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it.
    Comyo grinned. “I am not holding hands with my apprentice.”
    Linz shrugged. “If he needs a good cry, I might do it.”
    Even Daymoth laughed at that, and it must have been their laughter that woke the other two, because soon, two men cautiously came down the hall to where Cam and the Guardians were chuckling about Daymoth’s efforts in the kitchen.
    Cam migrated into Mordem’s lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and it seemed the most natural thing in the world to greet her Gift-mates from her perch on him.
    Kelmin was the new shapeshifter, and Vendiuk was a contact healer. Linz offered to take Kelmin, and Vendiuk gladly agreed to have Comyo oversee his development.
    Daymoth grinned and set out the buffet he had created. “Here you are. The apprenticeships are not set in stone. If another Guardian suits you better, we will make adjustments.”
    Camile closed her eyes as her stomach expressed its interest in the food.
    Kelmin smiled politely. “What do you do, Camile? Aside from the obvious?”
    His words were a little off putting, so she decided to show him. She sped across the room, fucked up his hair, filled a plate and sat back on Mordem’s lap in the space of a heartbeat.
    She nibbled at some toast. “Oh, this and that.”
    Vendiuk caught a look at Kelmin’s hair, and he laughed. “Speed hasn’t been seen in over two centuries.”
    Camile winked at him. “I do love the classics.”
    Kelmin straightened his hair with his hands, and he cleared his throat. “I didn’t mean any offense.”
    “Which is why I confined my attentions to your hair and left your clothing alone.” She grinned.
    He chuckled. “Thank you for your restraint.”
    They loaded their plates, and Mordem gave her a light slap on the ass as she left his lap.
    She settled around the table with the others, and Daymoth set beverages on the surface. She poured for the others in a blur of motion and realized that this speed thing might be very handy.
     
    Mordem was a bit of a pill when it came to her workouts. He had her strapped with monitors, breath processors and metabolic registers. She was wearing several pounds of equipment, and he wanted her to run.
    “Come on, Camile. We need to know how many calories you burn and at what speeds. Daymoth is going to go nuts until he can work out a regular food delivery.”
    “What does he do?”
    “He manipulates light. Now, run.”
    She grimaced and looked around the track inside the base. With a focus on thickening her suit, she started a flashing sprint that slowly increased in speed until she was running flat out in a very boring circle.
    The equipment started to melt, so she slowed and then stopped.
    “What is wrong?”
    She walked over to Mordem and handed him the breathing unit. “It melted.”
    He blinked. “Oh. Right. Well, we have some starter data. You are on a direct exchange. You are burning calories at the same rate as if you were running at a normal speed. It is the distance that you can cover that is making the difference. With every step you burn energy, and you step quickly.”
    “Succinct.”
    He grinned. “There, now that that is over, what are you going to say at the press conference?”
    She paused. “What?”
    “Oh, didn’t you know? The new Gifted are gathered at the governor’s mansion one week after they have been chosen, and they speak to the people of Namkor.”
    She blinked. “Well, hell. Oh, geez. Where is the ambassador?”
    Mordem laughed. “He is trying to sue to get you back. Unfortunately, the possession of the Gift counts as being a host to an endangered species. You can’t leave Namkor.”
    She blinked. “So, I am trapped here.”
    He didn’t mince words. “Yes. You have one year to settle into your talent. If you reject the Gift at that point, you will be free.”
    She looked at him, and her heart thudded in her chest. “So, it will be up to me?”
    “It will.”
    She nodded and turned away from him, stalking to the pile of energy