Emerge: The Captive: (Book 3)(70)

“We’ll do it together,” she promised.

They continued on in the darkness, their steps echoing all around them. Quinn fell into a steady pace, but his mind whirled with thoughts of Livia and how badly he wanted to return to her side. He fought the urge with every breath. With each step he took, Livia pulled back, reeling him in like a fish on a line. He grew foggy and disoriented and wasn’t sure how long he’d stumbled through the shallow water rushing around his knees, nor how long ago Santi had succumbed and left him in the darkness to return to their master.

When he realized she was gone and he was alone, he sobbed. Quinn couldn’t fathom not having her near. But he knew he couldn’t turn back. He had to keep going. For both of them. He had to keep his promise.

The water churned around his shoulders, forcing him off his feet. His chest ached with the icy burn of his power. Livia was furious with him, but she would take it out on Santi. Every step he took would bring her more harm. But he had to keep going. His arms sliced through the water and he gasped for each breath as it rattled in his lungs.

He wasn’t sure when he started drawing on his power. Livia’s hold on him was slipping. He had more control than he’d had in months. He struggled with the seduction of it, cautious not to fall into the temptation now, at the worst possible moment.

As the tunnel began to rise, Quinn emerged from the muddy waters, dragging one foot in front of the other. He drew on the strength of his power to keep himself moving forward, but the battle he was currently fighting against Livia had him dangerously close to the limits of his addiction.

More. We need more…. The voice of his gift echoed in his mind. To resist her we need more power. Give us control.

“No! I am in control,” Quinn shouted into the darkness, his voice reverberating back to him.

Then go back to the bitch. She owns you.

“I’m not going back,” he argued with himself. But he was about to cross a line he swore he never would. If he was going to make it, he had to use the full force of his power.

“I have to do it now if I’m going to beat her.” He could do it just this once.

Yes! Just this once.

Livia still pulled him and he resisted her with each step, but each step took him closer to giving in to the voice in his mind. The voice that told him it was okay to take a taste of that much power. Just this once.

But it wouldn’t be once.

All his life, Quinn had only allowed himself to take small steps with his gifts. Only the smallest taste of the power that fueled them. His progress was slower because of it, but he never trusted himself to tempt fate. It would be too easy to take one step too far.

I would rather be a reluctant slave to Soma for the rest of my life than to give in to my power and become the thing I hate most.

Quinn stumbled to his knees. He was so close, he could see a faint light up ahead. If he could make it into the crypt, he could get help. He just needed someone to keep him from turning around long enough to outlast Livia’s strength and break her hold on him. He imagined it would be like going through detox, but if he made it home, he would have the help he needed to defeat her.

Getting to his feet, Quinn started to run. The darkness was fading quickly. When he fell again, he crawled. He was almost there. He could almost touch it—the smooth concrete wall separating him from freedom.

Where is the mosaic floor? The arches? The tunnel ended in an arched chamber that led to other parts of the crypt.

Quinn sank to the floor as he realized that somewhere along the way he’d turned back. He was staring at the concrete wall at Terminal Tower. Right back where he started—and Livia was just on the other side of the door.

~~~





CHAPTER

TWENTY-FOUR





Sasha: Ankathari


The Chola Valley Temple


“Why do you think ankathari affects you so?” Mother Raghavan asked as Sasha walked beside her. “You stare at this lovely garden with vacant eyes as if this experience has broken you.”

“It has,” Sasha said, taking the mother’s hand. “I am not built for this.”

“And why do you think that?”

“The Senate sees nothing beyond my abilities that, to them, make me the perfect assassin, but they are overlooking this whole other side of me, mother. The nature-loving young woman who talks to animals, heals and protects them. The peace-loving girl who abhors violence of any kind.” Sasha’s voice shook with the threat of tears. “I’ve slayed the phantoms of my family one-hundred and fifty-nine nights. This experience is killing that side of me, and it breaks my heart and wounds my spirit. I fear it will ruin me.”

“Take the Senate out of the equation. They do not matter.” Mother Raghavan stopped and turned Sasha toward her, wiping the tears from her eyes with a weathered thumb. “They are simply the force that brought you here, but this experience is not about them or what they foresee for you. The Senate is remarkably blind when it comes to these things.” She grasped Sasha’s hands.

“I fail to find the good in this experience, mother,” Sasha whispered, helping the mother down onto the bench that overlooked the western garden wall. It was their favorite place to watch the sunset.

“You must find the lesson. In here.” She tapped Sasha’s forehead with the tip of her cane. “And in here.” She placed her hand over Sasha’s heart. “The outside world is of no concern.”