Page 32 of The Mating Fire
“Kill you? With an arrow? My dear it would take a great deal more than a simple steel-tipped arrow to do you any harm. I was testing your powers.”
“A heads up would have been nice!”
“And allow you could take the time to think it over, analyze the situation? No, you need to flex your powers instantly, use them as reflexes the same as you would with other parts of your body.”
He set the bow on a nearby stand and hung the quiver there as well.
“You have powers beyond your imagination,” he said softly.
“All this time you planned to target practice on me?”
“Perhaps.”
The noncommittal answer frustrated her. Harper blew out a breath. “Does it have something to do with why you brought me here?”
“You might say.” Jared stroked a hand along his bearded cheek. “Call me your temporary mentor. I wish to teach you how to use the magick you deny exists.”
Harper shook her head. “I still can’t believe this is happening to me. It feels like a dream.”
Jared waved a hand and the target vanished. “Is that a dream? My being able to make things disappear?”
She backed away as his expression tightened, and he advanced toward her. “Wake up Harper. This is not a dream, and you need to accept this is real and powerful and you are one of us. Not human. Everything has changed.”
It couldn’t be changed forever. Surely, she had some control over her life, over everything. “If you say I have this magick, then I should have powers to do whatever I wish.”
“I do not know the extent of your magick, only that you possess more powers than ordinary Others.” Jared came closer, his dark gaze burning into her. “Magick enough for the demon to covet what you have. That makes you dangerous, but now, you are vulnerable, like a newborn babe.”
Every nerve in her body quivered with anticipation as he lifted his hand and caressed her cheek. The gentleness in his touch and the intensity in his eyes stirred something in her, filled with wonder, awe and pure desire. What was it about this enigmatic man, who possessed a magick of his own, that cried out to her?
Logic dictated she should be fighting for a way to escape, to return to her previous life. Logic? No, sanity. She’d been kidnapped by a man who professed to be a demon and here she was, melting into him like a simpering, silly girl.
She was a scientist for crying out loud. Not a lovestruck girl.
You have powers beyond your imagination.
Harper looked around the courtyard. “This place is almost like a prison. Why do you isolate yourself here?”
He blinked. “I prefer solitude.”
“Solitude can be stifling.”
Jared stepped back. “If you dislike my home so much, find a way to escape. You have powers. Use them.”
Harper struggled with her emotions. “Fine. I’ll find a way out.”
Without another thought, she flung out her hand. Arrows sailed out of the quiver on Jared’s shoulder and flew through the air toward the stone wall.
They hit the stone and sank into it like a hot knife in butter. Harper’s breath hitched. She stared at her hands.
She had done this. She had imagined the arrows overcoming physics and penetrating the seemingly impenetrable rock. Her mind had envisioned it and made it happen.
Her entire life had revolved around trying to make something of herself, longing to be special and make a difference in the world. Always accepting a challenge because her parents had made growing up so tough with their constant disapproval and bickering. Never accepting her, encouraging her, making her feel as if she could never do anything right.
Now she had powers beyond anything she could ever imagine. Magick abilities that could sink mere arrows into rock. Who knows what else she could do?
Her mind zipped over the possibilities. She could endow herself with wealth enough to buy whatever she wanted. Or advance causes dear to her heart. She could…
“You believe me now.” Jared crossed his arms over his chest and regarded her with a level look. “Perhaps you will also believe me when I tell you Harper Ashley you are in incredible danger. There is a demon out there who knows what powers you have, and he will stop at nothing to drain your magick…
