melanie snorted and shook her head. she slapped her hands together and turned to sophie with an eager expression. "all right. everyone's here, so let's do this."

"uh, what are we doing exactly?" asked ree, her eyebrows drawn together.

"you're going to touch us with the power. right, sophie?" melanie looked back at the older guardian.

"who gave her the manual?" weylin asked.

everyone laughed and ree felt a little of the tension seep out of her shoulders. thank the gods she wasn't in this by herself.

"okay, your enthusiasm is appreciated, mel. but first we have to teach ree a safe way to touch the power." sophie stood up and motioned for ree to step closer to her. paden seemed to struggle with not being near her, but eventually went to take a seat on the bench sophie had left. for so many reasons, ree wished he was still standing next to her. biting the inside of her cheek, she looked at sophie and nodded for her to begin. ree knew no one was going to be able to really help her with what she was going to do. it was all up to her now.

chapter 16

"first, you need to understand that the power you are manipulating does not solely come from your own body," sophie said, glancing around to make sure she had everyone's attention. "the reason it is so tiring for the alastriana to use the power the first few times is because she is trying to use only the energy she has inside of her. without understanding how to wield that power it will leave her tired, and, if not careful, drained to the point of death."

ree's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. she could have killed herself last night, and sophie was droning on like nothing had happened. well, i guess i didn't die. so i shouldn't stress over the what-ifs. she took a deep breath and tried to focus on what the guardian was saying. thankfully, sophie had paused for a moment to let everyone digest what she was saying.

"that energy you felt last night lives in everything. it is strongest in people, then animals, and in some inanimate objects. in fact, some things can be used to store power. but that is for another lesson," sophie said.

"how do i touch the power in other things? and does it hurt them if i do?" ree asked.

"once you awaken the power in yourself, you will be able to draw in power from around you and redirect it. every person creates this energy, and most of them don't recognize it at all. you can use that energy without most people even noticing. if you are not careful though, you can take too much. you would essentially be draining the very energy that animates their souls."

ah, crap. she could feel the blood drain from her face. i'm a monster. ree tried to shake off the feeling of horror that was wrapping itself around her mind and focus on what sophie was saying.

"now, you should know it is not something that would happen without you being aware of it. you would have to really work to take it all away. for most little things, you will be able to use your own reserve. the alastriana bloodlines are gifted with an incredible amount of personal energy. that is what you will learn with, at first. eventually you will become more comfortable with the process and will find it easier to take from around you." sophie stood in front of ree and cupped her face in her hands. ree knew her eyes were huge and tried to calm her nervous heart. "you must understand that you have to use the energy around you. if you do not, then you are putting yourself at a disadvantage. by using your own reserves for little things, you may not have the energy when you need it most."

sophie's eyes were kind, and ree heard the truth in her words but knew it would be hard to steal from someone else. because that's what it felt like she would be doing, taking their energy. she would be just as bad as the dark ones stealing people's blood. ree bit her lip and nodded in what she hoped was a convincing manner. she would learn all she could and then make her own decisions.

apparently sophie saw what she was looking for and let go of her chin.

"wait. i want to say something first." ree looked at her friends. "if any of you don't want to do this, you can just say so. i won't hold it against you. really, i don't blame anyone for not wanting to be involved in this giant batch of crazy."

everyone turned to look at weylin.

"ah, geez. thanks, ree, but i'm in this just like the rest of you."

"are you sure? jules, paden, i know it's too late for you guys, and i'm sorry for that. but the rest of you have a choice." ree looked at each of them.

"i'm sure, ree. i'm in this all the way." bryce smiled at her.

"are you kidding me? can't you tell how excited i am about this?" melanie laughed. "what does a girl have to do? cartwheels?" ree had the weird impression there was something driving mel's excitement.

"i'm not doing cartwheels, but i'm sure this is what i want. mel is right; it's our destiny. but don't expect me to be all chipper about it." weylin winked at her.

