Page 53 of Stone Seduction
Great. A condescending attitude. My favorite.
“Anyway, you look lovely,” he added. “Although the hair…” He didn’t finish.
Shady bastard. Yes, because his fur wasn’t an affront to all taste.
Luna joined us. “Remove your jacket.”
What, no hello?
I did as she asked, and Seth took it from me.
The enchanter flexed her fingers. “The bracelet grants me access to your powers.”
“What?”
“I open and close the connection,” she said. “It helps to regulate you and provide this training to hone your skills.”
Seth carried on. “This facility is heavily warded against outside interference or escape.”
My brain performed a backflip. “Escape?”
He blew a smoke ring at the ceiling. “There are monsters here.”
My stomach dropped. “Oh.”
“Yes. Oh. We’re going to be testing every avenue of your powers under safe conditions.” He stretched his arms. “Welcome to our special place.”
Luna nodded enthusiastically, her smile freaking me out.
“You are this facility’s crowning jewel,” Seth added. “Built especially for you, because of what I saw that night at Crab Cove.”
“And since,” Luna chimed in.
Why did he have to mention Crab Cove? The holes in my memory gaped, reminding me of their emptiness.
Beach.
Beach.
Finn.
Finn.
Water.
I shook them off, not wanting to drift away in the presence of these two. The more focused on the situation I was, the better. Show them my strength—which currently resembled frayed lace.
“So, you built a training ground,” I said, standing straighter.
Seth smiled. “We did.”
This was a lot to process. Terrifying. Kind of exciting. I mean, as much as I didn’t want to be this weapon, a deep craving to use my skills woke up.
Hello, again.
Luna’s frostiness returned. “We shall begin with your stealing power. Test it against a prepared monster. After that, wecan see how you wield your acquired skills. The goal is to reach a point of mastery for when you confront the enemy.”
Meaning Ember. As if she knew the first thing about Ember.
