54. Morelle

54

MORELLE

T he large dining table at Syssi and Kian's home buzzed with familiar energy, and Morelle's heart warmed as she observed her newfound family. Kalugal and Jacki secured their serious-faced little boy in his highchair, the child's solemn expression a stark contrast to Allegra's animated features as she made faces at Morelle and Jasmine from her seat beside Annani. Evie stubbornly clung to Dalhu's neck, refusing to sit in the highchair, while Alena's infant son slept peacefully in his stroller nearby.

Looking at these children, something fierce and primitive stirred in Morelle's gut, the intensity of it catching her off guard. She felt an absolute certainty that she would defend these little ones with her last breath and would destroy anyone who threatened them. The feeling was both foreign and natural, like accessing a part of herself that had always existed but lain dormant until now.

Under the tablecloth, Brandon's hand found hers. "Excited?" he asked softly.

"About what?"

"Moving in with me." He waggled his eyebrows playfully.

Her pulse quickened as she wondered if he was implying what she thought and hoped about tonight. But no, she knew her mate better by now.

Brandon had his ideas about how their physical relationship should progress, and he stuck to his plans with infuriating determination. He'd hinted at what he wanted to try next, though, and heat coursed through her body at the mere thought.

"I am excited about that," she admitted, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "I like having the primary bedroom with that huge bed. Did you have it made to your specifications?"

His laugh was rich and warm. "No, it came with the house. Ingrid, our interior designer, ordered all the furniture."

"That's somewhat disappointing." She looked at him from under lowered lashes, enjoying his intake of breath.

Brandon shifted in his chair, and Morelle felt a surge of satisfaction at successfully disturbing his carefully maintained equilibrium.

Across the table, Amanda's knowing look suggested that she hadn't missed their exchange. "We've made good progress with your ability this week," she said. "But we need to continue testing your limits. We have exciting stuff happening over the weekend, so I'm not going to bother you with tests until Monday."

"Good." Morelle managed a tight smile. "I can use the rest to settle into my new home. We're moving into Brandon's place."

"So I've heard." Amanda grinned. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Morelle said.

As the conversation drifted to logistics, with Amanda pondering where Jasmine and Ell-rom might live next and whether Guardians should be relocated to the original section of the village to vacate a house for them, Morelle retreated inward.

Her nullifying power was interesting, she supposed, but it was underwhelming compared to her brother's ability to kill with a thought. Deep in her bones, though, she knew there was something more significant hiding and waiting to manifest.

The frustrating part was not knowing what it might be or whether it would ever emerge.

The Mother knew Morelle had tried to access it back in the temple, desperate to prove herself to the head priestess. But it had been like chasing a half-remembered dream, always hovering just beyond her grasp.

Closing her eyes, Morelle tried to tune out the dinner conversation and peer inward. This wasn't the ideal time or place for such exploration, but something about the energy surrounding her tickled at those elusive edges of awareness.

It had something to do with her family. Their power was like a current she could feel flowing around her like invisible threads of energy that she might be able to touch, to shape into something else, something she could use.

But when she reached for that sensation, it slipped away like water through her fingers.

Opening her eyes with a frustrated sigh, Morelle told herself she was being fanciful. She wasn't really sensing their power; she couldn't actually touch or manipulate it. She was just tired from the day's activities—packing her belongings, working out with Gertrude, showering, and changing at Brandon's place before coming here.

"Are you alright?" Brandon's voice was pitched low for her ears only.

"Just thinking." She squeezed his hand under the table.

His thumb traced patterns on her palm that sent shivers up her arm. "About?"

"Everything. Nothing." She watched Allegra successfully make Evie giggle despite the girl's determination to remain serious and hide her face in her father's neck. "My family is incredible."

"That's good, right?"

"Definitely." She leaned against his shoulder. "Though I still feel like I'm waiting for something to happen."

He tensed. "Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe something more interesting about my nullifying ability. So far, it seems pretty useless."

Brandon didn't know about Ell-rom's talent, so she couldn't confess to him that she hoped for something equally powerful. The Mother had played a nasty trick on her and Ell-rom, giving them each powers that would have been better suited if switched.

She would have no problem killing with a thought those who deserved it, and Ell-rom would have been very happy with an ability that could stop her from doing that.

Could she stop him, though? Stifle his death ray like she'd snipped Jin's tether?

It was possible that she could do it, but testing it would be much more difficult than the other tests Amanda had come up with so far.