Page 76 of Urzra
Grace was the first to giggle.Oak snorted out a laugh, then clapped her hand over her mouth when some food shot out.Everyone burst into hysterical laughter, except for Bri, Urz and the Mad Prophet.Bria had decided not to use it against Fate’s oracle.
Tears were pouring down Wynter’s face.She thumped the table with her fist, silently begging for it to stop.
Bria withdrew her magic, only now figuring out she could switch it on and off at will.Both hers and her mate’s skills had been given a huge boost.
“You almost made me pee myself!”Wyn said, glaring at the newbie.
“Sorry,” Bri said guiltily.“I shouldn’t have used my ability to manipulate emotions on you.”
“That was fun,” Grace said as she used a napkin to dry her eyes.She’d been overwhelmed with irresistible amusement like the others.
“I can see how you turned the soldiers and militants against each other,” Amaros said, already factoring her talent into his plans.
“There’s one downside to my mate’s talent,” Urzra said.“She constantly feels everything we do.”
“That must be difficult to endure,” Qi said sympathetically.
“What if you built a door in your head to try to shut us out?”Vic suggested.
Xan made a face at that notion.“Won’t she shut Urz out, too?”
“How can I make a door in my head?”Bria asked, intrigued at the notion.
“I instinctively learned how to shut my father out when he tried to take over my mind,” Victoria said.“I managed to stop Phul from forcing his parental bond on me.”
“We’ve all learned how to create doors in our minds to keep our pops out of our heads,” Grace said.“You should try it and see if you can mute our emotions.”
Bria closed her eyes and pictured a door.She opened it and shoved all of the emotions she could feel coming from her new friends inside it.The moment she slammed it shut, she felt a deep sense of loss.Urzra took her hand as if reassuring himself she was still there.The door had muted everyone’s emotions and also their bond just as she’d been warned.
“Let’s eat,” Amaros said to get the party started.
Everyone dug in and Urzra took his first tentative bite of pork.“I’m in heaven,” he murmured in appreciation, but hated that he could no longer sense his bond with his female.
Bri practiced with the door while she ate.She opened it and concentrated on just her mate.Picking his emotions out from the others, she kept hold of the link, then closed the door again.He gave her a brilliant smile that she returned when their bond returned.
Bit by bit, she tested her ability with the others.All of the couples were deliriously in love and were profoundly happy.Grace’s emotions were different.She was happy on the surface, but desperate longing and a sense of loneliness lay beneath her façade.
The Mad Prophet was hard to make sense of.His emotions were constantly shifting and difficult to pin down.She sensed heavy sorrow and crushing responsibility, as if the weight of the entire world rested on his shoulders.
Amaros was the calmest knight.The commander had firm control of his emotions.Like his brothers, his love for his mate eclipsed all else.There was nothing he wouldn’t do for the female at his side.
Bri had saved Zoe for last.Delving into the matriarch’s emotions, Bria almost slammed the door shut immediately.Leaving it open a crack, she felt as if she was standing on the edge of a dark abyss.Inside the abyss was a deep sense of untapped rage.It was so vast she felt like it had the potential to swallow the entire planet if the mystic ever lost control of it.
Queegly caught Bri’s eye and shook his head slightly, warning her not to say anything.Fate must have shown him what she’d just sensed.She nodded back, but filed the information away.Zoe had told her she’d inherited her sire’s fury.Not even she was aware of just how dangerous her emotions could be if they were ever fully unleashed.
