Page 5 of Taste of Thorns

“And then Tudor hooked you out?” Beaufort asks.

“No,” I swallow again. “Then I ran towards him. I wanted to help him. I wanted to make them stop. And I was so so scared that I was going to lose him. Lose him like I lost her, and then it just happened.”

Beaufort frowns. “What happened?”

“This light – it came from nowhere and it drove the monsters away.”

The room is silent for a moment, and I can hear the tick of Beaufort’s expensive wristwatch and the workings of Dray’s jaw as he chews.

Then Fox steps forward, out of the shadows and into the light of the overhead bulb.

“It didn’t come from nowhere. It came from Briony.”

“She can shadow weave?” Dray says in absolute astonishment, his mouth opening so far I can see the gum.

“No, it was her sister who could shadow weave,” Fox says, casually sharing another of my secrets. “Briony can wield light.”

“Wield light?” Dray jumps down from Beaufort’s desk and pads across the floor, his bare feet hardly making a sound on the polished wooden floor. “What does that mean?”

He stops right in front of me, and his colorful eyes crisscross my face.

I thought his question was directed at Fox. Now I see it was me.

“I have no idea. It has never happened before.”

“Sure about that,” he asks, his voice a little dangerous, “Kitten?”

“She wouldn’t have those scars on her back if she knew she had powers, would she?”

Dray’s gaze assesses me. He’s usually so playful; it’s unnerving to see him serious like this. “Unless she was trying her damned hardest to hide it.”

“You ever been to Slate Quarter, Eros?” Fox asks, and the shifter shakes his head, eyes still locked on me. “If you had, you’d know just how damn desperate everyone is to leave it. People would actually sell their kidneys, their children, their souls,” he says bitterly, “to get out. Powers like Briony’s are aticket straight to Onyx. Why would she hide it? Especially at the expense of being able to protect herself.”

“You tell me, Prof because I can’t see how you wouldn’t know.” His eyes hold mine. “Can’t you feel it in your veins? Singing to you, vibrating, wanting to come out and play?” Shadows swirl from his fingertips and coil around my body. It’s like an invitation. An invitation to join him. That something in my blood, that new sensation, seems to hum in response. But nothing happens. I don’t knowhowto make it happen.

“I feel something,” I say, closing my eyes, feeling his shadows tingle against my skin and the humming in my blood intensifies. “But it’s new, and I don’t know what to do with it.”

Dray’s shadows linger against my skin tantalizingly for a moment longer and then they slide away.

I open my eyes.

“This light wielding–” Dray says.

“Lumomancy,” Beaufort says.

Dray’s head snaps towards his bond brother. “You’ve heard of it before?”

“Sure. I’ve read about it.”

“Beau, you are a fucking nerd. I don’t remember hearing about it in any history class.”

“That’s because you don’t listen in any of your classes,” Fox snipes.

“But I listen in mine and I don’t remember anything about light wielders either,” I point out.

“The education back in Slate leaves a lot to be desired,” Fox says. “It’s a miracle anyone from our Quarter can actually read.”

“I’d remember something about light wielding,” Dray grumbles.