In no time at all, hands were digging into her shoulders, turning her over as the lingering effects continued to pulse through her nerves, making them useless, too stunned to work properly.
"It's her," a voice said.
Pandora opened her eyes, looking into a face, recognizing a boy she'd grown up with, a boy she'd known her entire life. He watched her as though she were a bug to be squashed, no acknowledgment in his hard brown eyes. Then he glanced to the side, toward someone waiting just beyond her line of vision. It didn’t take long to figure out who.
"Pandora."
The sound, hard and empty, devoid of any true emotion just as it'd always been, made her soul shudder.
She swallowed and then forced her lips to open, forced her voice out even as her body screamed with the pain. "Father."
Malcolm Scott leaned down, dark-brown eyes nailing his daughter to the forest floor, lips drawn thin enough to slice. The grooves across his forehead had deepened, wrinkles having grown even more pronounced in the time she'd been gone.
Does he notice I haven’t changed at all?
Does he even care?
Almost as if sensing her thoughts, he turned away and looked toward the bolters who'd caught Pandora in their lightning, who still held her contained. "Two of you, go retrieve Jackson from the conduits, as I have little doubt he's currently unable to extricate himself. And the rest of you, secure the target and bring her with us. This job is done for now."
And just like that, he was gone, walking away, out of sight and leaving the rest of the team to finish the job. Pandora had been trained enough to understand what was coming next, to be unsurprised when another woman she'd known all her life kneeled down and pressed her fingers to Pandora's temple.
"Patrice," she rasped, barely a whisper as her body lay still, fried by the electric bolts that had slammed through it.
But the woman ignored her.
I've known you my entire life.
Your daughter is only two years younger than me.
You know who I am!
But Pandora knew the pleas wouldn’t matter. And she refused to beg. Titans were just as determined as they were stubborn—neither side would bend.
So instead, she gritted her teeth and hardened her eyes, staring Patrice down, gaze boring into the older woman's head, full of hate and judgment and the promise of vengeance. Regardless, warmth surged beneath her skin, emanating from the fingers pressed to her forehead, tingling as the sensation traveled deeper, blurring her mind, replacing her thoughts with a blank gray mist.
Patrice was a mindbender.
And within seconds, Pandora slipped away.
Gone.
Chapter Twenty-One
Pandora woke cold and alone, face pressed against a polished floor. After blinking rapidly to clear her eyes, she took in the bright white lights, the barren surface her body was splayed upon, the flat walls surrounding her on every side, three stone and one perfectly clear glass. The small room was empty aside from a lumpy feather mattress, a tray of food, and a small cubby tucked into one corner hiding a toilet.
Pandora stood and stumbled to the tray as her belly roared with hunger, demanding food. But the starvation was almost comforting, because at least with everything else, she was no longer longing for blood. Grabbing quickly, as though it might disappear at any moment, she downed the two slices of bread and gulped in the glass of water before picking the bowl up and slurping down the soup. There were no utensils, nothing breakable, nothing sharp. All plastic, all dulled around the edges, all safe.
She smiled darkly, pressing her forehead to the glass, laughing softly, probably delirious.
She knew exactly where she was.
There wasn't a single doubt in her mind.
All titans were taught about this place from a very young age—the place where the tracked went, where the hunted were sent, where the criminals and the bad people were put until their fate was decided. Humans knew it as Area 51, but when she was growing up, the titans had simply called it the jail. Normally, only those initiated into the order and select government officials were allowed inside. But then again, Pandora wasn't there as a titan.
She was there as a prisoner.
And her fate had already been decided. It was only a matter of time.
But how much time?
That was the question.
What was her father waiting for? Some sort of ceremony? Some sort of ritual?
Why wasn't she dead already?
When exactly would the guillotine fall?
Focused, squinting her eyes, taking in every detail, Pandora slid her gaze over the space visible beyond her cell. A long windowless hall. Cameras hitched to the ceiling. ID scanners to either side. More soundproof cells would be on either side of her. Doors upon doors upon doors rested between her and the outside world. Doors and, of course, guns and guards and titans and every other form of security imaginable. Rumor was the North American prison was the hardest place to break out of in the world, at least if everything she grew up hearing was true.
But Pandora learned a long time ago not to believe everything she was taught as a child. And she wouldn't let a little detail like impossible odds stop her.
After all, she wasn't just another captive.
Pandora was a master thief.
And she was about to have her biggest heist of all—stealing the thing the titans wanted most right out from underneath their noses.
Herself.
And she wasn't going to do it alone.
"Sam," Pandora whispered, withdrawing into the shadows, going where all the cameras and all the security in the world couldn’t follow. "You were right. I remember now. And I'm ready. I need you."
Because she was done running.
Done fleeing.
Done pretending.
Once she’d escaped this place, Pandora would face her fate head-on, and somehow, she’d find a way to change it.
~~~
Don't miss the sequel, coming spring 2017!
Freeze
Midnight Ice Book Two
When life gives you lemons, throw them back (really, really hard).
Pandora Scott is in jail…again. Everyone she once loved betrayed her…again. And some of the most powerful people in the world want her dead…yes, again. Sound familiar? But if there’s one thing Pandora is good at, it’s wriggling her way out of life or death situations, and this time is no different. Armed with her ability to disappear and aided by the mysterious Sam, Pandora’s got a plan. Escape the most secure prison in the world. Evade the most powerful trackers on the planet. Forget every word that Jax has ever told her. And figure out how to change one teeny tiny thing—fate. Easy, right? Well…doable, at least.
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Want more from Kaitlyn?
Don't miss her other series—Midnight Fire, Once Upon A Curse and A Dance of Dragons!
Midnight Fire, the companion series to Midnight Ice, is a bestselling young adult paranormal romance perfect for fans of The Vampire Diaries, Vampire Academy, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The first book, Ignite, is free!
Once Upon A Curse is a USA Today recommended series of fairy tale retellings all set in the same dystopian universe! The first book, Gathering Frost, is a romantic fantasy reimagining of Sleeping Beauty!
A Dance of Dragons is a young adult fantasy adventure perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Kristin Cashore, and Tamora Pierce!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bestselling author Kaitlyn Davis writes young adult fantasy novels under the name Kaitlyn Davis and contemporary romance novels under the name Kay Marie.
Always blessed with an overactive imagi
nation, Kaitlyn has been writing ever since she picked up her first crayon and is overjoyed to share her work with the world. When she's not daydreaming, typing stories, or getting lost in fictional worlds, Kaitlyn can be found indulging in some puppy videos, watching a little too much television, or spending time with her family.
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Frost (Midnight Ice Book One) Page 23
