Emerge: The Captive: (Book 3)(25)
“You know, your tension isn’t really giving me the warm fuzzies about where we’re going,” Sasha said as they crested yet another hilltop. The temple still wasn’t visible. But this hilltop was different from all the others lying behind them. As she took a final step up, Sasha entered an ancient, crumbling pavilion.
The structure was weathered and worn, but the mosaic floor was beautiful. Bright blue and green tesserae tiles blended with warm yellows and reds to paint a linear path, like a threshold across the center of the pavilion. The way Jayesh and Imogen stood hesitantly on this side of the mosaic line made Sasha think it really was a threshold. That once they crossed it, there would be no turning back.
“What is the significance of this place?” Sasha asked in a more reverent tone as she joined them.
“The Chola Valley. This place. This experience. It will change you,” Jayesh said, his tone soft as his mind drifted to some past memory. With a deep breath, he took a step forward—his eyes closed and a grimace on his face.
“It is time, sister. I am so sorry for this. All of this,” Imogen whispered as she took Sasha’s hand and stepped across the threshold into the Chola Valley below.
~~~
CHAPTER
NINE
Quinn: Summer
Atlanta, Georgia
“Wake up,” Livia’s tone was flat and hollow, rousing both Santi and Quinn out of a dead sleep.
Her power seared along his spine like a white-hot poker. Through all his time at Soma, Quinn had grown accustomed to the experience of Livia exerting her dominance over him again and again. This time, for a single instant, he could almost grasp hold of his gift. But before he could find purchase, the moment was gone and he was cowering on his side, gasping for breath. He slammed his fist against the floor, oblivious of the blood seeping through his bandages.
He watched helplessly as she did the same to Santi.
“Selena was called away so you’re working at the Fold today, Santi.” Livia turned without another word and retreated to the fortress of her office for the night.
“Is it always like that?” Quinn rolled over to find Santi scrubbing at tears of frustration.
“Sometimes are worse than others. Depending on her mood.”
“What does she mean, you’re working at the Fold?”
“That’s what Sterling Tower’s all about,” Santi said dryly. “The Fold is the public face of Soma. A squeaky-clean non-profit organization dedicated to helping Immortal families through tough times and training young and talented Immortals when their parents don’t have the means to teach them. It’s everything Livia wants the world to see. And it’s a big fat lie. Behind it all is Soma and the Coalition. You’ll see the Coalition running in and out of the building, working hand in hand with Soma, doing Livia’s bidding. She has some kind of agreement with them.”
“So what does the Fold do?”
“Lures young kids and their families into Soma so they can cherry-pick from the most talented of our generation. I suspected it when I came here looking for a job but I was desperate. And too naive to realize the Fold is just another resource they use to fuel their slave market. She’ll have me spend the day working with the kids on the lower level. Kids like Lennox. They grow up here not knowing they’ll end up sold to the highest bidder if they’re talented enough. The ones who aren’t will end up with the Coalition.”
Quinn wasn’t sure why he did it, but she’d shown him such kindness when he was at his lowest, and she had a difficult day ahead of her. He wrapped his arms around her, taking solace in her warmth, and they slept like that until Livia sent one of her minions to wake them at an ungodly hour.
~~~
“This way to my office.”
Quinn reluctantly followed the young Soma agent along a stark white hallway in the early morning light. Dressed in clean clothes but still feeling like a wreck, Quinn grappled with the old memories that had haunted his dreams. Memories of Sasha and their last moments together before he was ripped away from her. All this time and he still wondered what that last kiss meant.
It was only three months, Quinn. Not years.
“In here,” the man said, stepping aside and gesturing for Quinn to enter the small training room. “You’re my responsibility now. I have to get you back on your feet, fit and strong and healed from the mess Michael put you through. I’m the good guy here, so this will be easy. Take a seat.”
Quinn sat on one side of the long white desk near the door. The room was sparse and white, like everything in Soma seemed to be. Silver gym equipment lined the wall, and a wide white mat ran down the center of the room. Training weapons hung on the walls. It vaguely reminded him of his mother’s office at home. But her rooms were warm and inviting and they reflected her life and her personality. This cold, clinical room had all the elements for training a young Immortal, without the warmth of home.
“I’m James, by the way.” He sat opposite Quinn, offering his hand.
Quinn eyed him warily. He wasn’t prepared to trust anyone in this place, but James seemed like a decent enough guy.
“Relax. I couldn’t care less about the Soma agenda. I’m here to do a job I was never given any choice but to do. I’m in the same boat as you. I’m just the result of what happens when you agree to their terms and sign on the dotted line. You and Santi are the result of … resisting the inevitable.” James pointed to the Soma brand on his neck. “At the end of the day, we all wear the mark of a slave.”