Page 133 of Bound
Though he appears confused, Renvi nods. “Direct contact works best. The longer the contact, the easier it is to read a person. To filter my emotions into theirs so I can see and feel everything they do.”
My stomach flips.
Like I have been doing with Gage.
Gage releases me and turns me toward him. He lifts my hair, emerald eyes nearly black as he seems to scour my skin.
“Gage? What? What’s wrong?”
He lifts my arms, turning them in the light and stops dead. His already moonlight skin pales. “Amoret? How did these happen?”
I look down, taking in the small faded pinpricks from when I woke up in the cell with him. “I don’t know. They were there when I came to.”
Fire bursts from his shoulders. “Those fucking pricks.”
“Gage,” Ruin says in warning.
“They fucking injected her.” His words echo through the space. “They injected her with whatever makes Renvi’s magick work. She can use his power and she never fucking touched him.”
I pull from Gage’s hold and grip his face. “Gage, look at me.” His eyes are alive with his fire, their depths smoldering and hungry. “I love you.”
For a moment, he just watches me. Then the fire curls back into his skin and he hauls me into his front. His bigger body holds a fine tremble, but no one says a word.
“Is that possible?” Nisha asks after a time. “I’ve never heard of anything like that.”
“In theory?” Markus intones. “Perhaps.” He turns to Gage. “You said those men, the soldiers, they did things that humans could not do?”
Gage’s hand tighten over my back, a silent signal for me to stay against him. But I have no intention of leaving his side. “Yes. Psychic abilities and gifts that Fae would possess. One lifted their leader and slammed him into a wall without touching him.”
“Jarrah had a similar gift,” Bran says as he nears. “I only ever saw him use it once though.” His eyes meet mine and I know he remembers the same day I do. The one and only time they fought.
“That’s like some comic book shit,” Tanner mutters. “Taking powers from another and giving them to humans.”
“Though I agree with Tanner, the better thing to wonder is why,” Markus says. “What did they hope to achieve?”
“They didn’t hope to achieve anything.” We look over as Horan approaches, a single sheet of white paper in his hand. “They achieved it.”
“What are you talking about?” Ruin asks.
Horan hands the page to Markus. “That just came through by fax. The sample you sent to the University?” he asks Gage, who nods, “It was a Brightex core strand.”
“The core strand?” Gage murmurs.
“All the power amping capabilities without the side effects of the original.” His eyes glow with amber light. “They perfected the fucking formula, and I would bet my sword they used it on your soldiers.”
“Why? Why would humans need something like that?” Tanner asks, confusion coloring his tone as he looks around.
Horan crosses his arms. “Don’t you get it?” Everyone stares at him and his sigh is hard. “They did it because of us. Because of supes.” The silence leaves blood roaring in my ears, and I’m not the only one who seems struck by that statement. “The humans created a super soldier because of us. They took their own people, individuals they could control with no outside sanctions, no additional rules or laws, and jacked them up with our powers. With our magick and Brightex.”
“We govern our own,” Markus says into the silence, his tone hard. “We have never used their military or police forces to handle a supernatural offense.”
Horan’s eyes are cold. And aged beyond his youthful appearance. “Well, I hate to break it to you, but it looks like that shit is fixing to change.”
