Page 3 of Dark Princess Ascending

To perform such a powerful feat of telekinesis she'd pulled energy from everyone present, probably mostly from Annani, but a significant portion had come from her, and what was left was barely enough to keep her alive.

Or at least it felt like that.

Could expending too much energy kill her?

Drain her of her life force?

Or did she have a safety mechanism that stopped the process when it reached a critical level?

It was also possible that she didn't have enough power of her own to affect physical objects. Perhaps she could only do it by stealing power from others.

But wait. Physical objects were not the only things she could affect. Her so-called nullifying gift wasn't really the ability to block others' paranormal talents. She simply drained them of their ability, rendering them temporarily inert.

She didn't know that for sure, but it made sense to her that the two abilities were actually one. Still, without further testing it was all speculation at this point.

Had Annani noticed the drain on her power?

The thought made Morelle's stomach clench. Thank the Mother that her sister had been there.The combined energy from the other immortals might not have been enough on its own to move that heavy piece of stone.

"I will gladly help you in the shower, but if you don't even have the energy for that, I will just undress you and tuck you under the covers." Brandon pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "As I've said many times before, I will be overjoyed to just have the privilege of having you in my bed and holding you in my arms."

Guilt crashed through Morelle at his words. He was so loving and devoted, and yet she couldn't bring herself to trust him completely.

They had something special going on, but Brandon had known her for mere days, while he'd been part of the clan for centuries, and he was a councilman. Of course, he would side with the clan and not with her.

He wouldn't keep her ability secret if he thought that it could potentially endanger Annani.

Morelle comforted herself with the thought that the energy drain hadn't seemed to harm her sister, but what if it had diminished her abilities somehow?

Then again, when she hadblockedJin earlier, the female's tethering ability returned as soon as she left the room, which indicated that the effects were temporary. The same had also been true of the others she had tested her power on.

"I know that you haven't fallen asleep." Brandonrubbed soothing circles on her back. "Are you so quiet because you are still bothered by your foiled plans for tonight?"

Morelle chuckled without opening her eyes. "I'm upset by that, but it's not why I'm quiet. I'm trying to process everything that occurred. I'm still shaken by what might have happened if that power hadn't manifested out of nowhere."

His arms tightened around her. "You saved Darius's life, and no one will ever forget that, especially his parents, but you are exhausted and should go to sleep. We can brainstorm what happened tomorrow over a cup of coffee."

He was so good to her. Too good. Too trusting.

Didn't he realize what she'd done?

"I moved without thinking," she murmured. "Pure instinct. I sensed the flaw in the stone, and it was like I knew that something was going to happen. I braced for action, and when the stone started falling, I reacted as if I'd done something like that many times before, but I haven't. I didn't know I could do it."

Brandon's chest rose and fell with a deep breath. "Do you believe in reincarnation?"

Morelle opened her eyes. "I used to be a skeptic who believed the universe was pure chaos and that there was no divine intervention in anything, but then my mother appeared in my dream and told me so many things I couldn't have known. She was proof that the afterlife exists."

Her mother had also told her about her father, about the head priestess being her sister, and that the head priestess had been reborn almost immediately after dying. Curiously, her mother hadn't mentioned Ahn reincarnating, and she hadn't said anything about him being with her in the Fields of the Brave either. But she had said that even though they hadn't been fated for each other, as Ahn had believed, they were bound together in life and death by the two wonderful children they had produced.

"Bonds of love never die," her mother had said, perhaps to encourage her to wake up and find love.

Morelle lifted her hand and cupped Brandon's cheek. "My mother told me that life was worth living. She told me to listen, and I did. That was when I heard you talking to me."

He dipped his head and kissed her forehead. "I should thank your mother. Is there a ritual in your religion for thanking ancestors for their guidance?"

"Not that I know of. I wasn't a very good acolyte. But I guess you can offer a prayer to the Mother of All Life and ask her to convey a message to my mother." Morelle regretted her suggestion as soon as she voiced it. "On second thought, maybe that's not such a great idea. The Mother might not appreciate being asked for favors."

"Good point. From what I've heard about theKra-ell deity, she's not the kind and forgiving type."