Page 2 of Dark Princess Ascending

Syssi set Allegra down on the couch and handed her the phone to play with, which she rarely did, no doubt because she didn't want their daughter to get anywhere near the fireplace.

Perhaps after their guests left, he should push the couch against the fireplace so they wouldn't have to restrict Allegra's mobility until the mantel got pulled down. Their daughter wouldn't like having to stay away from her favorite room in the house.

"Their abilities could be connected somehow," Syssi said. "They're twins, after all."

"It's possible," Amanda said, reaching into her purse and pulling out her tablet. "Right now, I'm still struggling with understanding how Morelle'snullifying ability relates to the telekinetic force, but I cannot think of what the two could have in common. On the face of things, they seem to be opposites."

Evie had fallen asleep in her father's arms, and Amanda went to take her, but Dalhu shook his head. "It's okay. I've got her."

Amanda smiled fondly at her mate. "It's also okay for you to admit that you just want to hold her because you got scared."

"I'm not denying it." Dalhu turned to Annani. "If it's okay with you, Clan Mother, I would like to start bringing Evie over to you much more often. I want her to transition as soon as possible."

A pang of guilt shot through Kian. Dalhu, along with every other clan member except for Kian and Alena, still believed that the little girl Dormants transitioned just from being around Annani. Kian carried the burden of keeping the real method a secret, but since his mother's safety was at stake, he preferred to feel guilty rather than expose his mother to peril.

Her blood's ability to induce the transition of young female Dormants would have to remain a secret.

With five gods in their community, the secret was a little less daunting now that Annani was no longer the only source of the miraculous healing godly blood, but Kian still wasn't going to reveal iteven to his two other sisters. It was up to his mother.

Amanda detached the stylus and started jotting notes on her tablet. "I'm already brainstorming ideas, so I'll have something by Monday to start testing." She lifted her head and smiled. "But it's going to be a busy weekend, so I don't know how much I will manage to do."

"Oh, right. Tomorrow is Rob's induction ceremony." Syssi turned to Kian. "Do you have anything special planned?"

He frowned. "Should I? I always say more or less the same thing." He looked at Amanda. "Are you in charge of organizing that event as well?"

She was arranging a wedding party for Marina and Peter nearly singlehandedly, so he doubted she would have the time or energy to organize a party for Rob as well.

"Not this time." Amanda put the tablet on the coffee table. "Since Arwel is Rob's inducer, Jin took it upon herself, and Margo and Frankie are helping."

"I should offer to help as well," Jasmine said. "After all, I feel responsible for getting Rob here. I pressured Margo to confront him with what she knew about Lynda to save him from a disastrous marriage."

"That's right." Amanda cast her a smile. "Rob owes you a big thank you. The dude is so happy now with Gertrude."

"He moved on fast," Syssi murmured. "I would have expected him to mourn his doomed relationship a bit longer."

"He dodged a bullet," Amanda said. "Speaking of which, I wonder if Morelle can deflect bullets." She picked up the tablet and started writing again. "I have a feeling that she can only summon her telekinetic energy in an emergency, so I might have to trick her into thinking that someone is about to get shot and see what she does."

"Is that wise?" Syssi asked. "What if she decides to snap the neck of the shooter instead of intercepting the bullet?"

"Good point." Amanda waved with her stylus. "I'll need to come up with a nonlethal experiment. Maybe throwing a ball at someone's head or something like that."

As a soft groan escaped Ell-rom's throat, Kian chuckled. "Don't get carried away, Amanda. Start slow and increase the stakes gradually. We don't know the extent of Morelle's powers yet, and we don't want any fatal accidents."

Amanda winced. "Yeah, you are probably right. I wonder if Ell-rom and Morelle's abilities are complementary." She turned to Ell-rom. "Your power destroys, while Morelle's seems capable of averting destruction. It's almost like they're two sides of the same coin. We should explore whether there are other paired aspects to your abilities. Thenullifying power doesn't seem to fit the pattern, though."

"Unless it does," Annani said thoughtfully. "If Ell-rom's power is purely offensive, perhaps Morelle's nullifying ability is its defensive counterpart. She stops others from using their powers while he..." She trailed off, glancing at Allegra, who was still within earshot. "Sometimes others need to be stopped." When Ell-rom winced, she continued. "With great power comes great responsibility, and I am glad that both you and your sister are conscientious, good people. You make our family stronger."

2

MORELLE

As Brandon carried Morelle into his home, their home now, she rested her head on his chest, and when he headed straight for the master bedroom, she expected him to put her down on the bed. Instead, he settled onto the couch in the seating area, keeping her cradled in his lap.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

Morelle lifted her head and smiled apologetically. "This wasn't the way I wanted to spend our first night together in our home." Losing the fight against the waves of exhaustion that threatened to pull her under, she put her head down again. "I'm completely drained. I don't even have the energy to take a shower, let alone do anything else."

She'd wanted tonight to be special and had planned to seduce Brandon properly to celebrate this important step in their relationship. Instead,she felt like her limbs were as limp as noodles and her eyelids as heavy as the curtains in the Mother's temple.