But the flush of her complexion, the warmth of her body, and the robust energy of her embrace eased him into understanding that she was getting well quickly. She would soon be able to care for the needs of her family and the demands of her duties, just like he knew she wanted, the enthusiasm singing through his thoughts in a way that made him laugh out loud.
Bella slipped out of his embrace, her thoughts turning in the direction of her infant daughter. She moved to the cradle that sat beneath Noah's hand and looked down at her daughter, who was finally sleeping after the proper breast-feeding she had longed for. Bella smiled at the King, leaning to kiss his cheek warmly, ignoring her husband's tensing hand at her waist.
"She adores you, Noah," she told him softly, looking down at how the King's enormous hand blanketed the babe's back securely.
"The feeling is quite mutual, I assure you," he said. "She loves to be close to the fire. A girl after my own heart."
"I see that. Noah, I have news for you."
"Yes," the King sighed. "Jacob said you would. I suppose it concerns Elijah?"
"Yes." Bella moved to sit in the chair nearest the monarch. "I believe he was badly injured in a battle. A trap he was not expecting. But before I explain further, I want to tell you all that I think I am beginning to understand why some visions affect me so strongly and others do not." She looked up at her husband and the others who were gathered around her. Legna had come to stand close to Gideon's side as he stood with his usual firm efficiency near the fireplace. The medic relaxed instantly, however, when his wife leaned into his embrace. "Actually, Amos helped me with this understanding. I believe it depends on how close I have been to the person who is the subject of the vision."
"How close? As in emotions, or proximity?"
"I cannot be one hundred percent sure, of course, but I believe it is proximity. A very specific kind of proximity. My power to dampen and then absorb the powers of other Nightwalkers, to be exact. I have absorbed Elijah's powers repeatedly over the past year, and in a way, because of it I feel connected to him. Almost as if a part of him remains living inside me. The same is true of Legna, and Jacob, and you as well, Noah. Before I learned to control the ability as I do now, I accidentally took that part of you all within myself. I believe the reason the visions overwhelmed me while I was searching for Elijah was because he was equally overwhelmed with injury and pain."
"It's a form of empathy," Legna remarked, her own empathy making her the expert.
"Yes. It is. And though Amos was an enormous help in buffering me from the harsh reality of the exhausting visions, as time has gone on, it has become less necessary. I believe with my entire being that Elijah has been taken to a safe place and has been healing all of this time, allowing me to become calmer and more relaxed with every moment the urgency passed. I also sense he is returning to us very soon."
"Thank Destiny." Noah exhaled suddenly, a weight of op pressing proportions finally lifting off of his shoulders. "Bella, I am so glad to hear that."
"I think in the future," Gideon spoke up, "and until you are stronger and more experienced, you need to limit the instances of absorbing the powers of others. We cannot change what has already occurred, but there is so much we do not know about human/Druid hybrids, Isabella. You are nothing like the Druids I knew a millennia ago. Your sister as well. Corrine's powers-"
"What about them?"
The fireside gathering looked up to see the exact redhead in question standing in the center of the hall, hands on hips, her husband Kane standing behind her. It was at about the same moment that the familiar scent of sulfur and smoke, the usual residue a young Mind Demon left behind when teleporting to and from a location, drifted over the group. Bella reached to fan away the odor from her sleeping baby, wishing Elijah was already there to blow away the fumes with a breeze.
"They are nothing like what they should be," Gideon finished. Kane was getting better at teleporting, he mused. It was rare that one so young could sneak up on such an elder, highly experienced group of Demons.
"Well, well, look what the smoke dragged in," Noah greeted them wryly. "Where have you two been?"
Corrine blushed an immediate bright red, passing the reaction back to her mate, who colored under his natural tan.
"Call it a delayed honeymoon," Kane explained sheepishly. "There's been so much going on since the wedding, what with looking for Ruth and Mary and fighting these sporadic attacks they keep leading against us, I asked Elijah if we could take off for a few days. He said we could."
"That explains why you were too preoccupied to hear my summons," Jacob teased, feeling good-natured about it now that Bella was safe and healthy again.
"So why did you need us? And why are we discussing my powers?" Corrine asked, moving toward them, her husband in tow. She led him to a chair where he obediently sat down and she found her seat in his lap.
