She cleared her throat and projected as much as she could, straining with the pressure both to make herself heard and keep herself upright. “I know word travels fast,” she said. “You all know I have joined you. And by now, you all know we have retrieved others like me. We—” she indicated the men beside her, drawing unexpected strength from them “—have gathered you here so there are no misunderstandings.”
She turned and indicated her girls, wincing as she felt the energy pulse away from herself as attention shifted. She spoke quickly, drawing it back to herself to spare them. “We all feel the Spark within us. There’s a pressure, a reaction that builds upon so many of us living and working together. The stronger we are, the stronger the weight. The stronger the pull on our attention and focus. But there are more of you than there are of us, at least for the time being. We need you to be mindful of that. I’m here now asking you to help us deal with the pressure and curb the demands on our time and attention as we settle into a routine.”
“And how long exactly,” Guardian Wils’s voice rang out, “are we expected to wait to have…access?”
“These are my students, Guardian. My Wards. And as such, they will be left alone to learn. There will be no sneaking around to catch a glimpse or dares to get their attention.” She let her stare strafe across the students. “There will be no…dinners to get to know them. No whining about access. It’s simple: there will be none.”
Now she had Wils’s attention, but only for a moment. He snapped a look back to the girls. To one girl. She couldn’t see which he’d selected, but it was clear that he’d already made a decision to have one of the girls she’d sworn to protect.
“You will not touch them, attempt to influence them, or act inappropriately in any way.” Lena’s glare bored into Wils’s face, demanding that he turn his attention to her, that he hear her words. “You will leave us alone. We don’t owe you anything, any more than you owe the unpowered the use of your bodies and skill. We are all working toward a new world where Sparks are more than tools to be used and discarded. We will achieve that vision. Do not presume to define our place in that world for us. The key to success is mutual respect.”
A derisive snort came from the front row. She looked at the man who’d made it. She’d been waiting.
“Or what?” Wils turned his attention from her girls to Thomas. “Are you going to allow this—” he swept an ugly look over Lena “—little girl to stand before us and talk to all of us like this? Our end goal requires one thing and one thing only from all of them.”
She could feel the flash of heat from Alex.
Before he could erupt, Thomas held up a hand. When Wils continued for a moment, Thomas’s voice lashed out like a whip. “That’s enough!”
Wils stopped talking, but he stood up, snugging down his shirt and curling his lip in disdain.
“We brought Lena here to learn and to see what we could offer her, not the other way around. She is an ally—a powerful ally.” Thomas stopped to spear Wils with a look of disgust. “Instead of treating her with honor, you made demands of her, whispered and plotted to gain access and favors. And then you have the audacity to be offended when she puts an end to it?” He shook his head. “Perhaps they require a demonstration, Lena.”
Her lips curved into a smile. “Guardian Wils,” she all but purred, “perhaps you’ll help me?”
A faint ripple of laughter, more expectant than amused, rolled across the Guardians and Wards. They wanted to finally see what she could do. They’d been waiting. The anticipation pulsed against her.
Wils crossed his arms across his chest.
“You teach the Wards control, do you not? So I invite you to do what you’ve wanted from the beginning. Control me.”
His brows bunched together. He had a moment of cockiness, both annoyed and confident for a moment longer before his sureness became concern. Concern flowed into panic. He reached out a hand and batted at the railing in front of himself, finally gripping it with failing strength as she took his breath.
“Stop me, Guardian Wils,” she invited, “whenever you’re ready.”
He fell to his knees, eyes bulging. His face had purpled.
“Lena,” Alex murmured.
But she wasn’t done. She waited until his eyes rolled back into his head before she allowed him to collapse to the floor. The sound of his sudden breath wheezing in and out of his lungs filled the otherwise silent auditorium.
She lifted her chin. “We are meant to work together. We are made to work together. I am your ally.” She tilted her head and regarded them, gaze moving over them, touching as many individually as she could before her focus snapped. She didn’t have long. “Until the moment you decide I am not. Please don’t make that decision.”
She stepped back. The barrier she had erected in her mind sagged, melted, and left her with nothing to use as a bar to the invading energy. She strode away, her heels cracking across the floor of the auditorium.