She shakes her head. “No. He never knew I was there, or that the dark daemon was.”
“You’re sure?” I press, pulling my hand free of Carrick’s. I lean forward on the couch. “Because my dad had mental problems, and—”
“I’m sure,” she says softly, cutting me off. “He never knew what happened.”
I suck in a breath and let it out in a quavering rush as I nod in acceptance. “This light you put inside of me… is that why I was able to see daemons and fae when I was a kid?”
“I believe so,” Sarvel replies, crossing one leg over the other and picking her tea back up. “But to be clear, I didn’t give you any specific powers with that light. Your fate was going to decide how you used it, and it apparently came in the early form of seeing the creatures that would one day become a part of your life.”
“What else can I do?” I ask, feeling like I should have a notepad to write all this down.
Sarvel shrugs with a carelessness I don’t like. “I have no clue what you can do. It’s up to you how to tap into it. What have you been able to do so far?”
“Um… well, I’ve been able to resist compulsion a few times, and I can hear immortals from far distances. But I don’t know how I do it. I’ve tried to pull on my abilities, and sometimes nothing happens.”
“I suspect,” Sarvel says with her eyes pinned on mine. “You just need some confidence and practice. Up until this moment, you didn’t know from where your powers were derived. Now you know I’ve given something that is supposed to help you on your journey, and my suggestion to you would be to believe that the power within you is limitless and proceed from there.”
“Limitless?” Carrick asks skeptically.
“Well, I don’t know that for sure,” Sarvel admits snobbishly.
“Like… can I bend distance?” I ask, which is the one power I really wish I’d get.
“You can try,” Sarvel replies, eyes twinkling.
“Wait a minute,” Carrick snarls. “You want her to try something that can kill her if she’s wrong about what those powers can do?”
Sarvel shrugs, and that infuriates me. “Aren’t you supposed to protect me? Keep me alive? Stop me from doing something stupid like bending distance when I might not be able to?”
“That’s not how it works,” she replies, annoyance heavy in her voice. “I only do what I’m supposed to do.”
“So when Wade the incubus was chasing me through my house.” Expectantly, I glance over, but she says nothing. “Were you just going to let him kill me?”
“I was going to let it play out, watching from the sidelines as I’m supposed to do unless I know to do otherwise.”
I curse low under my breath, completely frustrated with her lack of ability to tell us anything overly useful.
“If it helps,” Sarvel suggests kindly. “I believe that if your life were truly in danger, I’d be motivated to help.”
“Like when Kymaris threw two fireballs my way, and I was seconds away from being incinerated?” I ask dryly.
“But you weren’t,” she chirps back with a sunny smile. “Carrick saved you.”
Twisting on the chair to Carrick, I ask him, “Do you think that means I’ve got her as sort of a safety net? Like if you hadn’t made it there in time to shield me from the fireballs, she would have been motivated to step in?”
Carrick gives a side glance to Sarvel before turning back to me with a shake of his head. “You can’t rely on her. She has no purpose, no motivation, and no agenda. We don’t know how her puppet strings are being controlled or by whom.”
“Good advice,” Sarvel says, and she starts to stand up as if this conversation is finished. “But I do provide good help when needed. I steered you away from that musician you dated about five years ago. He was no good for you, but you were all foolish over him, and he would have led you away from Seattle.”
I gape at Sarvel, taking that in. I was cuckoo over that guy, but he was such a loser. I couldn’t see it, but then… just one day… I was done with him.
I glance at Carrick. His face is impassive, but his eyes seem to be glittering with something icy.
“That was you?” I ask in astonishment, turning back to Sarvel.
“You can thank me later,” she says with a laugh and turns as if heading to the door to let us out. But I’m not finished. Not by a long shot.
“Wait a minute,” I exclaim—well, actually yell at her. She turns slowly, eyeing me before taking the rocker again. “What about the feather?”
“The feather?” she asks, eyebrows drawn inward.
“The one that appeared on my leg when Kymaris emerged.”