Flare of Promise (Asylums for Magical Threats 3)

Millie tilted her head. “Why don’t I just talk to him?”

Jaxton didn’t miss a beat. “I don’t trust you alone with him and I don’t have the time to make sure you behave.”

“I can behave, Jaxton,” Millie said as she placed a hand on her hip. “I just took down a drug lord.

Jaxton answered, “Maybe, but I’m not going to chance it. You have your orders. Follow them.”

Millie reluctantly nodded as she muttered a few choice words. Jaxton then looked to Will. “How long until your preliminary results come back on the Earth Talent?”

Will leaned forward. “Any time now. But I’m not sure how that’s going to help. Latent abilities and elemental abilities are two very different things.”

Petra spoke up. “Maybe and maybe not. If we compare the genome sequences of the elemental earth user with yours, we can see if the two overlap or both have unique sequences not found in humans or Feiru with no known abilities. If so, we might be able to devise something to target and temporarily neutralize the ability. If the Collector doesn’t have her coerced army to protect her, she will become a much easier target.”

Will squeezed Petra’s hand in his. “I told you the research and mercenary experiences work well together.”

She smiled. “Then you won’t have any objections to me helping you with your research.”

It was on the tip of Will’s tongue to say Petra needed to rest, but the eagerness in her eyes stayed the words. Since Petra may never be able to work a field mission again, bringing her into his research would be the first baby steps toward accepting her eventual fate with DEFEND.

Besides, it meant he could spend even more time with his Petra. “As long as we’re partners and you don’t try to take over, I might be persuaded to work with you.”

Petra winked. “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try.”

As they stared at one another, Will couldn’t help but reach out a finger to trace her cheek. “If I use your stubbornness and competitiveness against you, we’ll have things figured out within the week.”

“Save your flirting for later,” Jaxton jumped in. “I may check in with you two every few hours to ensure you’re focused and not distracted.”

Kiarra lightly slapped his arm. “Jaxton. Give them a break. Imagine if we’d been apart for two years.”

Wrapping an arm around Kiarra’s waist, Jaxton murmured, “Don’t even mention that.”

Jaxton lowered his head to kiss his woman when Dom blurted out, “What about me?”

Never blinking, Jaxton met Dom’s gaze. “You’ll be training. I don’t know why Neena insisted you be here. But until that reason becomes clear, you’ll be under constant watch.”

“Hey, I’m not running for my life and I have somewhere to sleep.” Dom shrugged. “That’s good enough for me.”

Petra warned, “Dom.”

He met Petra’s eyes. “I’m just being honest, sis. You already know my skills. I’ll just keep a low profile until the rest of the gang here understands them as well.”

Will wondered how in the hell Dom had survived as a mercenary. Maybe his nonchalance was a distraction, but Will would need to ask Petra about it later.

Jaxton grunted. “Fine. Kiarra and I will escort Dominick to the training area. The rest of you, get to work.”

Giving a thumbs-up, Millie walked briskly out of the room.

Will stood up and gripped the handles of the wheelchair. He pushed, but Petra raised a hand. “I should talk with Dom some more.”

Jaxton’s voice cut off Will’s reply. “Not now, Petra. I need you to work with Will. Any insights into latent abilities or elemental ones will be paramount to our success. You can talk with your brother later, if he survives training without any reprimands.”

Will’s respect for Jaxton raised a hair. “He’s right. Some of the results should be ready. Since you’ve been talking about how much you miss working on research, let’s get right to it. Unless you need to rest.”

Petra rolled her eyes. “I’m not any more tired than when you asked me half an hour ago. Let’s go. The sooner I see your results, the sooner I can point out the things you missed.”

He pushed Petra’s wheelchair out of the room. “I haven’t even glanced at it.”

“You’re so distracted by my welfare, all it would take is showing a little cleavage and you would forget everything else.” Petra smiled.