Page 70 of Tell No Tales
Yvette slid her feet to the floor and patted Vadim's knee. "Captain, now would be a good time to give Klaus the ship tour, or a sip of rum, if you've already had the tour."
Vadim swallowed his regret. He'd wanted to be the one to show Klaus around the ship and explain the differences, but it was Nola's ship, and she was better suited to it.
"I won't be long, I hope," he said as Klaus released his hand. It wasn't the same with his gloves on, but it was a sweet gesture, nonetheless.
"Nice to meet you," Yvette said as Klaus reluctantly followed the captain into the hold.
"He is a sweet man," she said once the door closed between them. "What is he doing with you?"
He wished he had an answer.
Yvette didn't wait for one, either. She tugged off his gloves with a single downward pull and sat on the floor cross-legged, motioning for him to do the same in the little space available. "I've blocked Coryn's access to me the way I showed you, but it's a little different. It's more like I'm holding myself in, rather than keeping her out."
She held her hands out to him, palms up. "Place your hands in mine."
He did, and he felt her presence tug at his mind. "Let me in."
He allowed her thoughts to mingle with his, and it very much felt like Coryn's invasion."I'm trying to link with you to access your power. Can you feel it?"
"Yes."
"Stop me."
Yvette's pull on his mind was more like Niall's than Coryn's. He snorted a laugh. He'd been so wrong to think Niall was a siphon. He didn't know how to stop Yvette, though. Three times, she took all his power from him and pooled it above their heads, only to cycle it back to him when he couldn't stop her. A half-hour later, he was exhausted and still didn't have the first clue how to kick her out of his mind.
"You gave me permission to be here,"Yvette reminded him."Coryn has permission, too, but don't give her consent to use your power."
"Again?" Yvette asked as she returned his power to him after a fourth attempt.
He sighed. "Yes." He had to get it right, or Coryn would be able to use his power to hurt his friends.
He recognized his own power differently now that it had been taken from him and returned. It was a part of him, but it was also a foreign entity. It connected to his core being, but it had boundaries where it ended and his consciousness began. He'd never considered his thoughts and his core separately before, but they were. With his mind, he could build a barricade around his core, his magical essence.
He felt Yvette's tug on his power, and he slammed a wall between them.
She smirked.
It was working. She moved faster, searching for a way in, but Vadim was fast, too, thanks to his battle of wills against Martiz, one he'd finally won when he'd leaned into Martiz's blade, forcing him to cut too deep, even as Martiz tried to shove his dick down Vadim's throat.
"Fuck." Yvette pulled back from him. "I did not need to see that."
"Sorry." He hadn't meant to share it, but the rage-fueled memory had given him the strength he needed to build the wall between them.
"No, that's good. You've made it impenetrable. Can you feel my attempts?"
Vadim nodded. He felt her pushing against the wall, but his resolve was strong. "Do you block your core all the time?"
"When I'm not using my power. When I am, I think of a small window, one I can open and let my power out. It shouldn't work, let alone make sense—"
"Yes, it does." Vadim closed his eyes and did the same, imagining a window through which he could direct his power. He didn't send it to Yvette, though. It was tempting to shove it at Devon, but it wasn't worth it. Klaus had survived his fall overboard.
"I wouldn't need the gloves," he whispered. "Is that right?"
"You wouldn't." Yvette stood and extended her hand to help him off the floor. "They are nice gloves, and indestructible, thanks to the enchantment."
He slipped them into his back pocket. "They keep my fingers from going numb in the cold. I'll still wear them sometimes."
"Have you told your crew what happened after that battle?"