"if i have fangs, they get fangs too. besides, it might even make weylin less whiny." jules stuck her tongue out at weylin. he slapped a hand to his chest and pretended to be in pain.

"oh the ridicule i shall endure for eternity. never any respect . . . ." everyone groaned and weylin laughed.

well, she gave them their chance, and it helped ease a little of the guilt that was rolling in her stomach. a small smile curved her mouth as ree looked at her friends.

"so, now we teach you to call the power inside of yourself so we can instigate the change for the others." sophie took a few steps back and motioned for the others to form a circle around ree.

"the first few times it happened, there were dark ones around," ree pointed out.

juliette asked, "or michael and shannon. are they dark ones?"

"no they're not dark ones, yet. but it appears they are trying to join their forces. right now they're merely initiates. used for their blood until they can prove their worth. they carry the dark one taint, but aren't fully transformed." sophie's lips curled in disgust. "let's focus on the task at hand, for now. we will talk about the initiates later."

ree nodded and tried to quiet her mind. she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"the last time you drew the power, you probably had to do nothing at all. this time you are going to have to call it to you. imagine that energy building inside of you. when you have it, release it very slowly. picture a gentle wave flowing out from you."

no one said anything else, and ree tried to concentrate on calling the power. she imagined that burning feeling flooding up from her feet, that tingling, almost burning sensation flowing into her arms. she imagined, and she imagined, and... nothing happened. she cracked open one eye and looked around her. every single eye was trained on her without blinking.

she clenched her eyes shut again and tried to not grimace. don't panic, don't panic. she strained to find something, some spark to yank to life. fear started to clutch her throat. how could she possibly do any of this if she couldn't even call the power when she wanted to? she was going to die, her friends were going to die, and it was all her fault. why had the gods picked her to do this? did they mean for her to fail? anger washed through her. how dare they put this task on her shoulders? she didn't want to have to fight the dark ones to save the earth. her family had already lost so much; did they really need to lose any more than they already had? hot resentment poured through her veins. rage she had never felt before clouded her mind. and there, in that moment, she felt the spark deep in her chest. angrily she grabbed at it and fed it with her ferocious resentment. the energy flared inside of her like a burst of lightning. it grew like a wildfire and spread through her body.

her arms flung out to her sides and, just before her head whipped back, her eyes flew open. her mouth formed an 'oh' as the energy rushed out of her in a flood of green light. she heard gasps and scuffling but couldn't see what was happening. ree didn't even want to look to see what the others were doing. the power was exhilarating, a rush that she had never experienced before.

after a moment she came to her senses. the others were hollering, but she couldn't understand what they were saying. she needed to stop the tide of energy that was flowing unchecked. she pulled her hands down and tried to rein it all in, but it was still rushing out of her in a flood of green. she started to feel lightheaded and realized she was expending entirely too much energy. she sagged to her knees and continued to try and pull it all back inside.

suddenly a hand lifted her chin and beautiful blue eyes framed with dark lashes swam into view.

"you have to let go of the anger, ree. let it all go." roland was kneeling in front of her and she focused on his face. "let it go, ree."

with a sound close to a sob, she tried to release all of the hate that was filling her heart. but once it started, it was like it had taken over. she fought to accept her fate and the pain that was bound to come with it. she focused on what she would be saving if she won: the lives of her family, her friends, and strangers she had never met. time slowed for a moment as she reeled it all back into her and then reality seemed to snap back to normal speed. roland's strong arms caught her as she slumped forward and took gasping breaths.

"shh. it's okay. just take a moment to catch your breath." he smoothed some of the escaped strands of her hair away from her face.

"how did you know?" her voice was breathless, as if she had been running a marathon. "how did you know i was angry?"

"i would be." he shrugged. "and dark ones can sense the darker emotions. often the power is fueled by intense emotion."

"oh." she tried to stand, but her legs were shaky.

roland put a hand under her elbow and helped her gain her feet. "you will gain your strength soon."

