Gravity (55 page)

possesses a unique ability that makes them easy to identify from a regular Mage.”

I felt the energy dissipate and I held my hand across my racing heart. I’d never had anyone

explain what a Unique was; all I knew was that my light was different. “Which one am I?”

She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. “I’m not sure if they went by any kind of name

during that time, I only know that my family referred to them as Shiners. They were the easiest to

spot because of the silvering in their eyes,” she said, pointing to my face. “Maybe that’s why there

are so few of you. Uniques can only be identified if someone witnesses their power or tastes their

light. But Shiners would have been easy to spot. People feared those who were different.”

I folded my arms. “They still do.”

She smiled knowingly and Logan leaned on his right shoulder beside me, clinging to her every

word.

“I’d have to look through my ancestors’ books to give you exact details, but Shiners had the

ability to move metal. Can you do that?”

A shiver ran up my spine. “Yeah. Only if a Mage has touched it. Something about the energy

left behind allows me to manipulate it. Just not all metals.”

She began rolling up the sleeves of her oversized sweater and a small line appeared on her

brow as she spoke. “If I tell you this, then you can’t share it with anyone.”

“I promise,” I said.

“I mean it.” Her brown eyes stared, unblinking. “I know you have a close relationship with

Justus, and even Novis, but this stays between us. It could be dangerous.”

I held Logan’s hand and nodded. She flicked a glance to him and he said, “On my word.” That

was good enough coming from a Chitah.

Page blew out a shaky breath. “My family believed that you could make a Unique—specifically,

a Shiner. They found a commonality between all of them, and that was that their Creator gave

them their first spark during an electrical storm. Did that happen with you?”

I shook my head and that’s when it hit me. “Do you know how I was conceived?”

“Yes. I looked through the files and your Ghuardian confided in me.”

“The Mage light has been within me since conception. I was born during an electrical storm.”

Her eyes went wide. “That must have triggered something in your DNA and when you were

turned into a Mage, it switched it on. Fascinating,” she breathed. “If Creators had this kind of

knowledge, they could create an all-powerful Mage by simply hanging around during a

thunderstorm. I’m not saying you are all-powerful, but that is the perception among your kind.

Your light is significantly stronger than the average Mage, so you have the potential to become

very powerful. I’d never be able to confirm this unless I met a Unique who was an ancient. You

also have special abilities that others don’t. There’s all this talk about common and rare gifts, but

honestly, they’ve documented every single one of them.”

“So what does this mean? Are there others like me?”

She shook her head and stepped back. “I don’t know. My family broke contact with Uniques

three centuries ago. I have a few names, but they could have changed them since then. Did you

know that you can hide the silvering in your eyes? The older ones learned how to do it and that’s

why I have hope that a few may still be around.”

“What information do you need from your books that you don’t already know?” Logan inquired

skeptically.

Page lifted her eyes up to his. “What I know as a Relic is the equivalent of knowing what an

orange tastes like, what it’s made out of, and the nutritional contents. But I couldn’t tell you what

tree it was picked from, what name it’s called in Mexico, or exactly what it looks like. Does that

make sense?”

I glanced up at Logan. “Sometimes during a storm, I feel a deep ache in my bones.”

“Uniques once congregated together, and I wonder if they still do,” she said. “The only way to

learn more about yourself is by connecting with others. The newer ones—if there are any—may not

be aware of what they are or that others exist who are like them. Some of the older ones may not

know much more than I do. There’s just no way to tell. This is so exciting!”

“Is there anything else I can do besides moving around a tire iron?”

She stared at Knox’s hat on the chair. “Shiners were able to wield lightning. I believe that’s still

the rumor that floats around these days, even though they thought it was something all Uniques

could do. Some Uniques inherit the same gifts as their Creator, which in turn, made many of them

Creators. But you don’t seem to have this gift. Could Samil do anything else?”

“Simon thinks he was a mentalist. Sometimes I could hear him in my head, but I don’t think

I’ve ever done anything like that before. Surely I would have noticed.”

She pinched her chin and looked up. “Sometimes abilities don’t come to full potential for years,

although you may have had a few episodes of it without knowing. Kind of like flickers from a lighter

before the flame is actually lit. If you think back, you might make the connection. You should also

be able to push your energy into metal, although I’m not sure what benefit that would be.”

My mind went back to the day I’d found Finn chained up in the compound and how I felt my

energy pour out through my hands as I swung that mallet. I’d thought about it on occasion after

that, because I was certain that I didn’t possess enough strength to have broken that chain.

Samil’s progeny was strong because of our DNA and how he created us, but he had no idea what

he had made the day he put his first spark into me.

“Thanks for trusting me, Silver. I’ll do a little research and let you know if I find anything

different. I’d really like to see if there are other Uniques who are still alive because I think you

could benefit from them.” She offered a womanly smile and waved her hands together. “You may

now resume your positions.”

I sniffed out a laugh as she left the room. Despite the news, I felt at peace. Now everything

was beginning to make sense, and it was exactly what I needed to get on with my life.

“Why did you not tell me?” Logan rubbed my arm and searched my eyes.

“Because I was afraid, Logan. My light is different—it’s addictive. Consider me the gourmet

version of a Mage. I have to be careful not to put my light into another Mage or they’ll pick up on

it. A juicer might not know what a Unique is, but once they taste my light, they’ll want more. Just

like Nero. There are those who would use me.”

His body shifted and he tilted his head to the side. “What do you mean, use you?” My heart

leapt into my throat as Logan pinned his arms on either side of me in a quick motion. “No one

better even think about touching you!”

