Pray for Dawn by Jocelynn Drake Page B

behind her, distinctly lacking her confidence. Of course, Mira had walked into the coven’s Main Hall with her head held high and oozing self-confidence. That was just her style.
    As she shut her door, I saw her snap back around as something caught her attention at the last second. She lunged a couple of steps forward then stopped, her fists balled at her side. Her powers exploded from her body, nearly knocking me back a step. I grabbed my knife from its sheath at my side and stood beside her, stretching out my powers as well. I scanned the area, but I felt nothing but the vampires in the house behind us.
    “What—?”
    “Naturi. Do you sense any naturi?” she rasped in a low voice. Her whole body hummed with energy, ready to lash out.
    “No. None anywhere near here.” It had become second nature at this point to search for them. The naturi seemed to be constantly at our heels, lurking around every corner. I’ve learned to search for them at every opportunity if I want to have any hope of staying alive much longer.
    Mira stood in the middle of the empty street, her hands extended out from her body, bathed in blue flames. Confusion and rage rolled off her in equal parts, hitting me in the chest as I took a couple steps closer to her. My gaze swung from one end of the street to the other, praying that no one chose that moment to look out their window. Mira had always been very careful to be discreet about the use of her powers, doing nothing that would threaten the exposure of her world. Yet, I could feel the fear driving her to this desperate act. If anything moved at that moment, it was going to be burned to a crisp.
    “Mira, you’re drawing attention to us,” I hissed. “Put the fire out.”
    “Are you sure?” she snapped, still not looking over at me as she ignored my warning.
    “Yes.”
    “I want to search.” She extended her hand toward me, her wide eyes still sweeping the empty streets. All the windows were darkened and doors shut. All the humans seemed to be settling in for the night, plopped down in front of the TVs, or snuggled in their beds. I could sense one man shuffling through the hall four houses down from us. Beyond that, there were only the vampires.
    “Mira…”
    “Please, Danaus,” she said, jerking her head around to look up at me. “I have to be sure. Just like in Venice.” It was the urgency in her voice that finally convinced me to wrap my fingers around her slender white hand. In Venice, we had bonded our powers so that she could search the home of the coven for a naturi; without my help, Mira could not sense the naturi. A web of vampire spells had blocked my senses, but Mira could peer through them. In Venice, she had been right, so I was reluctant to second-guess her instincts now.
    With her small, slightly chilled hand lost in my larger one, I drew in a deep breath, shoving it down to the soles of my feet. As I released it, I slowly pushed the energy perpetually balled in my chest through my arm and into Mira. Her hand jerked in my grasp as the power hit her and I could hear a small whimper escape her before she could stop it. At the same time, the wall that hid her thoughts and emotions from the world came crashing down. I sucked in a ragged, harsh breath, fighting for balance in the raging sea of her thoughts. Mira was confused and angry at what she saw, but somehow she managed to keep that thought hidden from me. I didn’t fight for it when I tasted the slight tang of fear that lingered about the memory.
    “Too much,” she rasped, drawing my attention back to the task at hand. I turned my thoughts inward, focusing on the flow of energy I was directing into her. It was hard to control the flow. A deeper feeling of warmth filled my limbs and only intensified when I sent more power into her. There was also a sense of completion and peace that teased at the periphery of my senses, making me believe if I just let loose, the wonderful sensation would flood my brain and soul,