"ree! are you all right?" paden caught her shoulders in his hands and peered into her face. roland let go of her elbow and took a step backwards. the others were running forward and demanding to know if she was okay.

ree watched as roland moved to stand next to sophie. his smirk had returned, but ree noticed roland's eyes tightened when they focused on paden's hands. paden's fingers squeezed her shoulders gently, and she looked up into his face. worry creased his brow and his eyes were full of concern.

"i'm okay, pay. i'm okay." her words were muffled because he had pulled her against his chest. she was shocked because the last time he had hugged her was at tristan's funeral. she let herself relax into his grip for just a moment. her head leaned forward to rest on his chest, and then she was pulled from his grasp by juliette. she practically squeezed the air out of ree's lungs. once she had pried herself free, she looked around the clearing and gasped.

"oh, my god. i did this?" the stone benches had been thrown yards from their original spots near the fountain. the plants looked like they had been hit by a tornado. the tall shrubs were pushed out and away from where she had been standing. the potted plants were thrown all over the clearing, and some of the panes on the french doors had been shattered. she turned in a circle and looked at the destruction around her.

"ree, i am so sorry. i had no idea it would happen like that." sophie touched her cheek gently. "normally it comes much easier."

ree shook her head. she was still shocked at all of the damage she had caused.

"well, at least it worked." paden pointed at bryce, melanie and weylin. they were all looking at roland with an odd expression. ree realized they must be reacting to him being a dark one.

"huh. the fangth hurth the firth time." weylin was touching his canines gently.

melanie was smiling, though. apparently this was all just part of the excitement. her fangs were causing dimples in her bottom lip as she beamed at everyone.

"well, at least someone is enjoying her new teeth." roland raised an eyebrow and smiled widely at melanie. interest and curiosity pulled her eyebrows together as she looked at the dark one. his lips resumed their normal smirk, and he wiggled his eyebrows at her. his fangs were a little longer and thinner than the guardians'. ree hadn't noticed them that morning and supposed dark ones must be able to retract and extend their fangs whenever they wanted.

paden was looking at roland with a mixture of anger and disgust. ree elbowed him in the ribs and raised her eyebrow to remind him that roland was on their side. besides, she didn't want to say anything, but roland was the only one that had been able to help her. paden ground his teeth and looked away from roland. after a moment he looked back at ree and flashed a forced smile. well, at least he's trying, ree thought. she had to give him credit for that.

"how did i manage to throw everyone away from me, but you weren't affected at all? shouldn't it have hurt you in some way?" it had suddenly occurred to her that roland was completely unscathed. he had been able to walk right up to her and even touch her.

"the gods tinkered with me. this is a side effect." he shrugged, but ree sensed he was trying to brush it off. she could almost feel the anger and pain coming from him. she bet the gods had treated him like a science experiment. her heart clenched thinking about what he may have endured, and yet, here he was still working on their side. ree couldn't help but wonder what would entice him to put up with so much.

"we're immortal now?" bryce was standing next to jules. he was holding his jaw funny and his words came out clipped.

"yes." sophie said.

"what do we do now?" paden tried to look nonchalant but it was apparent he wanted to start taking steps to get them all ready for whatever might come their way.

"well, we train. ree, can you still feel the power?" sophie pushed her dark braid over her shoulder.

deep in her chest there was still a warm ball of energy. just by thinking about the sensation, the little spark grew in intensity. she smiled in relief that it wasn't fighting to run free and nodded. "yeah, it's there."

"and is it about to pour out of you and throw me into the house again?" weylin asked from behind sophie. his peeked out from behind the older guardian's shoulder.

"no, weylin. i have it under control." ree bit her bottom lip. "did i really throw you into the house?"

"uh, yeah. yeah, you did." he stood up straight and ran a hand through his hair. "pretty crazy, actually."

"sorry." she gave him an apologetic smile.

"well, if you are all ready, we're going to split up and start training." sophie patted weylin on the shoulder and smiled at everyone.