentiation between the light and her consciousness.
Power did not simply exist within her, she was power.
Pure.
Potent.
Endless.
It filled her, finally alleviating that relentless itch. As her power swelled within her, her awareness shifted. She was still connected to Lucian, but no longer tied to a single memory. New images assaulted her, brushing up against the edges of her consciousness like playful cats begging for attention.