plan to keep them at a distance, because something had gone wrong with the first one.
She didn’t know how they’d come to their conclusions. Their chatar hadn’t told them anything. From what she’d seen, he was more of the hint and let them figure it out type of person. There wouldn’t be any guessing or uncertainty if he told them even a little of what he knew about her.
“A little more of the relaxation and control methods and a way for you to actually get rid of some power, even if it is a little unconventional.” Linc rose from the bed to stand, but he didn’t make any move to come closer to her. “Start with the breathing and focus inward.”
She got as comfortable as she could on the hard chair and took a deep breath before she closed her eyes. For a few moments, she concentrated only on her breathing and her heartbeat. She focused on slowing both rhythms until she felt almost sleepy. Then she turned her attention to the magic.
The power responded to her will, decreasing in intensity as long as she was calm and focused, but that wasn’t going to help her if she was excited or panicked or in a situation where calm wasn’t a possibility. That was when she needed the ability the most. With Linc and Colm deciding they were attracted to her, there would be times when her emotions were too high to do this.
She knew by now that they would want her to keep at it for more than a few moments before she opened her eyes and asked for feedback. She pushed the power down and then coaxed it into rising before repeating the process.
When she thought she’d gone on long enough, she finally opened her eyes and met the gazes of the two men watching her. The intensity in their eyes threw her a little. That wasn’t the way a teacher looked at a student. Normally, she didn’t mind them watching her, but the look in their eyes was far from the detached watchfulness she’d come to expect.
“Is that enough for tonight before we move on to what you’re going to teach me. And why is it unconventional?” She stretched her legs out in front of her. She wanted to get up and start walking around, but didn’t want to delay whatever lesson they were going to try.
“Yes, if you practice that at least two times a day, you’ll be able to get more control even when you’re not as calm as you are now.” Linc nodded. “This is going to be a little different for you and one or both of us are going to have to be near you, although any of the Santir warriors here would work. For now, only one of us will approach you. Do you have any preference which one of us approaches you?”
She blinked. That was definitely a different approach than they’d used with any other lesson. Were they just trying to get her to let her defenses down and trust them or did they really need to be close to her? She thought about that for only the space of a few breaths before she realized that they wouldn’t lie or try anything such as that during her lessons.
As to which of them came close to her, that didn’t really matter. Colm was the more intense of them, but both men drew her. Regardless, she’d have to keep her focus on the lesson and not the muscled man near her. If her attention strayed even a little, she’d reveal just how right they were.
“No, I don’t have a preference. Either one of you will do, but I still don’t know what you want me to do. Or why it wouldn’t be something that would normally be done.” She looked from one man to the other. She wasn’t fond of the mystery or the way they seemed to be ignoring her question about why it was so unusual. They couldn’t throw something that interesting out there and expect her not to wonder about why it wasn’t done.
They looked at each other and then Linc slowly rose to his feet. He walked over to her and stood in front of her. She watched him warily. His hand lifted and brushed lightly over her arm.
“Stand up. I don’t want you frightened or to feel that I’m looming over you while we do this. It’s not going to be possible if you can’t concentrate on