Emerge: The Captive: (Book 3)(14)

Quinn had spent every moment since that day with Eva learning how to control the power that fueled his gifts. The madness whispered to him constantly at first, enticing him to let it run rampant. The voice eventually quieted as he gained the upper hand, but it was always there, lurking just below the surface. Half the time he felt like he was losing his mind to the insanity of his own gift. His self-control was all he had.

The battle to control the power was just part of being an Immortal, but for Quinn it was a daily war against his very nature. If his family ever truly realized what kind of monster lay at the root of his power, they would be appalled. He could so easily find his home here at Soma with those like Michael and Ryan. It would take nothing more than letting nature take its course for him to become the person he was destined to be. He’d always known he couldn’t resist it indefinitely. The pull was too strong. It was only a matter of time before the addiction won and everyone knew what he was: a weak junkie.

And Livia was about to become his dealer.

“Quinn?” She released him. “How do you do it?” Livia shook her head. “How do you resist the lure of such a seductive power? You’re persuasive. You can make people—Immortals even—do your bidding with just the power of suggestion. If you were a little older, and I didn’t have control over you right now, you could just force me to let you go. You’d walk out of here without a backward glance. A free man. Manipulating everyone here to your will. You could be running Soma within a few weeks.” Her laughter filled the stark room. “But you resist it? How noble of you.”

“Go ahead. Mock me. Those who do not have such power can never understand the burden of it. It is not my right to control anyone. Even you. Just because I may have the ability to do it one day doesn’t give me license to rule the world. These kinds of gifts aren’t meant to be abused and should only be used when necessary. And only for the briefest of moments.” Quinn sat back, clamping his mouth shut. There was no use trying to convince her she was wrong.

“Go on.”

“No.”

“You worry that you won’t be able to live by the rules you were taught. That the gift will rule you.” She shook her head, impressed. “There are other rules, Quinn. Especially for those like you. You are worth your weight in diamonds. I’m not sure I even want to let anyone else have you.”

“To sell me like a pig at market, you’ll have to break me first. And that’s never going to happen.”

“We will see about that.” Livia stood and crossed to the door, gesturing for someone waiting in the hall to join them.

Quinn watched as a young girl stepped inside. Her thin arms crossed over her chest as the only protection she had against whatever Livia was about to do. She was a gangly thing. All arms and legs. As she came to stand at the center of the room, lifting her head in defiance. Quinn’s heart filled with dread. This girl had been treated badly and she couldn’t be more than thirteen.

“Stand there, Lennox.” Livia gestured to a spot right beside her chair.

“What are you doing? Are you insane? She’s just a little girl.”

With a wry grin, Livia gripped the girl’s arm tightly in one hand and dug her nails into his forearm with the other.

Quinn tried to stand as if he actually had the strength to help the girl, but a sharp tug gripped him in the gut and he fell back into his chair. He’d felt it many times before when Livia had used his cloaking gift. The first time was the night she took him from his family, shielding them with his gift as if it were her own. She’d worn him like a cheap suit that night. And now she was pulling on his power to remind him she was in control.

The surge of icy heat in his core surprised him. He hadn’t felt this much of his power in a long time. In moments, Livia had driven him to his limit, and he realized what she intended to do. She wasn’t going to hurt Lennox. She was going to make him do it, using his gift for madness as a weapon.

Livia would shape him into the image of what she thought he should be—if he allowed it. But he could fight her. He had to.

Just do it. It’s our nature. The voice echoed in his mind. The voice he hadn’t heard in years. He’d worked so hard to choke the life out of that voice. The sound of it reverberating through his head almost brought him to his knees.

You really didn’t think you’d conquered us, did you?

Quinn put everything he had into resisting his desire to hurt the girl with his madness. But as Livia used her gift to force his hand, she soon had his power raging inside of him.

She’s so tender and young! Let’s make her scream! Just a little. Just a taste. And like the addict he was, Quinn found himself rationalizing the situation, taking one step toward giving in, and then another. He didn’t have any control here. He was exhausted and at the end of his endurance. Livia would have her way one way or another. He had every reason to just let it happen. He didn’t owe the girl anything.

Still, Quinn fought to take back the steps he’d lost. His mantra filled his mind, pushing the voice back into the darkness. Just one more minute. I can last one more minute. But he was fooling himself. He didn’t have the stamina to battle the force Livia was pressing against him. Quinn watched like a spectator as his free hand wrapped around the girl’s arm. The dam burst.

He looked away the moment Lennox screamed. Ashamed of his weakness.