Legacy (Keeper of the Lost Cities #8) - Shannon Messenger Page 0,214

you think I want to hear.”

Sophie blew out a breath. “Um, okay, well… this is going to sound like I’m contradicting myself, but… using my telepathy also feels a little energizing.”

“Good! Not a contradiction at all. An experience is never one thing. Exercise is both invigorating and exhausting, isn’t it?”

“True,” Sophie admitted.

“Okay, ‘unifying,’ ‘draining,’ ‘energizing’—what else captures the feel of being a Telepath?”

“Well, it’s kind of… inspiring,” Sophie said, feeling her cheeks burn with the confession. “People have so much more going on in their heads than we realize.”

“I’m certain they do. Same thing can be said for emotions, by the way—but that’s beside the point. Excellent! ‘Unifying,’ ‘draining,’ ‘energizing,’ ‘inspiring’—you just need one more.”

An answer floated through Sophie’s mind, but it didn’t feel like the right word.

“Just say it,” Oralie told her, gently squeezing Sophie’s wrists. “I can tell you’ve thought of something.”

“I did, but ‘frightening’ sounds so negative.”

“There’s no negative or positive here. Only the truth of your experience. And isn’t it frightening to wander through someone’s mind?” Oralie pressed.

“It… can be.”

Something about admitting that out loud and recognizing the sensations made Sophie’s heart feel a tiny bit lighter, and her head hummed with a rush of new energy that made her mind feel stronger and sharper.

“See?” Oralie asked. “There’s power that comes with acknowledging the truth of what we experience, without measuring it as good or bad, positive or negative. It simply is what it is. And for you, telepathy is unifying, draining, energizing, inspiring, and frightening.”

“Yeah, I guess it is.” Sophie sat up taller, feeling much less intimidated when she said, “Okay, what’s next?”

But then she remembered it was her inflicting.

“I know this isn’t your favorite ability,” Oralie told her. “And I debated about whether I should make it fourth in the countdown, or third. But given your newfound control, and the untold depths of this power, I think it’s best to give it that added bit of discovery. So relax, take a deep breath, and give me four words that sum up the feeling of inflicting—and again, don’t try to censor them or shape them. Be honest about the experience.”

Sophie chewed her lip, replaying that overwhelming moment next to Big Ben.

And she realized she’d already found her first word. “ ‘Overwhelming.’ ”

She added “empowering” right after, which felt a little strange to admit, given that it was such a dark ability, but… it was empowering to know that she could face her enemies and not have to hide or cower anymore.

“What else?” Oralie asked, and it took Sophie a lot more emotional digging to realize her inflicting was both unsettling and refreshing—but it was. Owning the dark feelings inside herself would never be a comfortable process—but purging them all felt like a reset.

And when she repeated all four terms out loud—“overwhelming, empowering, unsettling, refreshing”—she felt her heart lighten again, along with another hum of energy that flooded both her mind and her chest.

Another burst of strength, right at the core of the ability.

The same thing happened after she decided that teleporting was liberating, surprising, and alarming.

And again when she realized being a Polyglot felt both humbling and uplifting.

“Down to enhancing,” Oralie said softly, “and while I’m sure there are many words to describe the experience, I want you to choose the one that feels the most defining to you—and remember, it should be about your experience with the ability, not how it affects anyone else.”

A word popped immediately into Sophie’s mind, but—

“No,” Oralie said before Sophie could even finish the thought, and she gave Sophie’s wrists another gentle squeeze. “Don’t edit yourself. What word did you just think of?”

Sophie shook her head. “It wasn’t the right word.”

“How do you know?” Oralie countered. “Tell me and we’ll see what happens.”

Sophie sighed. “I thought of ‘frustrating,’ because I can’t control it—but that’s why we’re doing this, so…”

“We are. But you’re on the right track. How does the ability make you feel? How do you feel about the gloves and the fingernail gadgets and the fact that someone could use the ability against you?”

“I… hate it,” Sophie whispered. “It’s so restricting.”

As soon as the word left her lips, she felt her heart shift—and not just lighten. It was more like…

Like it settled into a slightly new position.

The right position.

Uncovering a small, delicate thread underneath.

A raw nerve.

Another rush of energy hummed around it, and Sophie let it soak in, feeling the nerve twist and tighten until it felt like…

A string on a violin—and when she let her will slide across it,