So close to victory. Just a few minutes more. "Devyn, McKell," she said.
Come on, love, Devyn said inside her mind. He still couldn't move. She hadn't freed him from her "no one move" command. Let's get out of here and go home. I'm so proud of you. I'll even let you tease me about being a damsel in distress.
I... can't. God, even thinking it was torture. I have to ... stay. What are you talking about? Of course you—
She blocked his voice—charmer that he was, he could convince her to do anything, even leave with him, and she would never be able to forgive herself when she destroyed him—and closed her eyes, sending her mind through the entire underground. Because of the thoughts of the vampires around her, still gazing at her with that horror, she knew it as intimately as she knew the surface. Knew where guards lurked. Knew where traps lay Any and every threat, she eliminated.
And then she faced Devyn, determined, soul-sick. "You may speak. Go," she said, heart breaking inside her chest. "McKell will lead you to the surface, and neither of you will return here. Ever. You will not send anyone after me." She could have erased herself from his mind, but in this heartbreaking moment, she couldn't force herself to do so.
Both of their bodies obeyed, heading toward the entrance to the hallway that would take them to the opening to the surface. Devyn peered at her over his shoulder, clearly trying to force himself to stop.
"Come with me," he called.
She shook her head, her chin trembling too much to reply. "Bride," he growled.
"I can't," she shouted, finding her voice. "Look at me. Look at what I can do."
And of course, he and everyone else in the room was helpless to do anything else, the compulsion in her voice forcing them to obey.
That caused a sob to gush from her.
"McKell," he shouted, panicked, desperate. "There has to be a way to contain her powers again. Tell her there's a way."
The warrior had never appeared so sad. "Her father was most likely able to do it because Bride trusted him inside her mind and allowed it. I know Bride trusts you and would allow you to do it, but you wouldn't know how. You could cause more harm than good, lock up too much."
"No." Devyn violently shook his head. "We'll find a way, Bride. I swear it. Kyrin once told me the Arcadians are like cousins to the vampires. He has powers of the mind. Strong powers. Let him try."
Hope bloomed. Let him try ... it was a lifeline she desperately wanted to clutch. Then she shook her
head. You're doing it. Letting him convince you. What if Kyrin failed? How many people would she hurt? Would she destroy Devyn's friends? Make Devyn himself do a million things he didn't want to do? He would grow to hate her. That precious love would wither and die.
"No." So badly did she want to reach for him, her hands were burning. And if she reached for him, she knew she would summon him to her, propelling him to her side with enough force to knock the air out of his lungs. "I'll stay here. I'll make sure no one comes for you."
"Bride!" There was true fear in his voice. "I don't care about that. They can chase me the rest of my life, and I'll be okay with that. It'll be fun. A game. But I can't live without you. Please!"
Her heart shattered like glass against a hammer. She didn't want to live without him, either, but to keep him safe, she would do it. "Go!" she screamed. "Just go!"
McKell obeyed.
Devyn compressed his lips into a mulish line and managed to hold his ground. She felt him push mental fingers inside her mind, knew those fingers were trying to latch on to her energy and control her, but she easily swatted them away.
That swat sent him to his knees with a pained groan. His head lifted, his eyes narrowing. A vessel had burst in his forehead, and a bruise was already spreading from temple to temple, even down his nose.
"I'm not leaving," he gritted out. "We'll battle this out if we have to, but love, you're stuck with me."
Suddenly the doorway burst open—even though McKell hadn't reached it yet. Over forty AIR agents rushed inside, pyre-guns raised. They didn't stop to see who their targets were, they just started firing. Blue beams, stun.
Bride could have stopped them with a word. She could have danced through the crowd, faster than they would have been able to see her, plucking their guns from them. But she didn't. She heard their thoughts, a jumble at first and hard to sort through, but she managed it. They didn't plan to kill the people here, or even take them all above. They planned to leave them, to let them live as quietly as they wished, form some sort of truce with them, and get Devyn the hell out.
She pivoted on her heel. She would leave them to it. She needed to find someplace to hide, someplace she would not endanger anyone but could monitor things. Perhaps Fiona would help her, after all.
"Dallas, shoot Bride," Devyn called, "and f**king keep shooting her!"
A second later, beams slammed into her, one after another, freezing her in place. She could still feel her power, but it was unusable at the moment, held captive as her body continually absorbed stun ray after stun ray.
Damn that Devyn.
The battle continued to rage behind her, blue beams constant, feet scampering, people shouting. She saw it through her mind, through the thoughts of others. Panic, so much panic. Fear, so much fear. Who are these people? the vampires wondered. What do they want, what are they going to do? They smell so good, their blood rushing through their veins swiftly, sweetly. Hmm, the hunger is too much. Why can't I move? I need to feed.
Soon the AIR agents had each of the vampires locked by stun. The battle had been easier than they'd anticipated. Because I already did the work, she wanted to shout. And this was how they repaid her?
Footsteps echoed behind her, then beside her, louder, and then Devyn was standing in front of her. He was grinning smugly.
"You commanded me to follow McKell, just not when I had to do it. Still, that's what I'm gonna do, but I'm taking you with me. I told you I'd find a way."
Devyn paced the confines of his bedroom. It was a mess. Wrinkled clothes littered the floor, and there were food wrappers on the dresser. Bride perched at the edge of the bed. He and Dallas had rigged a pyre-gun to the wall across from her, and it fired a continual beam directly into her chest.
It had been like this for over forty-eight hours.
He could see the rage in her expression every time he glanced at her, but he could also see the hope. Everyday Kyrin came over and dug inside her mind, trying to bury the worst of her powers. So far, no luck. But if this worked ... He sighed. Please let this work.