I couldn’t pull my eyes from the group against the wall. Thrills of excitement started to build like small sparks in my stomach. I wanted to see these powers, I wanted to know what the mark was capable of, I wanted to know if I was the only one who could shift to dragon. Surely, if there were any others the mystics would know. They clearly trained all new arrivals.

The mystics formed a line, their hoods dropped back to reveal their strange silver-gray hair, and for once all of their faces were clear to be seen. I liked that, so much was revealed in facial expressions. Gerard and Quale were center again.

One of the grays on the end waved us forward toward the supernaturals lined up against the wall. “Jessa and Mischa, join the group. Observe at first, then you should attempt to access the natural power of the mark.”

I might have rolled my eyes at Braxton and Louis, my exasperation rising to the surface. I hated school, and immediately this reminded me of class. Boring.

Mischa and I fell into the right side of the group, she next to a vampire and I on the end.

The rest of our pack and family moved across to wait off to the side, close enough to see but not get in the way. The mystics lined up in front of us, poised and very still. The hybrid feyness of their energy was still strange. I wasn’t a fan of their weirdness, but I’d put up with it for now. I didn’t anticipate that we’d be stuck in the sanctuary for much longer.

A mystic I wasn’t familiar with started to talk. He had expressive, very dark brown eyes and the most perfect skin I had ever seen. Rich and dark, like freshly ground Arabica beans. The contrast to his hair was pronounced, and yet, it also wasn’t. He pulled it off no problem.

The beautiful male moved along the line of the marked. “It’s important that all of you know we have been observing the dragon marked for a thousand years, and so far there are three traits that each possesses. Number one, longevity of life. You will age until maturity and then no more. We have marked here, some of the first ever born, who look no older than early twenties. You might know that the marked are almost impervious to death. There are some weapons in Faerie which can inflict enough injury to kill, but on Earth you need to fear very little.”

Interesting, so the jinn knew what it was doing by sending me to Faerie.

“The second skill the marked possess is the ability to sense other marked. Your energy calls to each other, and in some ways it is as if you are one big collective. You can tap into each other and form a single unit of power.”