Page 31 of Chaos Tempted

“You don’t believe your feelings for me are true now, do you? You think that I could havemadeyou love me…” My heart clenches, expecting his dreaded confirmation. “Oh, my stars! What if Ididthat by accident?”

“No. My sweet princess. I know how I feel about you.” Eldrin kisses my cheek and strokes my hair to calm me. “You can’t shift someone tothatextent.”

“Are you sure?” I look to Oakes for his answer. “Could I havemadeyou love me?”

“The Gift of Influence doesn’t work on love. It’s a sacred emotion.” Oakes squeezes my hand. “Lust and obsession can be influenced. But what we feel goes deeper than our base urges right from the beginning.”

“Oh, good.” I breathe easier. “I wouldn’t ever want to do that to anyone. I wouldn’t be able to believe you ever really loved me.”

“Put it out of your mind. We do.” Oakes kisses my forehead and then rubs his chin in thought. “But back to your gift… We might have triggered a latent talent in you with our mate bond. It has been known to happen, especially with young elves who haven’t yet found their power.”

“But I’m not an elf,” I argue.

“As I’ve told you before, humans can possess magic too,” Oakes says, as if scolding me.

I ignore his admonishment. “Or could it be Twyla’s gift, bleeding over to me?”

Eldrin’s eyes go wide. “You have an excellent point. A changeling such as her, positioned in a seat of power, could useher influence on King Nathaniel when the time was right. A mage could have drawn out her powers early. Perhaps it is a gift that runs in her family line?”

“Twyla could have influenced King Nathaniel for years,” Oakes agrees. “She may have influenceduswhen we were in the mortal realm, making us trust her. Perhaps that is why Twyla encouraged Wyn to mate with us.”

“To spy through their connection?” Eldrin asks.

“Anything is possible.” Oakes fully faces me again and stares at me intently. “Which is why we need to make sure Wyn can block her mind from Twyla.”

“And Twyla’s influence…ifshe has that power, too,” Eldrin adds.

“If Twyla has influencer magic, shouldn’t we warn my father?” I ask.

“We don’t know if Twylahasthis power.” Oakes shakes his head and paces his room. “We only know that you could conjure the magic just now.Once. Do you think you can do it again?”

“I will try.” I wonder what emotion I should conjure. Wanting to break some of the tension in the room, I wish the males would feel excited instead of concerned. I imagine a bubble of energy around the thought and see it as a haze drifting to both of them.

Eldrin bounces on his feet.

Oakes’ eyes dart around the room. “Excitement?”

“Oh, my stars!” I gasp in awe. “I can do it.”

“We will need to do more experiments and see if you can influence others besides us,” Oakes says with authority. “And at different times. Different creatures. Elves. Humans. Faeries.”

“Ghouls?” I crinkle my nose.

“Just don’t try it with my father or his commander, Turgon,” Eldrin says quickly. “Theywillknow.”

It’s not until after the sun has set that Jaden finally joins us in Eldrin’s dining room.

Eldrin smiles easily at his advisor’s arrival. I’m happy to see that the tension between them has truly dissipated since they talked out their previous pains concerning Jaden’s former betrothed. I’ve been sensing something else coming up between them. Something that was buried a long time ago, and I wonder if Eldrin will ever speak of it or follow his desires.

“What news do you bring us?” Eldrin asks.

“Unfortunately, King Magnus has either trained his guards too well or they know nothing to begin with.”

“And what of our people?” Eldrin prompts.

“The head guards, Ratha and Corwin, have interviewed and found no new guards they didn’t trust.”

“And you trustthem?” Eldrin asks.

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