Page 8 of Dark Princess Emerging

"What's happening?"

"Amanda and Syssi are testing a theory," Brandon said. "They need Morelle out of the room to conduct the experiment."

"I see." The redhead smoothed a hand over his short beard. "I might as well entertain you with some stories as we wait. This very spot where we are standing now is where we fought off a group of vicious Doomers. My brother and I bought time for Kian, Amanda, and Syssi to escape."

Morelle frowned. "If this location was compromised, why does Amanda still work here?"

A smile curled the redhead's lips. "You think like a warrior. I like it. And to answer your question, the location is no longer compromised because we eliminated those Doomers. And their leader?" He paused for effect. "He became Amanda's mate."

"What?" Morelle stared at him in disbelief. She opened her mouth to ask more questions when the laboratory door opened.

"All clear," Amanda announced cheerfully. "Syssi's abilities are working normally now."

"That's a relief." Morelle put a hand over her chest.

Syssi joined them in the hallway. "Since we can't conduct any more tests here, how about we go see the nursery now?"

"I would love to." Morelle cast a quick glance at Kian. "If you have time, that is. I know you are eager to return to your office."

He chuckled. "And miss the opportunity to see my princess? No way."

For a moment, she got confused but then realized that Kian had meant his daughter. For some reason, Earth males used princess as a term of endearment.

As they headed toward the ground floor, Morelle's mind raced with implications. If she truly was a nullifier, what did that mean for her place in the clan? Would they see it as an asset or a threat?

Brandon squeezed her hand as if he could read her thoughts. Perhaps he could. He seemed to have an uncanny ability to sense her moods. Then again, if she was a null, she would have nullified his ability, right?

This discovery was very confusing and kind of disappointing. She'd hoped for something much grander than the ability to nullify the talents of others.

5

KIAN

As the limousine glided along the winding road back to the village, Kian considered the implications of what they'd discovered earlier.

The tactical advantages of a null, someone who could potentially neutralize the abilities of others, were immediately apparent. Morelle could be effective against any enemy who possessed supernatural abilities, but most Doomers didn't have any beyond thralling, and even that was limited to humans and could affect a minimal number of them. She might be useful against Navuh's compulsion power, without which he would lose his hold over his followers, and that could be tremendously helpful in taking over the island. But the question was how strong her nullification was and from how far it could be implemented.

Given that Ell-rom had used his power next to Morelle and her nullifying hadn't affected him, it probably meant that her power wasn't all that strong.

Then again, she had been a kid at the time, and her power might not have fully manifested yet. Morelle and Ell-rom were twins,but they were fraternal, not identical, and the discovery that they had different powers really wasn’t surprising.

If her nullifying ability was strong, though, she could pose a threat to the clan if she turned against them for some reason.

The tenuous peace and cooperation in the village was in part reliant on the compulsion placed on all members not to harm each other. Morelle could potentially nullify the compulsion, releasing everyone to act as they pleased.

It wasn't a likely scenario, but the issue needed to be addressed.

First, though, they needed to find out the extent of her power, and he didn't want to wait a moment longer than necessary to do that.

Kian pulled out his phone and typed a message to Amanda:Can you wrap up things early and return to the village? We need to continue testing Morelle's ability ASAP.

Her response came quickly:I need to finish a few things first, but Syssi and I will try to get back as soon as we can. Need to coordinate test subjects. Cassandra would be ideal because her explosions are easy to verify. Can you check with Onegus if she's working from home today?

Cassandra's power was indeed perfect for testing Morelle. There was no ambiguity when she made things explode, especially not now after all the training she had put into gaining better control over her talent. He forwarded the request to Onegus, asking him to check with his mate about her availability.

When the chief answered a few moments later that Cassandra was available, Kian texted Amanda.Done.Cassandra is ready when we are. I suggest we test Morelle's nullifying power onArwel. Poor guy would love a break from everyone's emotions. We could try Toven's compulsion, too, though that's trickier to test.

Amanda: Good choices. Can you arrange for them to be available? We can do the testing at Mother's house.