Her heart pounding, Nia waited. Whatever Michael thought they could do, she prayed it worked. The Guardians were being hurt because they were protecting her and Lore.
She swallowed hard.
“Lower your mental shields,” Michael said. “Reach into yourselves and release your powers.” He kept a few feet away from them. “Once you connect, repeat these lines.” He saidwords that made no sense, in a language she’d never heard before.
Nia tried to remember, but it all slipped past her grasp. Breathing hard, she searched for her normally sparking power, one she’d just about learned to block?—
Energy crackled, filling the room like electricity, startling her. It emanated from Nate and Echo. Their powers joined in a fusion of color, but her side flickered and died.
Dig deeper, Rania. You have to seal the triangle for this to work. Michael’s quiet voice flowed through her mind. “You can do it.”
She strained her mind, reaching into herself, and tried to snag the flicker within, imagining it leaving her. It rose into a coil, moved through her…and petered out of her fingertips.Dammit.Sweat beaded her brow, and she tried again, but dizziness stole through her?—
“I can’t do it! It won’t come,” she cried.
“You can, Nia,” Nate said, his topaz eyes warm and encouraging. “Try.”
“Yes, you can, Nia,” Echo added. “Let your shields down.”
She met her sister’s encouraging stare, energy crackling from her. Deeper, Echo’s terror constricted her. If Nia failed to do this, her twin could lose her mate, and Nia, her sister?—
Anguish swept through her. “I don’t want to lose you!”
“You’re not gonna lose me. We aren’t losing anyone!” Echo bit out, her gaze darting to the window. “Try, Nia, please. I know you can do this.”
Please, please…Nia dug deep again, tears burning her eyes.Come on, come on…she tried to hang onto the flicker of her power, but anguish raged through her, aware she could lose her family?—
“Nia!” The door flew open. A shirtless Lore appeared, feet bare, chest heaving. He was at her side in a flash and drew her into his arms.
“What the hell’s going on?” he demanded.
Chapter
Thirty-Six
Nia pressedher face into Lore’s chest. “I’m trying to summon my power to help, but it won’t happen. I can’t lose my family, Lore. I can’t!”
“You aren’t losing anyone.” He held her tightly, his fury seeping into her.
“Nate, Eshana, and Rania are the only ones who can defeat this,” Michael said, jaw set in resolute lines. “If we mess this up, we will lose the fight—loseeverything—no matter who I call for aid. She must release her abilities along with her siblings to form the trinity needed.”
Lore froze, his expression grim. “Let me aid you, Nia.”
With a shuddering breath, she nodded. Her siblings stretched their hands out once more, forming a triad. Nate’s power emitted easily, as did Echo’s.
Swallowing hard, Nia lowered her shields again, seeking that flicker of energy, and fought desperately to hold on and set it free?—
I’ve never done this before, not like this.
I know. I’m here. I’ll help you,Lore’s calm voice slipped through her mind, his warmth soothing her frazzled edges.Thisisn’t like when you get upset and can absorb all of a being’s powers. This time, you must guide it out. This is to join.
Another deep inhale, and she released her mental blocks, delving deeper to her sparking powers. The psychic energy flared brighter, then it slid through her.
That’s it, my love. Now, set it free.Lore continued to help her direct her volatile power. It emerged from her outstretched hands in a raging wave of red sparks, connecting to Nate’s and Echo’s simultaneously?—
Their minds connected.
Electricity buzzed through her head in a haze of white noise and a prism of colors. It felt as if her entire being was rising upward, and she lost all track of everything, caught in the power of the trance…
