I knew she was telling me the truth. Her gaze didn’t falter. She didn’t even blink.
“You burst the trees into flames using nothing but your mind?” I was in awe.
I was trying to wrap my head around the explanation for that. I didn’t know if I would ever understand. The magic was outside of my realm, incomprehensible.
“I’ve done things like this before,” she confessed.
“You’ve started other fires with your mind?”
Sophia paused and gazed at the battle ensuing. “Yes.”
“That’s incredible.” I knew that to her I must have sounded thoroughly impressed, because that subtle smile began to peak through her features again.
“I just concentrate on something and then I can make things happen,” she stated vaguely.
I eyed the guards who were surrounding Ayden. Ayden had his teeth bared and was aggressively growling at them.
“Can you do it again?” I glanced back at Sophia. “Can you hurt them?”
Sophia looked like a vulnerable child as she peered up at me with wide eyes. “I don’t know.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
I clutched her hand and gave it a tender tug to coax her on. “Try.”
Sophia took a deep breath and concentrated on one guard in particular who was closer to her than the others. After several agonizing seconds, she exhaled sharply with a grunt. She rolled her eyes and huffed with exasperation, leaning back. “I…can’t.”
“Yes.” I nodded reassuringly. “Yes, you can, sweetheart. I believe in you. I know you can do it. Don’t get frustrated with yourself. Just concentrate and try again.”
I didn’t add that I thought the rest of our gang needed her because I didn’t want to put that intense pressure on her.
“Relax your mind. Focus on the guards. Know that I’m with you every step of the way, encouraging you.”
Sophia took another breath and narrowed her eyes again. She homed in on the same guard as before, this time more intently.
This time, something substantial did occur. The guard in question lurched backward. His limbs flailed out in jerky, helpless movements. He immediately dropped his sword on the ground. It landed with a plunking sound and the metal blade created a glare.
Sophia practically squealed with delight. She looked at me and I kissed her lips, feeling the rush of euphoria surge through me at the touch of her mouth on mine.
“You did it,” I whispered. I rubbed her back adoringly. “Now, do it again. Knock the swords out of those soldiers’ hands, one by one.”
Sophia seemed to be more inspired than she was when she first started. Her confidence soared and I saw it shimmering in her eyes.
Just like I had requested, she began to immobilize them with her mind, one at a time. Their swords dropped left and right. They convulsed and their expressions were stunned and full of terror.
I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing. I watched in awe, knowing that this power Sophia had inside of her mind would take us places. She was our saving grace. In that moment, she was back to being the beautiful dancing swan who had inarguably stolen my heart.
21
Ayden
I noticed something strange happening with the guards who had been encircling us. They appeared to be twisting, jerking, and dropping their weapons as if they were white hot to the touch. Some of the guards even resorted to crashing to the ground below them.
“What are you doing, you idiots?” the Master roared with menacing fury in his eyes. “Get up and fight. Take them down.”
Still in my lion form, I snarled at the guard, taking a few threatening paces in his direction. I barred my teeth maliciously so that he would take the hint to stay back. The Master had some nerve, telling his guards to attack a bear, a jaguar, and a lion all at once. Their plan was clearly failing them, but it wasn’t because of the three of us specifically.
No, something else ominous was going on with these guards. It was almost as if something was controlling them and their movements. They were like puppets on a string.
I suddenly remembered that the shifter who had been forced to control the werewolf was around here. Maybe it was him coming to our rescue and serving as our saving grace after all.
I panned the area and located the shifter in a spot between James and Blaze. I knew that he hadn’t suddenly jumped over to our team. At least, he was clearly still at least pretending to be on the Master’s side. The poor chap probably felt as if his own life would be threatened if he didn’t do exactly what the Master told him to do. The Masters were savvy like that, manipulating the shifters into doing exactly what they wanted, when they wanted it.
I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing. The guards were acting crazy, more bizarre by the minute. Some of them were running off into nowhere, disappearing behind the trees. Others, who had had death grips on their swords, let them loose as their arms hung limply by their sides.
A few of them even attempted to climb into the trees.
In my lion form, I lacked the ability to verbally communicate with my friends, although I could make gestures to them and blink to get their attention, whipping my mane around and roaring ferociously.
I captured Blaze’s attention first; he was actively swiping huge clawed hands at a few guards who were bold enough to come within his grasp. He was growling aggressively, yet the foolish guards still weren’t backing down.
I swooped in by his side and belted out an enormous roar of fury. These guards were single-minded, refusing to give up. Rage continued to boil inside of me. I didn’t understand where their confidence was stemming from, but maybe it was because there were more of them than us.
Yet the guards continued to exude peculiar behavior that didn’t make any sense. Why were they walking around like zombies as if a puppet master had taken control of their minds? I glanced at the Master. He seemed to be cowering in fear, while at the same time, barking orders at his marching soldiers.
“What are you doing? Why are you dropping your swords?” The veins in his neck bulged as he huddled in a ball in the corner, viciously launching verbal outbursts at his men.
