Emerge: The Captive: (Book 3)(48)

“Still in her gilded cage?” Livia sank to the floor opposite her father.

"I don't have the patience for that old argument, Livia. We have much more important issues to discuss than where I allow your mother to spend her time."

"You must mean the queen, then? She’s escaped?” Livia asked in surprise. “She’s been your most prized captive for two thousand years. How on earth did she manage it?”

Santi frowned up at Quinn in confusion, and he shrugged in response. They couldn't possibly be talking about the queens of Indriell. They all died ages ago.

"That is not important right now," Livia's father said, his voice like acid.

"Mother let her go, didn't she. What did you do to her?" Livia stood up like a shot, facing her father with a riot of emotions flitting across her face. Fear, intimidation and fury.

"Despite what you think of me, I only have your mother's best interest at heart. She means more to me than you will ever know, but yes. I did have to punish her for her transgressions against me."

"Where is she?"

"That is why I am here. You will lead the hunt for the queen."

"Not the damned queen! Where is my mother?"

"Porcia is fine, but you'll not see her again until you have returned Alísun to me. Your mother’s visitation privileges have been revoked for the time being."

"She isn't a child you can just ground to her room when she displeases you. She’s a powerful ancient and you treat her like her only role in life is to amuse you … and obey your every decree.”

"Livia, stay on point." His eyes flickered with impatience.

"Fine. You want my team to lead the hunt for an eight-thousand-year-old queen of Indriell? It's impossible." Livia took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders and looking her father in the eye.

Most young Immortals in her shoes would cower and hang their heads in the presence of such an ancient. Her bravery in the face of her father's ire said more for her character than anything Quinn had witnessed from her since his arrival at Soma.

Livia continued to draw on Quinn’s power, pulling him into that dreaded danger zone—the imaginary line in the sand where he stopped using his power with care and started using it for pleasure.

We like her at the helm. She gives us a taste for freedom. The voice of his gift hissed in his mind. The voice he hadn’t heard in years. It was a warning signal that he was reaching the point of no return. He needed Livia to stop pushing him—now. Or it was going to be too late for Quinn.

“No,” he begged, trying to resist Livia, but she wasn’t having it. She took what she needed to shield them, sending him racing for the edge of his endurance.

Quinn groaned in frustration. The taste of so much power coursing through his body lured him in. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t in control—that she could do whatever she wanted with him. He wanted this.

Yes! That’s right, Quinn, his gift agreed. Just let go. Let us have this. It’s what we need.

No. I can’t do this again. But the more he focused on the power raging inside of him, the more he wanted to fall down the rabbit hole. He wanted nothing more than to give in to the urge—to use again. The temptation was always there. But no matter how far Livia pushed him before, he’d always fought to stay in control. But in that moment, he was more afraid of what would happen if he gave in to the addiction than what Marcus would do if he discovered Livia’s prized pupils.

Soft hands cupped his face. "Stay with me, Quinnton," Santi whispered in his ear, pulling him back into the moment with her. “You’re okay. Let her do what she needs to do. I won’t let you give in to the addiction. Focus on me.”

“Santi.” He pressed his face into her hair, too ashamed to meet her gaze.

“Look at me, Quinn.” She tilted his face toward hers. “It doesn’t define you and it doesn’t lessen the person you are in here.” She tapped his forehead. “I’ve seen power like yours before. I’ve seen the strength it takes to resist the temptations. You’re a rock. You don’t have it in you to fail. Focus on me and we’ll get through this together. One breath at a time.”

His lips found hers and he held on to her, letting her be the rock he needed in that moment.

"And how shall I find her?" Livia demanded. "I have nothing to go on and since you will not let me speak with Mother, I can't know what the queen might be thinking. Who she will seek? Where she will go? She has been a captive for two thousand years. This modern world will frighten her.”

“I’ve been told she plans to go back to where it all began,” her father said.

"What does that even mean? Where do I start? My team is good. But we’ve always focused on the younger generations. The best, brightest and youngest. That's what you've always wanted for Soma––an army of the most technologically advanced Immortals on earth. We rarely hunt anyone more than a few decades old. You're setting us up for failure. I don't do failure, Father. You know that. So tell me what I need to know."

“She will seek her Complement. Together they will ‘return to where it all began.’ That is the key to finding them.”

“Her Complement? I can't recall who he was." She frowned.

"Every Immortal on the planet knows of Alexander, but when asked, they can’t recall a single detail about him. Hunt for Alexander. When you find him, you will find Alísun."