Page 63 of Bound

“Was that not the appropriate mascot? Batteries are a primitive energy source. Are they not?”

“No, it was perfect,” Cara assured him. “But it also made me picture you covered in bright pink fur with a bass drum strapped to your belly.”

“The visual was priceless,” Flora agreed.

They got back to work, Flora guiding them through numerous unfamiliar exercises this time. As Cara warned, visualizations were less effective with her than they had been with Flora, so Flora tried a different approach. She eased into Cara’s mind and performed the skill, allowing her to feel it once or twice before Cara attempted it on her own.

“Clearly, you can manifest fire in your sleep,” Flora concluded. “See if you can produce anything else.”

“Guide me through it once,” Cara suggested. “That has worked with everything else.”

Cara felt her cousin slip into her mind and resisted the urge to push her out. It felt natural for Tov and Merrik to flow though her, but it still felt intrusive when anyone else’s energy mixed with hers. Still, they had done this numerous times and Flora was skilled and focused. She quickly demonstrated the transformation then withdrew from Cara’s mind.

Following her cousin’s example, Cara accepted the energy Merrik fed her and let it fill the conduit. Her fingers warmed. She felt Tov’s hand tighten against her throat and she pulled the flow of energy back.

“Water, not fire,” he insisted. “Fire is not challenging for you.”

She smiled because he was right. Manifesting fire was second nature. It required no effort at all. She forced out all the distractions and focused on reproducing the transformation Flora had demonstrated. Cara’s fingers tingled and her palms turned cold. She slowly released the flow of energy and droplets of water beaded on her skin. Merrik pushed another surge of energy into her mind, and Tov carefully controlled it as Cara shaped bigger droplets. They repeated the process over and over until water streamed from her hands.

“I hate you.” Flora pouted good-naturedly. “It took me weeks to control the exchange that well.”

They experimented with the other two elements for the next several hours. With extreme concentration they were able to produce several gusts of air, but they were unable to manifest earth.

“I think I’ll send for my ride,” Flora decided. “What you need right now is practice and experimentation. Oh, make sure you test your current limits before the mission. They will change greatly over time, but you need to know what you can dependably accomplish before you find yourself in danger.”

“Understood,” Tov said as he held out his hand in the human way. “Thank you for your assistance. We accomplished much more with your help than we could have on our own.”

“Anytime.” She shook Tov’s hand, hugged Cara, then shook Merrik’s hand. “Good luck with the rescue. I’ll be praying that everything runs smoothly.” She looked at Cara and smiled. “We’re all confident that you’re ready for your first mission. You’ll be fine.”

Cara accepted the encouragement with a nod, but tension knotted her belly. Flora’s first mission had been to blow up three malfunctioning ships on a largely automated moon. Cara’s triad would be walking into an enemy stronghold and facing off with Jevara himself. She wasn’t sure she would ever be ready for that.

CHAPTER9

Tov rubbed his forehead and sighed deeply as Laidon and Cylex started shouting at each otheragain.

“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” Cylex snarled, features twisting with resentment.

“You know nothing about the inner workings of the palace,” Laidon countered just as vehemently. “All you have ever done was—”

“Shut the fuck up!” Merrik yelled, coming up out of his seat. “You sound like a couple of adolescent girls fighting over the same boy.” Merrik looked as if he might reach across the table and bash their heads together. And Tov was ready to let him.

Laidon and Cylex had boarded theAgitarriearlier that morning. The rescue mission launched tomorrow so this was the final briefing. The entire team sat around a table in the room adjacent to the command center. The space was part office, part conference room, part lounge.

They were now an hour into the briefing and Cylex and Laidon were still arguing about everything. “Do you want to rescue these females or not?” Tov asked impatiently. “Fixating on the past is a waste of time and energy.”

“Have you two ever talked it out?” Cara had barely spoken since they entered the room. She didn’t know what to make of Laidon and she was still angry with Cylex for deceiving her. “Sometimes misconceptions contribute to conflicts and can be easily resolved.”

“There are no misconceptions,” Cylex insisted. “Laidon betrayed me. And when I had just about forgiven him for the first time, he betrayed me again.”

“Ibetrayedyou?” Laidon laughed, a harsh, humorless sound. “You became our enemy’s right hand! All I did was—”

“Sorry I asked,” Cara cut in. But instead of reverting to tense silence, she focused on Cylex. “Why did you go to work for Jevara? From what I hear, he is an utter waste of oxygen.”

“I had no choice,” Cylex gritted out between clenched teeth. “The situation I find myself in now is not unique. I have been coerced every step of the way.”

“There are always choices,” Laidon said, though his tone was less provoking than it had been before. “You knew I was about to build an army to resist Jevara. Why didn’t you join me?”

Cylex shook his head. “Turning yourself into a fugitive is a lot easier when you have only yourself to think about.”

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