"It's a long story. Suffice it to say," Gideon said, "we are learning there are some drawbacks to Druidic powers that are not in my experience."
"Oh, great," Corrine said dryly. "I finally start to get mine, and now you're telling me there are going to be ramifications?"
"Firstly, Corrine, I don't think we have seen all of your abilities yet. I do not believe the ability to seek out Druid mates will be all there is to you." Gideon took a seat as well and crossed his legs casually. "And the two Druids you have recently found are a very good example of the diversity hybrids seem to be gifted with. One can become invisible, walking through walls and all solid objects. The other not only has the gift of flight, but he has an uncanny knack for sensing the presence of other Nightwalkers."
"I think it would be wise for all of the Druids to be careful with how they use their abilities. If Bella has a drawback, we can bet the rest of you will." Noah lifted his hand from Bella's baby at last, rubbing his hands together absently. "Frankly, it makes sense. Nature always provides a measure of balance. She has gifted you all with immortality and rapid healing, as well as a variety of powers. It is her way to balance this with a compensating weakness."
"Just as our powers and immortality are vulnerable to the presence of iron," Jacob added.
"You mean every hero has his or her kryptonite," Bella said.
"Exactly," Legna agreed. "'Thropes have silver. Dwellers have light. For Mistrals it's agoraphobia."
"Vampires have the sun," Kane added.
"Yes. But they all understand and are familiar with these weaknesses, and have learned to adjust to avoid them and the danger they represent. Until we know what it is specifically each Druid needs to be wary of, you are in a reasonable amount of danger." Gideon made sure to level a firm gaze at both of the Druids present. "Stay close to your mates, ladies. They will potentially be the ones who can most immediately protect you."
"Wait a minute," Corrine complained. "I thought our kryptonite was the fact that we need to remain exposed to the energy of our mates regularly. That is how I almost died, isn't it? That's why Mary's mate died. Because we didn't realize he had been exposed to her already, like I had been exposed to Kane. That's why we began to starve to death. Because of lack of that needed energy. You found me barely in time and it took me all this time to recover what I lost. According to you, I'm still recovering."
"She has a point," Kane remarked.
"Yes. But you might recall that Vampires also can be poisoned by the blood of magic-users. Lycanthropes cannot bear the binding of their hair." Legna leaned forward as she explained. "There are no absolutes, Corrine. If we act as if there are, we will damage ourselves in the long run."
"Yes. Of course." Corrine blushed until she nearly matched the color of her long, coiled hair. She waved herself off with one hand. "Don't mind me, I've only been on the planet for thirty years. What do I know?"
"It was a good point, honey," Kane assured her. "You only learn by asking questions."
"I do not believe it." Jacob spoke up in sudden, laughing shock. "My baby brother did not just repeat something I have spent the past century trying to pound into his thick skull, did he?"
"I do believe he did," Noah speculated with a hum of interest.
"I think he ought to 'honeymoon' more often," Bella teased, giggling hysterically when the pair blushed hotly once more.
Siena instinctively found herself reaching for her throat, suddenly feeling the absence of her insignia of rank. But there was far more to her reign than a piece of jewelry.
"Elijah," she said softly, her eyes never leaving her sister's expression of barely repressed amusement.
She didn't even need to say his name. The warrior already knew what she wanted. He hesitated for a small second, gripped with a reluctance to let go of her he couldn't comprehend. Slowly, he slipped his hands from around her waist, moved away, and with a single, lithe movement, gained the stone ledge of the pool. He immediately left the area of the pool and strode boldly into the back sections of the cave. Syreena watched him go, the lift of her brow both curious and appreciative as she perused his nude body during his retreat.
Then she turned that cocked brow to her sibling.
Siena was already out of the water herself, the liquid streaming off her body as she approached her sister with hostile speed.
"Siena," Syreena warned, instinctively holding up a hand to ward her off.
Siena approached her so that they were almost nose to nose, her hands curled into fists.
"Heed me carefully, Counselor," she whispered with intense warning, her gold eyes flashing with molten temper. "You do not give my title to anyone until I give you leave to do so. I will not brook that insolence, not even from a sister."
"If you did not wish to share the title, Siena, then you should not have slept with him."
"What has happened here is my business, and mine alone. I will dictate the ramifications of my actions, Syreena. Not you, nor anyone else, will force their opinions on me."