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“Is her power that great?” he asked.
Mercy kept silent, afraid she had already said too much.
“Eve has equal measures of Ansara and Raintree power,” Judah said in astonishment. “She inherited your powers and mine, didn’t she? My God, do you realize…? Our child possesses more power than anyone in either clan.”
“More than you or I.” Mercy bowed her head and silently uttered an ancient incantation.
Judah grabbed her. She gasped, startled by his actions, not realizing that he had somehow figured out what she was doing.
“It won’t work,” he told her. “You cannot use your magic on
me. Surely you know I won’t allow you to—”
Mercy focused, sending a sharp mental blow to Judah’s body, hitting him square in the stomach. He groaned as the shock wave hit him, then narrowed his gaze, burning through the shield around Mercy, retaliating with a searing pain that radiated from her belly. She cried out, then vanquished the fire inside her.
“Do you truly believe you are as strong as I am, that you are capable of defeating me?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He stared at her, apparently skeptical, unable to believe that her power not only equaled his but might surpass it. As they stood there glaring at each other, neither backing down nor escalating the battle, Judah studied her intently.
“You’re different,” he told her. “And it’s more than that you’ve matured into the premiere empath that you are today. That was always your destiny.”
She held her breath, realizing that he was on the verge of understanding a truth that even she herself had not wanted to accept.
“Having my child changed you,” Judah said. “Giving birth to Eve increased your powers. You, too, are more than Raintree, aren’t you?”
“No, I am not—”
“Quiet!” Judah issued the order in a commanding manner. “Control your tongue and your thoughts.”
“Why? Tell me—what are you so afraid of? Is this enemy of yours powerful enough to threaten your very life?”
Judah ruled the Ansara, his power unequaled by any other, not even his half brother. He, not Cael, was the superior, the mightiest of all Ansara, but he could control his brother only to a certain extent and only for brief periods of time. Cael was at this very moment fighting the spell that had quieted his telepathic abilities. His fiendish curses were bombarding Judah, who knew he could not deal with Mercy Raintree and Cael Ansara at the same time. Both were powerful creatures, each his enemy.
Cael’s thoughts converged into a jumbled mass of hysteria and rage, but as he fought Judah’s spell, he revealed more of his inner self than he realized. Cael was determined to escalate the impending war, the final Ansara and Raintree battle, and he had set events into motion that could not be stopped.
Judah’s head pounded with the knowledge of his brother’s treachery—not only against himself but against the entire tribe. The Ansara were not ready for the final battle. Not yet. If Cael forced them to fight now, they could be defeated. And this time, they could not count on the Raintrees’ benevolence. Two hundred years ago the Raintree had allowed a handful of Ansara to live, one the youngest daughter of the old Dranir. It was through her—Dranira Melisande—that the royal bloodline had survived.
“Judah?” Mercy called his name again.
“Silence!”
Do not issue me orders, she told him telepathically.
If you wish to keep your child safe, protect not only your spoken words but your thoughts, Judah warned her.
She stared at him but said nothing. Then he felt a shield lift between them. Even if Mercy knew nothing of Cael, she understood that someone—other than Judah—posed a threat to Eve.
FOUR
“That beast is not staying the night here at the sanctuary,” Sidonia said vehemently. “You cannot allow it.”
“He is staying,” Mercy replied. “Until we can decide how best to protect Eve.”
Sidonia grabbed Mercy’s arm. “He’s the one you need to protect her from. He is an Ansara, the vilest creature on earth. Pure evil.”
“Hush up,” Mercy warned.
