Page 9 of Dark Princess Emerging
Kian:Will do. I'm inviting them for a late lunch at two o'clock to be sure that you and Syssi make it back on time.
As Morelle shifted in her seat and looked at him instead of Brandon, Kian realized that she must have noticed the rapid exchange of texts and was wondering about it.
"Amanda and I are organizing more testing," he said. "We are exchanging ideas about the kinds of abilities we should test to see how your nullification works."
"When?" she asked.
Kian liked how direct Morelle was. Her speech patterns were similar to Jade's in that she didn't mince words, but somehow the effect was different. More refined.
"I'm inviting a few people to my mother's house for a late lunch, which reminds me that I should let her know so she can put her Odus to work." He typed a lengthy message to his mother, explaining Morelle's possible talent and the people he wanted to invite to her house for lunch.
When she replied immediately with an emoji of a thumbs up, he smiled. His mother had only recently started to use emojis in her texts, and she was having a blast with them.
"What kinds of powers will I have to nullify?" Morelle asked.
Should he tell her? Did it matter if she knew ahead of time?
Maybe. It was better if she didn't know.
"I'd rather not tell you to see if you can nullify their powers without knowing what they are."
Morelle nodded. "I knew that Syssi was a seer, and Amanda reminded me of the fact before handing the coin to Syssi. It will be interesting to see if not knowing makes a difference."
"I also want to test at what distance your power works and if you can aim it at a particular person or if it is blanket nullifying."
Brandon put his hand on Morelle's thigh. "You don't have to do this all at once. We can test some things today and continue with others tomorrow."
Determination settled over Morelle's features. The princess didn't back down from challenges. "I'd rather get answers sooner than later. Not knowing is stressful. Knowing my limits will help me control this so-called talent."
She was obviously not happy with what the Fates had given her, and Kian could understand that. But the truth was that most immortals who had powers above the standard thralling and shrouding were not too happy about them. Arwel would give away his gift if he could, and so would Cassandra. Toven, Kian wasn't sure about. Being able to compel others was too useful an ability to pass up, and as long as the one wielding the power used it conscientiously, Kian was glad to have the option to use it for the clan's benefit.
Drova, on the other hand, was too young to use it in any capacity, and if Morelle could nullify her power not just temporarily but for a while, that would definitely be beneficial for the clan.
His phone buzzed with another message from Amanda:Syssi suggests testing distance limitations, too. Does Morelle need a line of sight? Physical proximity? Can she nullify through walls?
All were excellent questions.
He typed back:We also need to check if she can selectively nullify and for how long.
"More test candidates?" Morelle asked.
"No, more parameters. Distance, selectivity, and duration of the effect. The more we understand about how your power works, the better we can utilize it."
"Or guard against it?" she asked.
Kian met her gaze. "The more control you have, the less chance of accidents."
6
ANNANI
After sending Kian the thumbs up, Annani instructed her Odus on what to prepare for lunch and took a moment to think about Morelle's talent.
She had never heard of such a power. None of the gods she had known could nullify another's power, but then they could not use their other talents on fellow gods either. They could only use them on immortals and humans.
It suddenly occurred to her that since not all gods were equal, it was possible that royals might be able to use their powers over commoners.
Things were different on Anumati, though. The Eternal King could compel the entire planet, other gods could read the minds of their fellow gods, and the rare duos like Aru and Aria could communicate telepathically.