Unforgiven by Stephanie Erickson

yesterday’s training exercise. I hung my head sheepishly, but if she noticed my reaction, she didn’t comment.
    “However, I’m not sure I want everyone in the group to know just how powerful you are quite yet,” Tracy continued. “I need to understand your methods better before word spreads. Then, I can start teaching the others to do what you do. The more people who know, the quicker the Potestas can find out about you. They have spies everywhere. They already know you’re special, but they have no idea what they’re in for with you. The longer we can keep that a secret, the better our advantage.”
    I groaned inwardly, and she must’ve seen the expression on my face.
    “Who did you tell, and how much did you tell them?”
    “I didn’t tell them anything about you or your secrets. That was the only thing you asked me to keep to myself before.” The words came out quickly, as if they might build a wall capable of holding back her anger.
    “Who did you tell, and how much did you tell them?” Her stern tone didn’t make me want to hear the question a third time.
    “Owen and Mitchell. I just told them I made it past your defenses. All of them.”
    “No one else.” She said it like it was a command, not a request.
    I nodded as quickly as I could, and she moved on.
    “So, anyway, I’ve asked—”
    I cut her off. “No. Not David.” The force of my anger made the words echo in the small room.
    She stopped, clearly surprised by my interjection.
    “Can’t we do this on our own?”
    She hesitated, but I pushed. “I know I didn’t instill much trust in you yesterday, but this isn’t you coming at me, this is me coming at you. That’s always gone pretty well in the past.”
    “Control is a dangerous skill,” she started.
    “So I’ve heard.” David’s warning shaped the words, making them more sarcastic than I’d intended. Lucky for me, Tracy ignored the comment completely.
    “It can be an odd feeling, to control someone else. With your history of seeing just how far you can go without asking permission first, I’m not sure it’s a good idea for us to try this alone.
    I cringed. She was absolutely right. I’d done nothing to warrant her trust. “Please,” I pleaded, but then I sighed. “If you feel like you need to have someone else in here, please choose someone besides David. What about Owen or Mitchell? They already know. Or Camden? He seems pretty discreet.”
    She sighed, taking in my desperation. “What’s the problem with David? I thought you might enjoy working with him again. Did something happen after I left?”
    My voice hardened of its own accord. “No.”
    Tracy scoffed. “Clearly.”
    She frowned, but I could tell her resolve was weakening. After staring at me for a long, silent moment, she said, “I am going to give you a task. You are to do that, and only that. If you push it, there will be consequences for you. No matter how talented you are, you cannot hope to have a future here if the other members of your team can’t trust you.”
    Nodding quickly, I tried to paint my face with the most innocent look I possessed.
    Her frown deepened into disapproval. “Do not make me regret this, Mackenzie.”
    I gave her a weak smile, hoping to show her I was grateful for this chance to prove I could be trusted.
    “Fine. Let’s get started. Controlling someone from within their mind is the easiest, and sometimes safest, way to diffuse a potentially deadly situation. If you’re staring down the barrel of a gun, you only have to slip into the attacker’s mind to convince them to lower the weapon and walk away.
    “However, the method isn’t without risks. It takes extreme concentration. And if you’re face to face with your attacker, it’s dangerous to leave your body vulnerable while you’re delving into their mind. Particularly if they’re working with an accomplice.” She paused, and I wondered if she’d experienced something like that before. After seeing so many of her