Chapter Ten

Ty paced through the living room of his house, pausing every few steps to listen closely to see if he heard the door to his shop opening. It had been several hours since Samira and Zuri had run off with Pyra to Ciyrs's shop to tell them whatever it was that she had figured out. He had wanted to go along, but she told him that he should go home and get some rest, that it could be a while before she was finished. He knew that there wasn't really anything that he would be able to do to help, but he hated being away from her and not even knowing what was happening. A few times he thought about checking in with her telepathically, but he didn't know what she was doing and didn't want to risk distracting her at a critical moment and possibly ruining her work.

He took a deep breath to calm himself. Pacing around the house and worrying about her wasn't going to do anyone any good. If he was going to be a part of this war, he was going to have to start with being courageous enough to face the demons inside him and take control of the part of his destiny he had run from for so long.

Ty glanced toward the door one last time, and then looked around the room. He would have to start with something small, just to make sure that he could even do it anymore before he tried anything more impactful. His eyes fell on a small plant that sat on the table across the room. It was a bioluminescent fern he often used as illumination at night when he didn't want to access the solar energy collected from the panel on his roof and stored in a small cell that would allow him to do things throughout the home like turn on lights and heat water for a shower. It was nearly morning, but it was still dark enough that the vibrant blue glow of the plant stood out against the shadowy room.

He concentrated on the plant, allowing his thoughts to etch it in his mind. The longer he looked at it, the stronger the outline against his thoughts became until it seemed that everything else in his brain had gone completely black and all he could see was the glowing plant. When he had isolated it enough, he imagined his thoughts sending invisible ropes out of his mind and encircling the plant. He pulled with his mind and the plant trembled. Suddenly a scream in the back of his mind made the plant stop moving and he fell to his knees.

Ty gasped for breath, trying to stop the shaking of his body and hold back the sharp tears that stung his eyes. The scream had been a memory, an echo that he would never be able to forget. He had heard it so many times in the years since it had actually happened and each time it had pushed him further and further away from the power contained within him. So far that now it seemed he may no longer be able to harness it.

"Ty?"

He had been so shaken by the scream that he didn't even realize the door to his shop had opened and Samira stepped into the living room. He lifted his head and looked at her. She ran forward toward him and dropped to her knees on the floor at his side, wrapping an arm around his back and tilting her head down to look him in the face.

"Hi," he managed weakly.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Ty sat back on his heels and shook his head.

"I was trying to do something I haven't done in a long time. I was hoping that it might help the clan during the war, but I don’t think that I can do it anymore."

"Why?"

He looked at her for a long second. He had never told anyone about this before. No one knew what had happened or how it had impacted him as he grew up. Telling the story would be painful and make him more vulnerable than he had ever been, but if there was anyone in the world who he could be that vulnerable in front of and not feel afraid, it was his mate. As safe as he made her feel, she made him feel the same way and he was finally ready, for the first time in his life, to be completely honest.

"My father killed my mother," he said cautiously, gauging her reaction carefully.

"Intentionally?" she asked softly.

"No. He loved her with everything in him. He would never hurt her on purpose."

"What happened?"

Ty drew in a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then let it out. This was a moment that could define his entire future, something that could truly end everything he had built for himself as he grew up and after his parents died. Samira looked back at him with wide, innocent eyes veiled with worry and genuine, deep love.

"My father had a skill that other Denynso don't. It is extremely rare. In fact, since his death, there has only been one other who has had it. One day he was using it and he lost control. My mother happened to be in the path and it killed her. He died less than a year later. Everyone thinks that he got sick, but I know that it was the heartbreak of being without her and the guilt of feeling like he caused her death that eventually just stole his will to live."

"I'm so sorry, Ty." Samira paused and brought her hand to his back to rub it gently, "Will you tell me something?"

Ty nodded.

"Are you the other Denynso with that skill? Is that what you were saying that you don't think you can do anymore?"

Ty nodded again, feeling the tears building in his eyes again.

"I haven't used it since my father died. Almost 20 years."

"Use it now," she said.

"What?"

"Use it now," she repeated matter-of-factly, "Show me."

She said it with such confidence, such absolute faith that he would be able to overcome this massive challenge; it gave him a surge of determination. Ty stood up again and brushed the tears away from his cheeks. Forcing the sound of the reverberating scream out of his mind, he turned his focus back to the plant. The sun was coming up now and the glow was not as strong, but he let his mind etch it against his thoughts again. The ropes of concentration shot out of his mind and coiled around the plant. He forced his focus to sharpen and in an instant the plant rose up off of the table and flew across the room into his outstretched hand.