Don’t talk with your mouth, I said.Use your mind. Focus your attention on trying to get me to hear you without actually speaking. The trick is to feel our connection, and then follow that magical bond until our minds become linked.
Emma closed her gorgeous lips. Her face strained as she struggled to communicate, until I heard her voice come across, faint and distant.Can you hear me?
Barely. We have a bad connection. You need to close the distance,I stated.
How do I do that?
Telepathy is all about being open.My heartbeat quickened as I reached out and took one of her hands in mine.You have to keep yourself exposed to the mind of the person you’re attempting to speak with.
She scowled, as if she didn’t like the idea. Was it so offensive to open up to me? She took my other hand and ran her thumb over it. The sound of her voice grew louder as she said,Is this better?
Much, I replied.All wolvens can speak telepathically over long distances, and Companions can naturally project their thoughts in order to talk in shifter form, but those who have declared each other to be mates share a special bond. Watch.
I opened my mind to her, and everything gave way. I flashed back to that morning— sneaking into Emma’s dorm and leaving behind a present.
It was you, she said.You’re the one who left the pastries.
A wry smile worked its way onto my face.It was supposed to remain a secret.
How did you know I was gluten-intolerant? Who told you?she questioned, crossing her arms.
Your mother sent me a message. She thought it was important I know, since we’re mated.
I hadn’t been formally introduced to Emma’s mother yet, though she’d reached out to me over text to let me know how Emma was doing. I’d been informed that she was sick over break. And it’d been even harder to be mad at her after that.
Hm.Emma pursed her lips.Guess you weren’t that angry with me after all.
I chuckled.Guess not.
Emma pulled her hair back into a braid.Could other Arcanea see your memories like I can?
I’m allowing you to, because we’re mated. If I didn’t want you to see anything, I wouldn’t have opened up, and you couldn’t have seen a thing. Mind-reading is... supposedly possible, but I’ve never heard of a fae who can do it,I said.You’d have to be exceptionally powerful. Stronger than a high priestess.
She nodded.What about monsters? Can they hear our thoughts?
Some species, but mostly only in the case of demon possession,I specified.
She leaned back in her chair.That’s a real thing?
Yes. Forest demons and other monsters have been known to possess the souls of fae. The demon will latch on and stay hidden inside a person’s spirit, until it’s gained enough control there to begin taking over the host entirely.
Emma wrinkled her nose.That sounds... unpleasant.
It’s not pretty. Though possessions have to be asked for,I said.Like any other type of fae, a forest demon needs an invitation before it’s allowed to come in, to a residence or otherwise. It’s like signing a contract, or accepting a gift.
Well, if I’ve learned anything it’s never to accept gifts from the ancient fae,Emma stated.They always want something in return.
You are precisely right, which is why we must be ever vigilant when fighting demons above all other monsters. Trust me,onawilke.Demon possession isn’t anything you want to get mixed up in.
My own words made a chill rush up my spine. Possessions among the Arcanea was rare, but not unheard of. I’d known someone who’d been possessed in my youth, and it didn’t turn out well for him. The demon had killed him before taking over the body, and my father had hacked the poor vessel to bits. The demon had fled and possessed someone else before the High Priestesses managed to exorcise and destroy it.
Since then, I’d never encountered anyone else who’d been possessed, and I never intended to again. What I’d seen still haunted me to this day, and it wasn’t a situation I wanted to repeat.
Emma and I practiced telepathy for the rest of the class period, until incessant bickering nearby caught our attention. The shield Odette had been making with Theo dropped from her hands, and Kiara, who’d been working with Alexei on empathy magic, turned in her seat.
“Irena, that’s not right.” Stefan was trying to teach Delmare how to expand her black-and-red orbs of battle magic. He conjured an orb of his own and demonstrated. “You have to get past your own feelings. Channel your emotions into the orb instead of letting them fly all over the place.”
“I can do it myself!” Delmare’s teeth were clenched as she attempted to expand the orb in her hands, but it fizzled out. She slammed a hand on the desk in frustration.
