Something primal took over me. Without a thought or even understanding what I was doing, I waved my arm in her direction and she flew back against the wall without me ever touching her. She slumped to the ground with an odd smile on her face.
A crash came from behind me as the door caved in. Liam and Philip rushed inside and slid to a stop. I thought the fire had surprised, but I noticed they were looking off to the side.
I turned to see what they were looking at and froze. The most beautiful creature I’d ever seen stood in a doorway I hadn’t noticed. I use the term ‘creature’ because while she looked female, there was no way in hell she was human anymore.
The energy emanating from her was so old, even the word ancient didn’t seem right.
“Cybil, I presume?” I asked as she glided her way farther into the room.
She bowed her head in a slow nod. “Correct.” She moved to Stella, holding out a hand to her. After helping her stand, she slid an arm around her waist and pulled her in close.
This shit just keeps getting weirder, I thought as I watched Stella cling to a vampire possibly older than dirt.
Cybil looked me over, her eyes taking a slow path over my body. “So, you’re the Vinur.” Her voice was so hypnotic I was sure she was using glamor.
I concentrated on the fire still covering my body. I tried to pull it in, but it stayed put. “I’m not the Vinur. He’s a myth.” I rubbed my hands over my arms, but all that did was make the flames flutter.
“Honey, you’re going to have to learn to control that fire of yours.” She tried to move away from Stella, but she clung to her. Cybil shot her a look, and she dropped her arms to her side. “May I approach you?”
My eyes widened at her question. “Why?”
“I won’t hurt you. I want to help you.”
Liam and Philip moved to flank me. Philip’s eyes never left Cybil and a constant low growl came from his throat.
“Boys, I promise not to hurt your Vinur,” she said with a gentle, almost maternal smile.
“Stop calling me that.” I let out a growl when she closed the distance between us.
She laughed, and the sound of it made me want to be close to her. To hold her. To never let her go.
“Damn,” I breathed as I shook my head to clear her glamor. “Stop using that shit on me.”
“Fair enough.” She gave me that slow bow of her head again. “Here.”
I jerked my arm away when she tried to take my hand. “Don’t touch me.”
She shrugged. “You need to learn control. You have a little control over your power, otherwise you’d have burnt this place down already. However, you are clearly having trouble recalling it.”
“I don’t need your help.”
A strange sensation had me rubbing my temples.
“Oh, but you do. You don’t even know how you did this.”
“Get out of my head,” I ground out through clenched teeth.
She smiled and even without the glamor I wanted to kiss her full, red lips. “Relax. Breathe. Now call to your power.” She paused for a few beats. “Concentrate on your inner being. You’ll feel it.”
I narrowed my eyes as I concentrated on my inner being, which I took to mean my wolf. At the height of my anger and fear I’d stopped noticing her. But now I felt her. She was in a state of ire I’d never felt from her before. I reached in with my mind to pet her, soothe her. I told her it was okay. We’d fix everything. Isaac would be okay.
The more I talked to her the calmer she became. The calmer she became the smaller the flames got, and I realized then she was the key to my power. When I’d forgotten about her, she’d gone crazy, out of control, and lashed out. It had helped me but hurt her.
“Splendid,” Cybil said. “Now, when you want to harness your power, you need to do it with your inner being. You cannot leave her out of it.”
“Why are you telling me all of this?” She was working with Stella or more likely Stella was working for her.
“Because what a show it will be for the humans!” Stella shouted.