I looked behind me. James looked as confused as I felt. I turned around, spotting something exceptional.
Sophia was standing behind a tree, Cameron at her side. She had an intense, penetrative look on her face. Her eyes were narrowed and her long, jet black hair fell down her shoulders like ink.
Cameron was looking at her as if he was amazed by her. Was she the one behind the curtain, pulling these strings and causing the chaotic disruption of the Master’s guards? I glanced back over my shoulder as they continued to fall apart and dash away, darting through the woods as if they had no real sense of purpose or destination.
I quickly jogged over to Blaze and James. They were unaware of what Sophia was doing, but I knew she was behind this. Her mind control talents were exceptional. She was taking the time to really work her magic on them. Maybe she was the safety net we always needed but never knew we had — until now.
I shifted in front of them. “It’s her,” I said, breathing hard. “She’s the one doing this.”
Blaze and James exchanged a look and then shifted back, now that the guards were dispersing and disappearing in front of our eyes. Even the ones that lingered behind were staring up at the sky, glancing down at the ground, or walking in circles as if their minds had been emptied.
“What are you talking about?” James quizzed. “Who is doing what?”
“Sophia,” I said and pointed behind us.
James and Blaze followed my gaze and their jaws dropped when they saw her. They were clearly stunned too.
“We need to grab him before it’s too late and he flees,” I said, remembering the Master. He was still crouching behind a tree, trying not to be spotted.
“I’m on it,” Blaze said, anger flashing in his eyes.
“Right behind you,” James said.
They rushed up to the Master and yanked him off his feet in on
e fluid motion. The Master attempted to resist, but he wasn’t strong enough. James and Blaze looked like they didn’t even have to strain to keep him in their grasp.
Sophia and Cameron raced up beside us.
“Where did you come from?” I asked.
“I saw the fire burning through the woods. I heard shouting. I ran as fast as I could in this direction, and that’s where I found you all here,” Cameron explained.
“We should get back to the base camp,” I said. I shot a glare at the Master. He was still red-faced and brutish, attempting to squirm away. “We need to bring him with us.”
“Agreed,” Cameron nodded. “We can’t afford to let him escape.”
“Maybe we can scare him into talking,” Sophia suggested and looked around the group. “You know? Perhaps we could sweat some information out of him?”
I gave her a smile and approached her. I clutched her slender hands in mine and then roped my arms around her tiny waist. “You did all this?” I whispered.
“Yes.” She smiled. “I started the fire too.”
I couldn’t suppress an enormous grin. “You are incredible.”
“Thanks,” she said. “But we really should be getting back, don’t you think?”
“Yes,” I nodded. “I just wanted you to know how inspirational you are.”
“Exceptional performance from a beautiful swan,” Cameron said, marveling at her with a look of admiration.
Sophia practically danced all the way back to the camp. It was wonderful to see the delight back on her features, the confidence back in her posture. She was a gorgeous swan who was meant to dance through life and light up the world with her talents and magical capabilities. She was in an elite league of shifters and we needed to count ourselves lucky to be basking in the glowing radiance of her presence.
Once we reached the edge of the camp, I breathed a sigh of relief to see that all was still in order. There didn’t appear to be any disruptions. People moved about the camp as if they were none the wiser about what had just taken place in the heart of the woods. We had been in the trenches, but now, we were back to being with the large group. I felt safe again.
“Stop here,” I instructed the others. “I need to go warn Otto and Leo first. Maybe they can convince Ralph to let this scum in our camp as a prisoner.”
I glared at the Master. His head was hanging down and his robes were caked in dirt. How the mighty appeared to be falling fast and hard.
“Good idea,” James nodded.
I was surprised that I wasn’t met with more protest, but I knew that I needed to go quickly. They couldn’t hold him forever. We needed to bind him, tie him to a post with rope, and keep our own guards watching over him at all times to make sure he didn’t try to pull the wool over our eyes.
I found Leo and Otto relatively quickly and brought them up to speed about the
I raced back to the others with Otto, Leo, and Ralph in tow. I could tell by the excitement on their faces that they had been waiting for something thrilling like this to happen.
“I can’t wait to get a good look at the bastard up close,” Ralph said, squeezing his hands together while cracking his knuckles.
“You aren’t going to kill him, are you?” Leo looked worried.
“Not before I torture him first.” Ralph’s twisted grin both haunted me and fired up my senses.
As we approached the others, I saw the Master was slouched over. His head hung loosely. His arms were slack.
“What happened to him?” I asked and looked at Blaze and James, still holding onto him.
“I punched him in the face.” Cameron beamed proudly.
“Why?” I looked among the group.
“He wouldn’t shut the hell up,” James said. “We were losing our grip on him.”
“I had to take matters into my own hands,” Cameron said.
I chuckled. “Nice.”
“I want a crack at him too.” Ralph lunged toward the master with his arm extended over his head, fist balled. A look of sheer venom was etched onto his icy features.
