Page 54 of Empire of Dark
“What does it feel like? How often does it come? Is it from the torture?”
“I spoke of torture?”
“You did. Yesterday. In the middle of the throes of pain.”
I jerked back, my look jumping around the room like a caged animal. Hell. I didn’t remember that. Not that I remembered much of anything from an episode. “What did I say?”
“That they had tortured you, went in through your nose to reach your brain. Which makes sense after seeing how your skin wouldn’t break.” His look centered on me. “What does it feel like?”
What did it feel like? It was hard to explain. But I could see he was deeply curious.
I owed him an answer, so I stumbled over my words, trying to put into semi-coherent sentences what an episode felt like. “When the energy in my body builds up to where it is too much, it all collects there, on the right side of my head, like it is trying to escape but it cannot because when I was tortured, experimented on, they somehow wrecked that ability for me to naturally expel energy.”
I took a drink of wine. “It’s why I need to train, to move my body all the time, or the energy all collects in that one spot and if there’s too much of it, one little piece will turn into pain, and then all the rest of the energy follows suit. Then I am done for—it flattens me to the point I need to tear my own skull open and rip the pain out.”
His bottom lip jutted up. “That was what carving the dagger into your forehead was?”
“Yes.” I exhaled a breath. “I know it won’t work, the dagger, but I get so desperate for relief, I will try anything. Again and again, hoping for a miracle.”
“Why didn’t it work? Why didn’t the tip of your dagger break your skin? I held that dagger, was cut by it, and it’s as solid as any augentrum blade.”
My head snapped back. “Triaten never told you?”
“Told me what?”
“What my powers are?”
He shook his head. “He told me you were fast. And you brought that stein into your hand from afar at the pub, so I know you have some telekinesis abilities. That is all.”
“Oh.” I had assumed Triaten had told Damen everything about me. That he would need to in order to sell me as an option.
But apparently, Damen had taken at face value how valuable I would be to breed with, without a thought on combination of powers. Odd, since the woman that directed panthenite breeding, Helen, was so controlling about what powers were allowed to breed together.
“Then what are your powers?”
“I am fast and yes, telekinesis.” I cut a piece of the chicken, popped it into my mouth and swallowed it before fully answering. “But I also cannot be hurt.”
His dark eyebrows pulled together, perplexed. The look was almost cute on him, because it was so foreign. The man was never perplexed. “What?”
“My skin—it’s unbreakable.”
His mouth opened and after a silent breath, he exhaled a puff of air. “Which is why you said they went in through your nose.”
My eyes closed, the memory I tried to never—ever—think about popping into my head. I’d told him that last night? Out loud? Not that I was in a head space to exhibit any sense ofcontrol over my thoughts and tongue, or apparently, screaming in ecstasy.
My mind clear of the horrific memory, I opened my eyes and looked at him. “Yes.”
“Your skin cannot be broken?” He looked perplexed again.
“I know. An odd power. I don’t know of another panthenite that has it, though I am not privy to the information about powers that the elders keep. I’m sure some malefics have it.”
He shook his head slightly, then he picked up the sharp steak knife next to his plate and held out the handle to me. “Humor me.”
I shrugged and grabbed his knife, wiped off the bit of red juice still streaked against the silver from the bloody steak he’d already eaten, then set it to my forearm. I sawed away at the fleshy part of my arm, then twisted my wrist so the edge of the knife was sawing against my bone.
He stared, transfixed at the blade meeting my skin. “Remarkable.”
My forehead furrowed. While a part of me always suspected the answer, I’d still held out hope that I wasn’t the only one with this oddball skin. “You’ve not seen this before?”