Fearless The King Series Book One - By Tawdra Kandle Page 0,104

to talk to any of them ever again if I can help it. I just want to go back to being normal.

Normal would have been nice. And actually, I did have one day of it. I made it home on Friday before my curfew, even with all of our extracurricular activities. Michael and I decided on the way back into town with Amber that telling my parents loosely the same story that Amber told hers would be the safest way to go. The only difference was that I admitted to my parents that I had actually heard Nell planning to humiliate Amber but assured them that my secret was still safe.

My mom and dad were more surprised than angry, at least initially. I was so tired that I barely knew what I said to them before I shuffled off to bed with the promise to explain more the next day.

I slept until nearly noon on Saturday and stumbled out into the kitchen. My mother must have heard me poking around for something to eat because she came out of her office and sat at the kitchen table.

“I was just about to go in and make sure you were breathing,” she commented.

“Sorry,” I mumbled. “I’m not used to being up so late… or all the excitement, I guess.”

“Yes, it sounds like you had quite the night,” my mom observed.

“You know me. Never a dull moment.”

“I’m sorry that your first dance turned out this way, though.”

I picked up my bowl of fruit and joined my mother at the table. “You know, it was fun. I did have a good time. The part with Nell and Amber didn’t ruin it for me.”

“Well, good, I’m glad to hear it.” She was toying with a napkin, a frown on her face, which I knew meant she had something to say. I picked at my fruit and waited.

“Your dad and I are worried. You heard something from that girl’s mind, and then that you acted on it. That was a real risk.”

I didn’t answer right away. I knew this was coming. What I had done, or at least what my parents knew I had done, went against everything they had taught me about controlling and concealing my gift.

“I don’t know how else I could have handled it. I couldn’t have let Amber be hurt—in any way.”

“But Tasmyn, we’ve talked about this so many times before. What you hear people think—you cannot base judgments or actions on that. And you’re not even supposed to be putting yourself in a position to hear those thoughts. You know how to protect yourself from hearing things. How did that happen?”

I cast my eyes down unhappily. “It’s been harder lately. It seems like the happier and more relaxed I am, the more difficult it is to keep up my guard.”

My mother sighed. “Well, that’s a dilemma. Obviously, your dad and I are glad that you’re happy, and we don’t want you to lose that. It’s been very gratifying for us to see you make real friends here. We felt that you were finally old enough to have those friends and still keep your secret. But you’re going to have to work harder, Tas, to learn how to maintain your mental block even while you’re more relaxed.”

“But what if I can’t? What if this is just the way I was made and I’m really supposed to be using this gift, not trying to suppress it?”

My mom’s mouth dropped slightly, and she stared at me. “Tasmyn, that idea is very frightening to me. That’s why what happened last night scares us. You cannot go around interfering with lives just because you think that your talent gives you that right.”

My temper was rising, and I struggled to remain calm. “I wouldn’t say it gives me any rights. I look at it more as an obligation. If I heard someone planning a crime, wouldn’t I be right to do something about it?”

“But the question is, where do you draw that line? How do you determine that someone is merely considering versus someone who is seriously planning?”

“I can tell the difference,” I insisted. I remembered Nell’s first vague idea about blood sacrifice and then her very specific planning of this past week. It was quite clear to me.

My mother shook her head. “We need to talk about this more, when your dad can be part of the conversation.”

“Mom, look at this way: you’ve raised me right. You taught me how to manage this talent of mine.