On a Razor's Edge (Darkness #3)(17)

Stefan let his breath out in a slow exhale. He couldn’t say he wasn’t relieved. “Odd for a human to wield black, though.”

“Not at all,” Toa waved him away like a pauper at a king’s table. “She is the polar opposite because she is human. You are familiar with the yin-yang sign. That was originally created as a representation of the union of the different sides of magic. White and black magic working together is the strongest cohesive bond in the world. White magic is also a scale. As is black. She is at the higher end of the scale; I am at the middle of white. The black power has always been wielded by a human, the white by us. That is why it is so intensely rare. Not rare to possess—not any more than white—but rare to find. One in a million. Humans have power, but so rarely seen because so few believe. And also because we…have our own prejudices.

“At the top of the scale, and acting as a hub, which is rare in itself—not because she is human, but in general—it is like trying to swim in the ocean in the middle of a hurricane. Magic is wild, and forcing into her like it does, makes the wielder constantly fight for control—even in someone experienced. Mistakes can easily be fatal. Because of this—that is speculation—she has developed some sort of rough control directly tied to survival. Living untrained for so long, she has learned to coexist. Now, however, seeing how she is supposed to work with it, the danger becomes more grave. Her ability to take in magic more extreme.”

“You see, Toa, she was fated to live,” Dominicous said in a smug sort of way.

Stefan barely had time to wonder at that comment when Toa snorted. “One in a million. The odds are incredible, but here she is. What next?”

Dominicous turned to Stefan. “You plan to mate her, is that right?”

A thrill went down Stefan’s back. Without hesitation, he answered, “Yes.”

“Like her power level, mating between kinds has turned into myth. At least with someone of your stature and position. Your people must approve in order to grant her that title. If she cannot lead, she is useless, and therefore cannot mate you. It is twisted, you see.”

Stefan nodded.

“I understand your enthusiasm, of course,” Dominicous went on. “She is your one true mate. She needs your power and special ability balancing the wildness of it, and you gain and exult from hers. You two sync. That is plain to see. If you can work in tandem, you could create an exponentially dynamic team. You have linked with her already, you have marked her…and you are in luck on a couple of scores. One, she is a seer. Or, more probably, has seer blood. That is the reason for the smell she has when aroused. Or, I should say, that is the side-effect. There are other smells, but mostly females exude them. It doesn’t seem as though she has many female friends within this group…”

Stefan shook his head to the question as he asked, “Seer?” He’d never heard of such a thing.

“Humans have this trait in large doses. Many become psychics or readers of some kind, some even ghost hunters—even though that is a different talent. Some just think it is female intuition or, for a man, a shot of ego. Regardless, she has some sort of partial ability on that score. That secures her as a justifiable lineage for mating, besides the huge blessing in magical power, of course.”

“Why are you helping me? I would’ve thought you’d resist a human as my mate. Possibly even try to take her with you back to the Council for training within the folds of political power.”

“Why am I helping you?” Dominicous asked. “That is simple. She is my kindred.”

After a long pause, Stefan said, “Come again?”

Chapter 5

I sat facing the woods on a wooden bench just behind the mansion’s back door. For the last half hour Stefan had blasted incredulity through the link, then suspicion, then mistrust. Finally, resignation. I knew it had to be about me. What else could it be? I could be hopelessly narcissistic at times, especially while hopeful in a dress, but I didn’t think this was a case of fashion-itis.

I felt his presence come up behind me, then around, sitting next to me on the stone bench. I leaned into his great, muscled shoulder, feeling solidity and strength.

“I just had a very…interesting meeting,” he started, roping an equally great arm around my shoulders.

I closed my eyes as a delicate wind caressed my face in passing. The night sky had lightened, swishing its metaphorical cape to olé the daylight through. The familiar magic soaked into my skin, my chest and limbs warming.

“Hmm,” Stefan said, squeezing me. He could feel it as I could. However his special gift worked, it enabled him to share in the feeling, his skin electrifying, as mine did to outsiders. But within our embrace, only pleasure pulsed between our bodies. We sat outside often, sharing the night with each other.

“You are a seer, did you know?” he asked quietly.

“As in, like, a fortune teller?”

“Yes.” He shrugged. “I guess. In full strength a person can see the future before it happens. Can you do that?”

“No. But I do get, like, premonitions. Kind of…I don’t know. Like a directional sense. It’s how I find your secret doors.”

He shook his head. “That sounds like your magic. What about when you battled Jonas? You seemed to move right before he got there…”

I thought back. I’d had a letter opener and a whistle as my only defense to rescue my ex-boyfriend Jared from a sadist named Jonas. Oh, yeah, I remembered. Stefan was right, I had moved just in time.