Sun Broken (The Wild Hunt #11) - Yasmine Galenorn Page 0,25

you. They aren’t well aligned and they don’t act together easily. The Cruharach allowed you to merge them enough to move into your adulthood, but you rely on your father’s blood more than your mother’s. Put simply, doing so bottlenecks your Leannan Sidhe abilities. If you don’t start using your mother’s power more, you’ll find both sides weakened. You have to maintain a balance.”

I stared at the ground. My mother’s magic was easy to slip into, but it frightened me. The Leannan Sidhe were master manipulators and they were, in a sense, more primal and feral than my father’s people. When it came to dangerous situations, I had noticed that my Leannan Sidhe side came to the surface to protect me. And yet, I didn’t trust that side of myself, so I kept her under lock and key as much as I could.

“How should I do that? I can’t just go all siren on people and drain them for fun.” I realized I sounded churlish as the words came out. “I’m sorry. I just… That part of myself scares me and I really don’t know how to harness it.”

Morgana regarded me quietly for a moment. Then, she said, “You can never fully control it, but Ember, my son can help you, if you explain to him. He can handle that side of you.”

I blinked, trying to understand what she was saying. “Are you… I don’t quite… Are you saying what I think you’re saying? Because it sounds to me like you’re telling me to drain energy off Herne.”

“I am. You can’t harm him like you can mortals. You can let the Leannan Sidhe out to play with him. You can be the succubus with him, and not be afraid of hurting him.” She paused, then leaned close, tipping my chin up so that I was staring in her eyes. “If you don’t start using your powers, one day soon they’ll erupt and take over, and you may find yourself doing something you regret very much.”

As her words reverberated in my mind, I caught my breath and straightened. “You mean, I might go off on someone innocent and hurt them? That could happen?”

“Yes. You can’t keep a tiger in a cage for long. This side of you, Ember, she’s a predator. While you can channel that energy, you must give her the freedom she needs. Otherwise, she’ll grow angry and pensive and the first opportunity for freedom, she’ll take it, regardless of the damage it might cause.”

I blushed, not certain of how to ask the next question. “So…how do I…”

“How do you free her? Let her out to play during your love play. That will be safest.”

A hollow thud hit my stomach. I knew the Leannan Sidhe were intensely sexual, and their entire nature was caught up in luring men. They were muses, but dark and twisted ones. Some of the tortured geniuses from history had been caught in their guiles, sacrificing freedom—and eventually their lives—for the visions the Leannan Sidhe brought to them.

“What will he think of me, though?” I hung my head. “He loves me the way I am. What if he doesn’t like that side of me when…when we’re together?” I felt incredibly uncomfortable discussing my sex life with Herne’s mother. Even if she was a goddess, it didn’t make it any less awkward.

“You think he hasn’t noticed that side of you when you turn it loose on others?” Morgana laughed, then—a gentle laugh, not derisive—and she took my hand. “Ember, my son is a god. A god of the Hunt, no less. He’s not daunted by the wildness of your nature. He’s the Lord of the Hunt, the King Stag of the Forest. Do you think that he’s going to shy away from a side of you that brings even more passion into your relationship?”

Again, I blushed, but what she said made a lot of sense, and I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to relax.

“When you say it, it sounds reasonable. It’s just going to take me some time to get used to thinking of myself like…that.”

“I know you keep your sides segregated. You think of yourself as Ember, with two other sides that play into you. But you have to merge both into yourself. You began this in the Cruharach, and you did a good job—good enough to keep you in safety for a while. But walling off the strength of your powers and relegating them to the sidelines except