Page 259 of Hunters and Prey

Zarat sighed, clicking melodically under her breath.

“That is the problem,” she confessed. “We don’t know exactly. As I said, we’ve never worked with your dyad before. I don’t just mean me,” she added, glancing at Black. “I mean no one in our order has done so. None of our records contain any information about this, and they are hundreds of thousands of years old.”

Frowning, I glanced at Black.

I couldn’t read his expression exactly, but I could tell he wasn’t thrilled.

“Is there a chance it will make her worse?” he said, after a pause. “Or kill her?”

Zarat met his gaze from across the fire.

“There is always that chance, brother. Really, anything is possible, since, as I said, we have not done this before. But if you’re asking if I think it is likely, I would have to say no. I am much more concerned that one or both of you could face a type of ‘overload’ situation from the influx of unfamiliar power. You have complementary structures, but not the same structures. There could be a difficult adjustment period.”

“Great,” Black muttered. “What’s the upside, exactly?”

Zarat gave him a narrow smile.

“As you said. Control.” Pausing, she addressed the group as a whole. “Miriam cannot control these powers in part because she is being overwhelmed by the influx of power her awakening structures require to function. The Dragon structures are further along in the awakening phase… we believe due to use, but also due to the more extensive sight training of Mr. Black,” she added politely, motioning towards him.

Looking at me, she added,

“You were taught to hide these structures. By your father, I believe?”

When I nodded, pursing my lips, she smiled.

“Yes,” she said. “Well, it helped you when you were young. It is causing you problems now, however. You are suppressing and blocking, when you should be learning how to let the power flow so you can control it. Dragon won’t allow you to block it… at least, not if we are correct in our mapping. However, if we connect those parts of him to you more strongly, there is a good chance he could boost the power that hits you, and we do not know precisely what that will do. To either of you.”

Looking between me and Black, she added,

“The goal is, you would be able to learn these abilities together, through the symbiotic means that Dragon and Tortoise are meant to operate, once fully matured. The risk is, we may make both of you unstable by attempting to manipulate this process.”

She studied my eyes openly.

“Truthfully, we are most worried about you, Miriam. You were taught to block––to repress. Right now, the dimensional jumping is being activated when either your system is overloaded and you can’t hold the block… or when you are unconscious, and therefore loosening your grip on your own self-protective measures.”

Pausing, she added,

“It will mean you will be less able to keep out your mate… so there is a personal element in this, as well.”

From my right, someone let out a snort.

My eyes shifted around the circle, but I already knew who it was.

Revik was smiling, a cynical kind of amusement in his eyes as Black glared at him.

“You might have to grow up a bit faster, pup,” Revik said, that amusement audible in his voice. “That, or prepare to spend a lot of nights on the couch.”

Balidor chuckled at that, too.

Allie motioned at both of them to cut it out.

I caught her and Balidor’s wife exchanging a smile and an eyeroll, apparently at the expense of their husbands, but I could tell they were amused, too.

I looked at Black, expecting him to be even angrier, but now he was looking at me.

Before I could interpret his expression, he spoke.

“Are you okay with that, Miri?” he said.

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