Page 30 of Chaos Tempted

I shake my head slightly. The males are back to their bickering, and I don’t like it.

I imagine them calming their frayed nerves and getting along again. Energy seems to gather around my thoughts and floats over to them.

Oakes’ shoulders drop. Eldrin’s tight jaw relaxes.

That’s odd.

Oakes spins on his heel and stares at me. “Didyoudo that?”

“Do what?” I glance behind me as if he’s speaking to someone else.

“Influenceus.” Oakes looks as if he’s studying the air in the room. “I was feeling anxious, and then it was gone. I felt a complete calm wash over me.”

“Me too.” Eldrin narrows his eyes at me. “What happened?”

“I…” Nervously, I pull my knees up to my chest as a barrier to protect myself from their retaliation. Should I confess I was wishing to calm them down? Will they be angry or afraid if I really caninfluencethem? Will they send me away, fearing what I might be capable of?

“Be honest,” Eldrin orders but softly.

“I was thinking I didn’t want you to bicker, and I wanted you both to relax.”

“Anything else?” Oakes prompts, suspecting I’m withholding. With our bond, he might even know for certain that I am.

I gulp. “Well, after I imagined that, it felt like the air got thicker around me, and it moved toward you.”

“Stars!” Eldrin covers his mouth and steps in a frantic circle. He looks as if he doesn’t know if he should run or question me further.

“I’m sorry!” I cry out, feeling guilty that I manipulated my mates. “I won’t do it again! I promise! Please don’t be mad. I didn’t know I could do something like that!”

“Are you joking?” Eldrin laughs, booming like he has never done before.

His reaction startles me. Then I remember to use my mate bond to sense his emotions. Eldrin feels lighter than I’ve ever felt before… even after sex.

“I want you to practice that a million times,” the prince says excitedly.

Shocked, I gasp. “What? Why?”

Eldrin and Oakes both hurry to my sides and touch my shoulders to comfort me.

“Don’t you see?” Eldrin asks. “You can influence for peace. I knew you were meant to be a diplomat.”

“But isn’t it unethical to use influence on others?” I say hesitantly.

“Elves have been using it for thousands of years.” Oakes gives a half-smirk. “But we haven’t had aknownnatural practitioner of the art in a hundred years.”

“But won’t elves sense I’m using my power on them and be angry?” I ask, disbelief still in my voice that I evenhada power.

“I only noticed it because of my innate skills,” Oakes explains. “And you were crude in your approach.”

I jerk back in confusion. “Crude?”

Oakes chuckles. “I meant forceful. If you were to use this on an enemy, then I could help train you so you could slowly shift their mood. Subtle changes. So your target would believe they arrived at their current state all on their own.”

Eldrin holds up a hand to end Oakes’ impromptu lecture. “Wyn, I need you to be honest… Have you used this influence before?”

“I don’t think so. I never felt something quite like that energy.”

A horrible thought crashes into me like an avalanche, burying me with doubt and fear. Does Eldrin worry I might have influenced him in the past?

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