He roared so loud that Justus flew in the door.

Misinterpreting the situation, Justus slammed his light into Logan and sent him flying across the

room. A small table knocked over and Logan stood up slowly with his arms at his sides, staring

Justus down.

The old Logan would have flipped his switch, but now he had managed to contain his impulsive

behavior. His level of control still put me on edge.

Justus flicked his eyes back and forth between us. “What’s going on?”

“I told him that I’m a Unique,” I whispered.

Justus turned his attention to Logan and pointed his finger. “Break our trust and reveal this to

anyone, Chitah, and I will not go easy on you by a mile.”

“Ghuardian, let me talk to him alone.”

“Worry not, Mage,” Logan replied in a smooth voice. “To my grave I’ll take it if that is what she

wishes.”

“And to your grave is where you’ll be if you do not hold to that,” Justus said as he looked me

over and slowly walked out of the room.

I cautiously glanced up at Logan. “There’s no one who can guide me through this. Only my

Ghuardian. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with all this power, but going into the world

alone frightens me. I’ve been on my own for a long time, and having to live with Justus has been

difficult. Being independent in my old life meant being alone and doing things alone. Humans are

in such a rush to leave the nest, only to give up their single life and get married. I used to think

that was a bad thing—that you were giving up part of yourself. Now I get it. Independence isn’t

about solitude, it’s about someone giving you freedom, trust, and protection. He’s gotten better

since I started working for Novis, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to leave Justus. I need friends and

family in my life. I don’t want to be alone.”

He kissed my forehead and whispered softly.

“Logan, are you mad that I kept this from you?”

My Chitah nuzzled against the crook of my neck. “I adore you.”

Logan moved his soft, wet kiss around my neck and then stepped back with his fingers tucked

in the waistline of my jeans. He just couldn’t keep his hands away from my tattoo. He finally let go

and scraped his fingers through his hair—something I’d noticed him doing more often since I had

cut it.

“Are you drunk, Mr. Cross?”

He covered his mouth with his fist, hiding a smile as he watched me with reverent eyes. I could

tell by the glazed look in his eyes he was over the legal limit. “I’ll be staying here for the night,” he

said decidedly. “Shall I go turn down the bed and put on my sleeping clothes?” Logan licked his

lower lip and slid his eyes down my body.

“You don’t wear clothes to bed.”

“Precisely.”

I got butterflies and smiled. “Can you send Justus in here? I need to talk with him privately.”

Logan leaned forward and brushed his lips across mine. “As you wish. Don’t keep me waiting,

Little Raven. After I grab some sweets from your pantry, I’m going to hand-feed you in bed,” he

said intimately.

A man after my own heart.

“I bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“Immensely.”

Logan exited the room and a few moments later, Justus squeezed through the door and closed

it. Laughter and loud talking echoed from the men in the other room. “You wish to speak with

me?”

Justus was the only sober person in the house, aside from Page. His prominent tattoo glistened

with sweat—an indication that he’d been working out. Nothing strenuous, probably just lifting

weights.

I didn’t get nervous around Justus very often, but I found myself struggling to find the right

words. “I have something I want to tell you.”

He tucked his hands beneath his biceps and widened his stance. “Speak.”

But it was hard to look up into his sharp blue eyes. He could cut a person to the marrow with

his stare, and I’m sure he could tell by my body language that I was about to reveal something

that might upset him.

So I took a deep breath. “I’ve accepted Logan’s claim. Do you know what that means?”

By the slide in his jaw, I knew he did.

“It means it’s permanent. It means… I want to marry him.”

His voice rose angrily as he tried to move toward the door. “You’re drunk, and what he did was

coercion.”

“No, wait,” I said, grabbing his arm and blocking his exit. “This didn’t just happen tonight. I

was completely sober when we had the conversation, and to be honest, I made the decision when

we were separated. That’s when I knew.”

“Has he given you a ring?”

“You know Chitah customs,” I argued. “That’s not how they do it. That’s not how we do it

either.”

I waited anxiously for his reaction as he mulled it over. “You are young, Learner. And a

woman.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” I said in clipped words.

“It means you’ll change your mind. Women can turn love on and off like a switch,” he said with

a clenched jaw, averting his eyes.

My hands fumbled with the button on my jeans and I pulled the zipper down. Justus’s eyes

widened and he snatched my wrists, trying to pull them away. “You’re drunk, Silver. You don’t

want this.”

I couldn’t help it; I busted out laughing. “I’m not trying to seduce you, Ghuardian. There’s

something you should see so maybe you’ll know how serious I am about this being permanent.”

I pulled my jeans open far enough that he could make out one of the paw prints.

Then his eyes flashed up to mine. “Did you put liquid fire on that?”

My brows arched. “Guilty.” I zipped up my jeans and held his wrist. “I know it’s not easy for you

to accept this because you’re still my Ghuardian and you don’t take a lot of what I say seriously.

But please don’t dismiss my feelings. I love him more than I ever thought that I could love

someone, and we’re going to face the firing squad of public opinion, but that’s okay. I don’t care.”

“Logan is still a target,” he said with a grim tone. “Retaliation will not be tolerated for the death

of Tarek, but it can’t be prevented. I’ve spoken with Leo and there’s a possibility that Logan could

be arrested. If that occurs, then the punishment for assassinating a Lord is death.”

I bit my lip angrily. “He did not assassinate him. And I’ll stand by him no matter what, even if I