“No. I think he’s fucking with you. Maybe he wants to do to you what he’s been doing to the others: take your power.”

Hank stood and held out his hand to help me up, but I just sat there looking up at him. “Then why hasn’t he?” I asked lamely.

“I don’t know. Seeing what you’re made of? Testing your power? We knew this would happen once news got out about you, what’s been done to you. You’re going to be a lure, a beacon to anyone searching for a leg up, for power.”

“Yeah, and I can’t even summon power when I really need it. I can’t control it.”

“Eh, don’t worry about that, Charlie. You’re a newborn. The rest of us have had ages to learn how to focus, for it to finally become natural, even in the most hectic, unsettling moments.”

Aaron said the same thing every time I got frustrated during a lesson. And it was true, I knew, but when it counted the most, when I needed it the most—sometimes, I failed myself. I could have prevented Llyran from taking me on the joy ride from hell. Theoretically, I was more powerful than he was. I had the genes of all three worlds and access to more power than any being on this planet. For all the good it did me.

“I’m sorry about the water,” I said again, trying to think of a way to explain.

“Sometimes … pain, or the reminder of it, makes us do rash things. Call it payback for me ditching you the other day.” He gave a crooked grin.

Spoken like someone with a ton of experience in the pain department. Curious.

“Come on, we should get into the water. The next time I face Llyran, I want to be completely healed.” Hank grabbed the end of his shirt and began to pull it up. My face went hot. He froze, seeing my look. “You know, sooner or later, you’re going to have to get used to the Elysian way of things.”

I turned my back to him and let out the breath I’d been holding, not bothering to respond. Not sure I’d ever get used to the nonexistent modesty held by the Elysians. In the baths, in this part of their culture, naked was the way to go. I had a healthy appreciation for the male form and had my share of lusty fantasies, but that didn’t equate to the reality of standing in an indoor nudist colony and being completely at ease. Hell, even baring it all with the object of one’s desire could be a bit nerve-inspiring at first.

Hank’s soft chuckle issued behind me as I heard his zipper slide down. “Relax, Madigan. Every private room has the clothing option. I’ll wear a shenti. There should be a gown on the chest at the end of your lounge.”

I still didn’t turn around, though I did cast my eyes toward the lounge and the thick pile of towels and the neatly folded gowns. The clothing option had been made available to the small number of human bath house members and those who had adopted human ways. Once I heard Hank’s footsteps retreat toward the pool, I went for the sheer curtain that hung between two of the columns. I pulled each cord and let them swish closed.

I changed quickly, wincing as I pulled the short, Greek-style gown over my head, and leaving on my bra and undies since the material would become transparent in the water.

Hank was already sitting on a mat by the pool’s edge, his back to me. I squared my shoulders, drew in a deep breath, and walked forward.

As I drew closer, I dropped my towel onto the nearest table, noticing Hank was cross-legged, posture straight, eyelids closed. I’d seen him half naked in a shenti before, at this same bath house, but it still did nothing to calm the girly spike of awareness at seeing his perfect form, all tanned and hard, and unavoidable, wearing only a linen loincloth.

12

I swallowed again, willing myself to think more like Elysians, entirely comfortable with their bodies, both in and out of clothes.

I was more worked up at seeing Hank than he’d ever be at seeing me. He went to the baths almost every day, frolicking naked with some of the most gorgeous creatures on the planet. So seeing me in my short gown was not going to set him on fire … not that I wanted to set him on fire anyway.

“Since when do you meditate?”

“Since when do you think you know everything about me?” he responded, eyes still closed and face not changing expression.

I made a face he couldn’t see.

“Have a seat, Charlie. I’ll show you how.”

“No thanks, I’m gonna soak for a few minutes and then be on my way.” I dipped my toe into the water. It was warm and the herby smell that erupted made me breathe in deeply.

“Scared?”

I pivoted. “Of meditating? No.”

“You need practice concentrating, using your focus. It’ll help you heal, too. Sit down and I’ll show you how to play with water. Unless you’re, you know, scared.”

I blew a strand of hair away from my face and sat down on the mat, facing him, mimicking his pose. “Happy? What now?”

“Close your eyes, grasshopper.” His mouth twitched.

I smiled despite myself. “You’re such a dork.”

“Ah, but a dork who can do this.”

I felt the energy gather before I saw it. It tingled my skin, set me on edge, and I straightened my spine. His aura ballooned, surrounding him in a wash of island blues—azure, topaz, turquoise. The beauty of it was mesmerizing. I lost track of my senses until the air grew cooler and damp. I turned to see waves in the pool, slapping gently at the sides.

Hank lifted his arms slowly. Droplets of water rose from the pool like rain in reverse, following his movement. He held his perfectly formed arms straight out, looking like some Michelangelo sculpture come to life and making it hard for me to choose what to look at, because both male and water were stunning.

Slowly Hank lowered his arms, wiggling his fingers and making the droplets fall like the gentlest rain.

I was smiling, my heart beating a little faster. This was, by far, the coolest thing I’d ever seen him do. Hank hardly showed any powers around me at all. At least not like this, for fun, and not under fire, chasing a criminal down the street.

I tore my gaze away from the pool, struck by the power and the raw, potent beauty of him. I’d gotten used to the way people stopped and stared at Hank, often amused by the fact that even as they looked, they gave him respect and space. Like an unspoken, unrecognized sense of acknowledgment, the same way wild animals give deference to an alpha or a predator among them.

He couldn’t have acted any more different, though. Always making dumb jokes, dressing down, and not giving his inborn nature a second thought.

He cracked one eye open. “Stop that.” His eyelid closed again.

“Stop what?”

“You’re not blocking your aura or your emotions.” He dropped his concentration, his hands falling on his bare thighs and his shoulders slumping a fraction as he gave me a frank look. “Keep looking at me like that and I’ll take you up on it.”

My mouth fell open and then immediately snapped closed. Blood rose hot to my cheeks. I put up a fast block, my pulse beating furiously. Great. When did I suddenly become one of those people?

The water in the pool quieted to a gentle, hypnotic wave. “So, the lesson,” I prompted, practically burning under his scrutiny.

“That was the lesson. Now it’s your turn.”

“Riiiight.”

“If you have Adonai in you, you should be able to do a lot more with water than the average Elysian. It’s an easy element to start with, and you’ve been focusing too much on the Char side of you.”

“That’s because the Char side comes easier.” Which I really hated to admit. But Hank was right—I needed to practice using the Elysian in me. The more I did, the easier it would be to access when it really counted. And I had used some of it already to fight Llyran. “Okay.” I let my eyes close and gave my best meditative pose. “Now what, Sensei?”

I peeked to see his mouth quirk. He tried his damnedest to convey seriousness, but there was only humor gleaming in those gemstone blues. “Don’t sound so enthused,” he said. “Close your eyes, focus your thoughts, envision the water … feel it, the wetness, the cool temperature, the way it runs over your skin. You’re it and it’s you. You become one. You control its flow, its properties. Make it yours.”