Page 171 of Vampire So Vengeful

He looked at her sharply, eyes flicking from blue to lilac and back again. “Is such a thing possible?”

“Well, that’s what I have to figure out.” She scrunched her nose. “I think the concept of power is central, and that’s easy enough to do.” She pointed at two of the strongest examples on the list. “But I have no idea how to make it go from me to you.”

“Mon Dieu,” he murmured, barely suppressed excitement in his tone. “With your strength, this could suffice.” He paused, then reclined on the couch. “What are the risks?”

“What do you mean?”

“When power is involved, there are always risks,ma chérie.What’s the worst that could happen?”

That was the sort of question Eve asked, but when she did, it was more ‘why not do it anyway,’ while Antoine meant ‘I’ll say no if I don’t like the answer.’

“I don’t know,” she said truthfully. “All I’m trying to do is boost you.”

He rubbed his chin, and she caught the rasp of stubble against his palm. “The power you have… Is it connected to your life force?”

She shrugged. “Eve might know. I don’t.”

“I suspect it is,” he mused. “After all, that would explain why Belle said you could die if it built up too greatly.”

“Not a problem anymore.”

“True, but now we face the reverse.”

“Meaning?”

“If your spell is too effective, and you give me all your strength, you’re giving me all your life force. In other words, it could kill you.”

She took a nibble of her breakfast, hardly tasting it. “I suppose we don’t want that.”

He rested his elbow on the arm of the couch, his hand clenching into a fist in the air. Then he shook his head. “It is too risky.”

“No.” She glared at him. “Iknewyou were going to say this. We haven’t even tried!”

“It is in the trying that things go wrong.”

“How can you succeed if you don’t try?”

“These forces, this magic”—he gestured at the laptop, and the books scattered around—“they are dangerous tools.”

“Yes. Dangerous to Roberto, if I can get this right.”

“And to you.”

“Damn it, Antoine!” Cally pushed herself up, pacing toward the bookcases. She swiveled on her heel to glare at him again, but only concern filled his eyes. A moment ago, there’d been interest and excitement, a fleeting hope. Now he was more protective, and willing to stop her. She took a breath, deliberately calming herself, and spoke softly. “It’s my choice.”

“I don’t want you to—”

She held up a hand, and he paused. “We’re going to be spending a long time together, aren’t we?”

“Yes,” he said cautiously. “Many, many years.”

“Would you have me never explore my magic?”

He shifted on the couch, jaw tightening.

“You’re already powerful,” she pressed. “Mine only matters if I can learn to use it.”

“You can use it by—”