“Let’s get him tied up first,” Otto suggested.
Ralph halted and gave his friend a pondering look. “All right. I can get on board with that. We can see what he knows, where other Masters might be hiding.”
“He’ll never talk,” I said, glaring directly at the Master, who was still knocked out cold.
“He will if we torture him long enough,” Cameron said with an aggressive scowl.
James and Blaze shoved the Master in the back with a jab of their knees. “Get moving,” they snarled as the Master grunted in pain.
“We can move him to the recreational area in front of my tent,” Ralph suggested. “We have some posts from some extra tents that we can set up and tie him to. I think we have some extra rope too.”
I nodded. “Perfect.”
We got the Master set up. He was still limp, hanging off the makeshift post like a lifeless doll.
“Tell me where you come from,” Ralph said, crouching down to the Master’s level so that he could see his hidden face, cast in shadows.
The Master said nothing.
“Tell me your name,” Ralph said, his voice laced with rising impatience.
The Master didn’t lift his head, but simply let out a bitter laugh.
Ralph spit in his face. “Don’t patronize me, you piece of shit.”
The Master finally switched his gaze to Ralph and pursed his lips into a cynical smirk. “I’m not telling you anything.”
“Do you want to live?” Otto stepped in beside Ralph.
The master let out another atrocious laugh. He had half moon dark circles under his eyes and looked as if he hadn’t slept in a number of days. He wasn’t willing to crack yet, but it was still possible to wear him down to a bawling nub if we exercised patience.
Otto yanked a fistful of the master’s hair and pushed his face right up next to his, so that they were almost nose to nose.
“You are a feisty one, ain’t you boy?” Otto said, narrowing his eyes to inspect the dark-haired Master.
The master exposed a full set of white teeth. He looked boastful about the fact that he was getting a rise out of the leaders of this rebellion camp. He said nothing. He didn’t back down. No matter what type of intimidation we threw at him, he didn’t crack. He wasn’t baited by the threats in any capacity.
“We need a new tactic,” I muttered to Leo. “This one isn’t working.”
“We aren’t going to let you go until you talk,” Leo said to the Master in response to my suggestion. “You will be exposed to the elements, to torment, the works. You can make it easier on yourself if you just do what we say. Otherwise, you can suffer. It makes no difference to us either way.”
The Master gave Leo a menacing stare. “Do you really think I believe anything you tell me? I was dead before I even stepped foot into your camp.” He turned his gaze away from the group.
“We need to keep him here until we can figure out what to do with him then,” Ralph said gruffly.
“Wait…” Sophia said and suspiciously scanned the group.
“What is it, baby?” I gently stroked her back.
“The werewolf and the shifter?” She craned her neck, glancing in the direction of the woods. “The ones who were with him?” She pointed to the Master. “They’re gone.”
I let out an exasperated sigh. “We can’t worry about that right now,” I told her and tried to be consoling about it. “One problem at a time, right?”
She looked resilient as she shot a fiery glance at the Master. “You’re right. One hoop to jump through at a time.”
The wonder of perseverance shimmered in her eyes and kept me going. She was the golden ticket to winning this war. She was going to end up being the heart of this entire operation. I was willing to bet my
life on it.
22
Sophia
I was lying in my tent on the sheets, staring out into space. My mind was blank. I didn’t want to think. I wanted to clear my head and pretend that the Master we had taken from the woods wasn’t tied to a post less than a hundred yards from me. I was unsettled about the lack of a plan, and I prayed that the others would figure something out soon.
After I had been by myself for a while, letting my thoughts fester, Ayden and James stepped through the slit in the tent opening. They stared at me with handsome curiosity.
“Is everything all right in here?” James asked and glanced around the enclosed space, visibly smiling when he realized that I was alone and undisturbed.
“As good as it can get, I suppose,” I said and let out a sigh as I sat up.
I roped my hands around my legs and tucked my knees up to my chest, rocking back and forth: a self-soothing tactic I had learned years ago.
“How are you feeling?” Ayden sat down and crisscrossed his legs, sitting directly in front of me.
He studied me as if I was a patient and he was the therapist, ready to dissect my troubles.
I inhaled deeply and frowned, staring at my knees instead of looking at him. “I’m…hanging in there.”
“You were amazing back there,” Ayden admitted. “In the woods. The way you controlled the guards like that? It was exceptional to say the least.”
“Yeah.” James nodded and sat next to me. He wove his arm across my shoulders. “You got us out of that mess. We never would have been able to do it without you. It could have been catastrophic.”
“Thanks.” I chuckled humbly, still unable to look at them because I was afraid of becoming too emotional. I needed to stay reserved for as long as I could.
It was important to me that they saw the tough exterior and not the crumbling inside of me that was turning to mush. I knew how to switch off my emotions like a lamp. I did it for years with Thom, and I could continue to do it now and forever if I had to.
“No, seriously.” Ayden had a thoughtful expression on his face. He leaned up and looked at me with a smile. “You have all these hidden talents springing up—”
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