I don’t want to think about what would have happened to me if he didn’t volunteer to come with me. Liam angles himself toward me and watches me for a few seconds. He doesn’t say anything; he just stares.
“What?” I ask when he doesn’t look away right away.
“Nothing,” he says right as the cell door opens and Adam walks in.
We both turn toward the door. A confused look crosses Adam face as he slows his walk to a stop in front of us. “Dravin wanted me to see if you were awake,” he tells me.
“There’s a window,” I remind him.
“I know.” He doesn’t do anything, but continues staring at me. The confusion remains though. Liam grunts beside me when he doesn’t look away.
“Adam, what’s your power?” I ask him when I start to get uncomfortable from his attention. I realize now that he’s never used any sort of magic against me, so I have no idea what he can do. Even the few times I’ve fought him, he never attempted to use any magic.
Adam leans back and looks at me. I can tell that he’s thinking about whether or not to tell me. “I can control people. Their emotions. Their thoughts. Their actions. Anything. I can control them.”
I sit up straighter. “Are you serious?”
“Yep,” he turns toward Liam. What he is doing? “Scoot away from her.”
I turn toward Liam who has a whatever expression on his face, but he slowly removes his arm from my shoulder and scoots a little over a foot away from me. My mouth falls open as I look between Liam and Adam. Liam looks extremely confused.
“Oh my gosh.” I turn to Adam. “Can you control anyone?”
“No. I can’t control you or Dravin.”
“Why?”
“Your mind is connected to your magic in some way. I can’t break through the magic barrier.”
“That doesn’t make sense. I’ve met someone whose power was Persuasion and his magic worked on me.”
“Persuasion and Control are two different things, Ryanne, so the magic works differently.”
“But Liam can go into minds. He can knock me out if my magic gets out of control and…” I’m cut off when the cell door is thrown open.
“Ryanne, I need you to come with me,” Dravin yells from the doorway. He looks anxious. He no longer has the confident demeanor he usually displays when he comes to get me to fight. Slowly, I stand and make my way over to him. Liam and Adam both stand up behind me. “Just Ryanne.”
I give them a small smile over my shoulder. I know that it won’t do anything because I look like crap, but it’s all the assurance I can give them right now. Dravin grabs my elbow and pulls me in the hall. Adam exits the cell and glances at me briefly before walking down the hallway in the opposite direction. I watch his receding form, waiting for Dravin to tell me what is going on. When the grip on my arm tightens, I gasp and look up at Dravin.
“I’ve tried to be patient with you. I even tried a different approach this time, but you’re pushing the limits. I can’t extract your magic, so you’re going to have to give it to me in other ways. You’re going to fight for the Gadramicks. You’re going to be our secret weapon.”
I gape at him. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m completely serious.”
“I’m not going to fight for you. I’m not on your team, Dravin. You are a little messed up if you think that I’m going be your “secret weapon,” and you have another thing coming if you think I’m going to let you have any bit of my magic in any shape or form. I’m not some pawn that you can just lock away until you need me.”
Dravin takes a step closer to me. Out of habit, I step backward and hit the wall behind me. “If you want to see that soulmate of yours again, I’d do as you’re told, Ryanne.”
“I’ve already accepted that I probably won’t get to see him again, so why get my hopes up? I know that you don’t plan on letting me leave here alive. You may have fooled Adam and Jedrek with that idea, but you haven’t fooled me. I’m not stupid Dravin. I know you. You’re a pathological liar. You get pleasure out of deceiving people. You’re smart and cunning, but easily angered—especially right now, when your perfect plan is slowly unraveling. You need my cooperation, but I’m not going to give it to you which means you’re either going to resort to physical violence or tricky mind games. Either way, I’m prepared, so try your worst.” Dravin narrows his eyes at me. Instead of reacting, he grabs my elbow again and pulls me down the hallway. “Where are you taking me?”