“Red …” Brace’s tone held warning. He couldn’t step closer; my power held him at bay, but the glare came right across without a problem. “What are you doing?” You can’t just attach to any power source. What if you can’t handle the strength? You have to stop taking risks. I’m not at my best when you’re in danger.
While I thought it was cute the way he finished his lecture through our link, I was a little busy trying to deal with this influx of pure vitality. My tether continued to pull from the stones; my well seemed to be much larger than it had been on Nephilius. I was able to take so much more of the energy. The first two stones flickered and died out.
“Holy shit!” Lucy surged forward, her wings a flutter of light. “Abbs is well deserving of her kickass title.”
If I hadn’t been so busy I would have rolled my eyes at her. There was nothing special about me other than what my birth had gifted me. I had powerful parents. I was made of energy from the originals; that was my gift of birth.
As more of the stones flickered out, I quickly reached my well-holding limit. My locked-in legs wanted to crumble under the sudden onslaught of energy filling my entire being, but I pushed on. Another stone went dark.
This was the point where the full-to-bursting feeling indicated that I’d have to start grounding off some of the power. Instead I opened the part of myself which I had used once or twice to hold foreign energy. My good old filing cabinet.
It was a simple task to take the next surge of energy and, instead of emptying it into my overfilled well, I slotted it into the compartment, like slipping a file away for the night. For some unknown reason this worked the same way as grounding off the energy. The pressure eased in my well. I could tell by the way the slots filled in my ‘cabinet’ that this compartment also had a limit, and eventually I would fill this space. But still, this discovery was one of my more wicked abilities. It felt like a weapon which could be used against the Seventine. Something which might tip the scales in the final battle. Like a backup battery which would be waiting if I ran out of power against the Seventine.
“Red!” Brace’s call broke into my thoughts. “How are you doing this? You’re taking too much.”
I wanted to reply, but I couldn’t. Every facet of my being remained focused on draining the crystals and storing the energy. Over half the crystals were blinked out now, and so far nothing untoward had exited the strange, round room.
“She couldn’t take this much power on Nephilius,” Lasandra said, stepping closer to her son, “she must have discovered a way to ground out the power herself.”
Brace’s chest lifted as a few rumbly growls rocked him. “That would be all good,” he said, “except I can feel that she’s not removing that energy; it hasn’t left her body.”
Through our bond, he knew what was happening inside me, even though he was partially locked out at the moment. I could feel him tapping on the barrier which had erected between us when I’d started to draw in the energy. I hadn’t deliberately done it; it was a side effect of using my tether in this way.
“Share it with me, Red; you don’t have to do this alone.” Brace tried again.
I attempted to drop the barrier, but it wouldn’t budge. All of a sudden panic kicked in, which was not the best thing when I had this much energy riding me. I knew from previous experience if I didn’t drain every crystal, the energy would just reinsert itself and the barrier would be reinstated. There were only a couple of those glowing lights left to wick out. I could do this.
The filing cabinet was starting to fill and I wondered if I’d have enough space to finish this job. With a sense of desperation, I clawed at the barrier between Brace and me. Trying to find a sliver to break through and share these final portions of power.
All it took was one glance at my face and Brace knew I was in trouble. He surged forward with both his body and power, and smashed through the barrier between us. Our melding connection flared to life, and my mate took some of my energy with ease. He wasn’t even affected, just internally storing it with the zillion tons of power he already rocked. Lucky ass.
The pressure inside me eased.
I swear I never even knew what stress was until I met you, Red. His tone was resigned, but slightly amused.
I’m keeping you young, I quipped back.
His sigh was long and deep. It’s either that or you’re sending me to an early grave, but one thing I haven’t been since we met is bored. I had no idea how dull my existence was before you.
His last words – which were said in an offhand manner – warmed my heart.
Ready? We still had to drain the last stone. My well was full, my cabinet was full, but with Brace’s help I would finish.
Prepare yourself. I’ve no idea what sort of protections might be on this room. Que could have rigged it to do anything if an unauthorized entity broke the dome.
I swallowed. Colt’s ready to grab Lucy, right?