Chapter 12 Quinn #2
Ezra grunted as if I’d stabbed him. He didn’t move to take the maps, so I dropped them. Once again, they bent and crackled as they rolled all over the floor. I shouldn’t have fetched Xan’s scraps like some obedient puppy. They’d clearly been talking behind my back.
Fuck this.
I didn’t wait for Ezra. I marched toward the door, ready to see what direction I was being kicked in this time.
I’d not made it halfway down the hall before the sounds of a roaring dragon echoed. Something cracked, and I looked back just as bits of the bathroom door splintered against the wall. A very soggy, angry, made-up reptile zoomed out of the room and into my arms.
At least my mistakes loved me back.
With the dragon at my side and Ezra brooding behind me, I stormed across the castle grounds. A streak of red blurred across my path. