Branded by Fire

Hawke’s office, but instead she was heading toward the paintings that lined the entranceway. It would’ve been logical to turn and put herself back on the right path, but she was no longer in the Net. Logic didn’t rule supreme.

Trusting instinct and her growing abilities, she continued on toward the hallway lined with an amazing array of images of wolves at play, at rest, even in combat. She wasn’t as surprised as she should’ve been to see Sienna Lauren at the farthest end of the tunnel—the part closest the door. The teenager’s face was stark white, her free hand clenched rigidly enough to hurt. She was running the fingers of the other over what looked like some kind of a fracture in the wall.

“Sienna.” Sascha kept her tone soft, able to sense the distress coming off the girl in waves. It was the first time she’d seen her this close to breaking. Sienna had turned eighteen that summer, but except for her run-ins with Hawke, she acted with a maturity beyond her years—unsurprising, given what Sascha suspected of Sienna’s abilities. The girl’s training had to have been brutal. “Sienna,” she said again, putting a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

Sienna jerked away from the wall. “I didn’t mean to.” On the surface, it was an angry declaration. “I didn’t, Sascha.”

Sascha wasn’t close to Sienna, but she was coming to realize that as an empath, she had a shortcut to people’s trust. It was a responsibility she intended to honor . . . no matter what. “It’s okay,” she began, trying to soothe.

“No,” Sienna interrupted. “Hawke will go crazy.” There was no fear in her, just a staggering sense of having done something bad. Something very bad.

Hawke? Sascha frowned, then looked at the wall. The fracture, the crumbled paint. “You did this?” she asked with utmost gentleness, taking the girl’s hands in her own and turning them over—powdered stone clung to her skin.

“I didn’t mean to,” she said again. “I only wanted to look at them—they’re important to Hawke. I—” Her voice hitched, her breath broke. “My emotions are going haywire, Sascha. And without control, I can’t—” She cried out, wrenched her hands away. A second later, power filled the air. It was so strong, it raised the hairs on the back of Sascha’s neck.

Fear threatened to take over but she stood her ground. Panicking would just make it worse. Everything about Sienna pointed to a combat ability—which one, Sascha wasn’t sure, but one thing was certain—such Psy were very, very, very unstable until trained. Before Silence, many on the extreme end of the scale had died when their powers turned on them. “Sienna,” she said, drawing the girl’s attention. “Look at me.” She infused her voice with command, made the girl meet her eyes. “Focus.”

Sienna blinked eyes that had gone inky black, drowning the white stars, and nodded in an uncoordinated jolting motion. A minute later, her hands uncurled and the sense of power disappeared. Both of them breathed a sigh of relief. A single, clear tear escaped Sienna’s phenomenal control. Her heart twisting up, Sascha gathered the teenager close. “Shh, we’ll figure this out.”

“I’m the horror in the closet, Sascha, the nightmare even Psy hide from.” She held on tight, her face pressed to Sascha’s shoulder.

“Don’t be melodramatic.” Sascha couldn’t believe the pain contained in the fragile body she held. Sienna’s emotions were so tormented the girl was close to shattering. It made no sense, not when she had to have been fully conditioned before she left the PsyNet. “You have combat-grade abilities. It’s not limited to mental combat, is it?”

A shake of the head. “No.”

Sascha had the sense that Sienna was hiding the whole truth, but now wasn’t the time to push. “Your uncle has extremely powerful abilities—he’s learned to control them. So will you.” Judd’s stated ability was telepathy, but Sascha had a feeling that that was a front for other, deadlier gifts. The man had been an Arrow, an assassin no one ever saw until it was too late.

“I’m not like Uncle Judd.” A flat statement. “I’m worse.” No more tears, no weakness in that voice, only a truth so painful no one should have to endure it. “You know it and so do I. One slip and boom, I take out the entire den.”

Sascha knew that wasn’t teenage grandeur at work. “Your cardinal status isn’t telepathy, is it?” As with Judd, that was the skill everyone knew her to have.

A pause. The answer was less than a whisper. “No.”

My God. Sascha held the girl closer, disbelieving. Cardinal Psy with furious combat abilities were beyond deadly. Sienna could possibly take out the SnowDancer den if she lost her grip on her powers. “You’ve been trying to manage it?”

“I shut up everything inside. Everything.” Words ground out through clenched teeth. “I thought if I could hold it, just hold it, it would be fine. But it’s not.”

“Why?” she asked. “Why are you losing control this badly?”

The answer, when it came, broke Sascha’s heart.

“Hawke.” It was an almost soundless whisper.

“Oh, Sienna.” She stroked her hand over the girl’s hair, even as her mind worked at piercing speed. “Has it been cumulative?”

Sienna nodded. “The second I met him, everything crumbled, my shields, my conditioning, everything! And Sascha, I need that conditioning. Judd showed me how to short-circuit the pain controls but I haven’t—I’m not like him, I don’t think I can stop without the pain.”

Sascha squeezed her eyes shut, sending Sienna soothing waves of reassurance. But she didn’t brush aside the girl’s words. Silence had been undertaken for a reason. It had become perverted over time, but at the start, the Protocol had been their salvation—it had saved people like Sienna, Psy who couldn’t think for the virulent strength of their gifts. It was possible the girl simply couldn’t exist without Silence.

And if that was so, it would send shock waves through both the Lauren family and the SnowDancers.

“The LaurenNet,” she said, referring to the small psychic network that linked Sienna’s entire family, “is it strong enough to survive your not being in the den?”

Sienna nodded immediately. “Marlee and Toby are settled. They won’t attempt to rejoin the PsyNet. And with Brenna in our net as well, it’s gained in strength. But I can’t leave for long—maybe a week or two. Toby’s my responsibility.”

“Of course,” Sascha said. “But you need a break, you know that. And we’re close enough that someone can drive you up here when necessary.”

“I can drive. Uncle Walker taught me.” A pause, then a slight shake of her head. “But these eyes, Sascha. We can’t hide them.”

Sascha smiled. “Sometimes, I don’t want to stick out either, so I’ve been working with our techs to develop a new type of contact lens. It’s not perfect yet, but it’s good enough—you can wear it up to a month before it needs replacing.”

Hope lit Sienna’s face. “I could be free. I mean, not leave or anything, but I could go out into the city, move about.”

“Yes.” Sascha touched her hands again. “But not until you can control yourself.”

A shaky nod. “I don’t know who can help me—Judd’s done a lot, but there’s no one else like me.”

Sascha felt a flash of worry. What if . . . ? No. Cardinal X-Psy were a myth. Even midrange Xs were rare, their gift turning on them during childhood. None but the very weak survived to adulthood. “Sienna, what’s your combat ability?”

“I can’t tell you.” Sienna’s jaw set in a way most would’ve read as stubbornness. They would’ve been wrong. It was desperation. “I can’t. No one can ever know.”

Sascha stroked her hand over the teenager’s hair again. “Don’t worry—I’m not going to withdraw my offer. But I need to know this—will you be safe around my pack?”

Sienna took long moments to think about it, strengthening Sascha’s faith in the girl. “I was cold in the Net, Sascha,” she said at last. “Really cold—maybe even colder than Judd. It’s being here, in this den, that breaks me. If you get me out of here, my conditioning should spring back.”

Sascha knew precisely what Hawke would think of that, but if Silence would keep Sienna functional, then she’d fight tooth and nail for the girl. “Did the Council know about your abilities?”