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"Why?" she asked.
Another good question. One I took a moment to respond to.
"I wasn't sure if it would react to a witch. There's something about shifters." I shrugged. "I thought maybe it was just us. I guess it wasn't. Unless you're part shifter." I chuckled at the idea.
Her eyes widened slightly and she swallowed. "Right. Haha."
I frowned. Her mind was almost as guarded as a shifter. Could she be— That would explain a lot. Like why the witches wanted her out so badly. And why Dex let her in here. Did he know? He must have suspected something. The man all but dragged his tongue across the floor every time her name came up.
"What?" she asked.
I regarded her for a long moment. "The dried flowers in your bag."
She stiffened. "What about them?"
"You draw power from them," I guessed. "You don't need incantations or objects."
For a while I thought she might deny it. Then she exhaled through pursed lips.
"Yes, that's it," she said. "From the scent of things and people around me."
My whole face twitched. "From me?" That would explain how she took my exhaustion away the other night. At the time, I assumed she had some small artefact, maybe her earrings. Now I knew that wasn't the case.
She looked uncomfortable. "Only once. Or twice."
"The Covener knew?"
She gave me a flat stare. "Of course he does, but he wants it kept a secret."
"Too bad for him," I said dryly. No wonder he wanted her gone. The ability to use power without effort would be dangerous. If other witches knew, they'd want the ability too. I ran a hand over my forehead. So would the shifters. Lucky for us, she was here, not with the Council.
"My mother came from a poor family. My father married her for her power. He had no idea her bloodline was so different." Viva looked bitter.
I nodded. Clearly she expected to be used or mocked. I would do neither. But it would satisfy my curiosity.
"Why, are you?" I was more direct than I intended, but once the words were out, they were out.
"I…" She glanced around. "I think you know why."
I thought, then nodded slowly. "Because you have shifter blood."
"The witches call it tainted," she said. "What would you call it?" She lifted her chin and gave me a challenging look.
Damn, the woman was hot enough to set my soul on fire.
"Well, not tainted," I replied. "Shifter blood is the best thing going."
She looked surprised for a moment, then smiled. "You would think that."
"Damn right I would," I agreed.
"What about the witch blood?" she asked.
I hesitated. I could very easily say the wrong thing here. I doubted she'd hesitate to put a knee in my groin if I did.
"Can you shift?" I asked.
"I have no idea," she replied. "If I can, I haven't yet."
