Torn (Demon Kissed #3) by H.M. Ward Page A

around the lack of path in this section of the Underworld. It was like a landslide covered what was left of an ancient path in stone and rubble. I kept sliding and losing my footing. Collin caught me most of the time. Once, I fell on my butt and shocked my tailbone. It still throbbed. I’d been thinking that healing would have been an awesome power. While Al said I had that ability, I didn’t know how to harness it yet so that I could use it when I wanted. That made me wonder what other Valefar powers there were, and if I could use them. I explained this to Collin, but the only response I received was a blank expression on his face. The bond was useless this time, revealing nothing. Whatever he was thinking, he was hiding it from me.
    I gently prodded him with my elbow after I gracefully fell over a mini mountain of sand and stones. I smiled at him, “What’s the matter? You don’t want to share?”
    Turning swiftly, Collin rounded on me. His eyes were wide and his words were low and dangerous. “Never suggest anything like that ever again. Understand?” His nostrils flared like I’d enraged him, but I had no idea what I’d done.
    Taking a step back, I put up my hands saying, “Sorry. I didn’t think this was a touchy subject for you.”
    His mood sank further, “That’s usually your problem—you don’t think.” Normally he would have said this kind of comment in jest, although I knew there was an element of truth to it. The truth is easier to listen to when it was dosed in sugar. This time he didn’t do that and it stung.
    I bristled and staggered over the last of the debris on the path we were following. Throwing my hair out of my face, I turned back to him. His face was pinched. The bond was tumultuous; it felt like I was being strangled. “That was low. But thanks for pointing that out. No, I don’t always think things through. Sometimes things turn into life or death situations and there is no time to think. I just thought it would be nice to know what abilities were Valefar and which abilities were Martis, especially since I seem to be having those types of experiences more lately.” I looked over my shoulder at him. He visibly deflated.
    He reached for my shoulder and turned me toward him, “It’s just… I can’t risk losing you. There are a million different things you could do as a Valefar. Some are tiny things—little powers that eat away at you. There’s a point of no return with Valefar magic, Ivy, and I don’t want you to pass it. I don’t even want you to know where it is. If you practice them, you risk losing your soul—you risk becoming fully Valefar. And once you taste Valefar powers, it’s difficult to resist them, even when you know the cost.” He looked away from me, as if remembering something. When he glanced back at me his eyes were wide as he pleaded with me, “Please don’t go looking for trouble. If you accidentally use your Valefar powers that’ll be better than if you knowingly called them. Please, promise me you’ll only call shadows and effonate. Nothing else.”
    I took a deep breath. If I lied, he’d sense it, but I didn’t want to promise anything like that. What if I needed to defend myself? Or him? If I knew more about my Valefar heritage, it would help. Even if I didn’t use it. From the expression on his face, I could see that he totally disagreed. Not wanting to fight, I said, “I won’t go looking for trouble.”
    He arched an eyebrow at me and gave me a faint smile. “And…?”
    “And,” I smiled up at him, “I promise.” I just didn’t say exactly what I promised.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER ELEVEN
     
    As we made our way to a portal, we crossed some difficult terrain. The Underworld was similar to the human world above in some ways. The creatures of the realm used paths to travel down there, and generally speaking, each kind of being kept to their own. They didn’t wander around, but we did. That left us out