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A waft of life force, ten times as giddying as what the plants can offer, sweeps into me. A shiver runs through my body, welcoming it.
Lance shivers too, his jaw flexing. The subtle signal of discomfort chills me.
I let go with a jerk of my tentacles back toward my body as they emerge another tiny bit farther. The extra energy dances through my chest and limbs, but I feel sick at the same time.
“You were right,” I say to Rollick. “I can take from shadowkind. It was a little hard getting started, but I think it’d be easier now that I know what to expect.”
“Good to have the confirmation, although it seems unlikely that our main foe will have many if any shadowkind still on his side.” Rollick glances at Riva. “The most important test is how quickly and effectively you can drain a fellow shadowblood.”
My pulse stutters. Of course Riva isn’t here just to offer moral support—she’s another target.
The thought shouldn’t horrify me as much as it does. I didn’t flinch when I watched her inflict her talent on Jacob and Zian. But then,sheobviously balked at doing it.
I once pieced this woman back together from the brink of death. I’ve refused to sacrifice any part of my talent or the monstrous appendages that come with it so that I can be ready whenever she needs me again.
Nothing could feel more wrong than to steal any of the life I’ve preserved so carefully away from her.
Riva takes the same spot Lance did. She smiles at me without any sign of concern. “I’ll be fine. I’ve got lots of strength. And every time I usemypower, I replenish it.”
I don’t really think I could hurt her badly by accident. My mind can’t even wrap itself around the idea. But nausea bubbles in my gut just at making myself pretend that I’m going to attack her.
I close my eyes for a second. This isforher too, isn’t it?
To make sure I’ll be prepared to defend her from every enemy we might encounter in the days ahead… including the ones with shadows in their blood like us.
I hold on to that justification and fix my gaze on Riva. My tentacles extend toward her.
Memories of much more pleasant encounters tickle up in the back of my mind. The first time she kissed one of my suckers… The way she’s accepted my tentacles right inside her…
I shut down that line of thinking before my face can flush too much and yank myself back to the present. All I need is a little tug of energy out of her. Just enough to tell if it’ll be much more difficult than I expect.
I’m aware of her presence in multiple ways—the quiver of connection through our marks, the tingle of the talents she could lend me, and the pulse of life resonating through her body. I narrow my attention down to the last of those and ever so tentatively pull.
Energy flares into my chest with a hitch of my heart. I drop my tentacles before Riva can do more than rasp a breath, my throat choking up. “I’m sorry—it was even faster than—”
“Hey, I’m okay.” Riva hurries over to me and grasps my arm. There’s still color in her cheeks; her eyes still shine as vividly as I’m used to. “It was just a little jab. I’ve feltwayworse.”
Rollick cocks his head. “You drew on her energy more easily than with a regular human?”
I nod. “That felt more natural than even siphoning from the plants, especially considering the distance.” I pause in queasy contemplation. “But I don’t know if that’s because we’re both shadowbloods or because of the other connections we’ve formed.”
Sorsha, who’s watched most of the demonstration in silence, raises her eyebrows. “The six of you who grew up together are all pretty tightly connected now, aren’t you? We don’t have any other shadowbloods like you around, but you could give a different sort of hybrid a try.” She spreads her arms.
She talks as casually about it as Lance did, but I can’t help asking, “Are you sure?”
After seeing her phoenix fire consume Balthazar’s villa in a matter of seconds, I definitely do not want to piss this woman off.
Sorsha laughs. “That’s what we’re here for. I’m kind of curious how it feels.”
She walks over to the target spot, and I cautiously lift my tentacles again. The warble of her body’s energies does feel pretty similar to Riva’s, although with a deeper crackle of power that sends goosebumps rippling up my arms.
I reach and take an even smaller gulp now that I’m prepared. Sorsha gives her body a little shake. “That wasn’t bad at all.”
Rollick is studying me. “Still easier?”
“Yeah.” I look down at my tentacles as they coil closer around my shoulders. “I guess the shadowblood energy matches the best with my own, so it’s the simplest to take in.”
“Sounds like as good an explanation as any.” Rollick gives me another crooked smile. “Somehow I’m guessing you’d rather not extend the practice beyond our initial experiments.”
