that I didn't accidentally feed Kreturus information that I didn't want him to have. It was becoming more and more difficult to be around Collin and talk to him about anything. And there was no way that he didn't notice my behavior, even though he didn't say anything about it.
Looking over at Collin, he caught my gaze and smiled at me expectantly, "What's on your mind?"
I looked away, quickly steering my thoughts to some other topic, so he couldn't sense how apprehensive I felt. He took my look as shyness, but it really wasn't. My attempts to cover my butt were shameful. I hated lying to him and couldn't wait for this to be over. Things could go back to normal as soon as Kreturus reared his head.
I asked, "Can you tell where other Valefar are?" Collin arched an eyebrow at me with a surprised look on his face. "I'm not asking if you're all telekinetic or something, but I was wondering what the other Valefar abilities were. You said you showed me the two that wouldn't hurt me. I was wondering what the other ones were." We stopped walking suddenly, and ducked around some stone that protruded from the ground like giant toothpicks.
Collin held his hand out, and I grabbed it as he lifted me over the last mess of boulders. There was caution in his voice, "Why are you asking?"
Uncertain of his question, I responded, "Because I'm half Valefar. What other powers do we have? I was wondering what else I could do?" His hand was in mine and we were trying to maneuver around the lack of path in this section of the Underworld. It was like a landslide covered what was left of an ancient path in stone and rubble. I kept sliding and losing my footing. Collin caught me most of the time. Once, I fell on my butt and shocked my tailbone. It still throbbed. I'd been thinking that healing would have been an awesome power. While Al said I had that ability, I didn't know how to harness it yet so that I could use it when I wanted. That made me wonder what other Valefar powers there were, and if I could use them. I explained this to Collin, but the only response I received was a blank expression on his face. The bond was useless this time, revealing nothing. Whatever he was thinking, he was hiding it from me.
I gently prodded him with my elbow after I gracefully fell over a mini mountain of sand and stones. I smiled at him, "What's the matter? You don't want to share?"
Turning swiftly, Collin rounded on me. His eyes were wide and his words were low and dangerous. "Never suggest anything like that ever again. Understand?" His nostrils flared like I'd enraged him, but I had no idea what I'd done.
Taking a step back, I put up my hands saying, "Sorry. I didn't think this was a touchy subject for you."
His mood sank further, "That's usually your problem - you don't think." Normally he would have said this kind of comment in jest, although I knew there was an element of truth to it. The truth is easier to listen to when it was dosed in sugar. This time he didn't do that and it stung.
I bristled and staggered over the last of the debris on the path we were following. Throwing my hair out of my face, I turned back to him. His face was pinched. The bond was tumultuous; it felt like I was being strangled. "That was low. But thanks for pointing that out. No, I don't always think things through. Sometimes things turn into life or death situations and there is no time to think. I just thought it would be nice to know what abilities were Valefar and which abilities were Martis, especially since I seem to be having those types of experiences more lately." I looked over my shoulder at him. He visibly deflated.
He reached for my shoulder and turned me toward him, "It's just... I can't risk losing you. There are a million different things you could do as a Valefar. Some are tiny things - little powers that eat away at you. There's a point of no return with Valefar magic, Ivy, and I don't want you to pass it. I don't even want you to know where it is. If you practice them, you risk losing your soul - you risk becoming fully Valefar. And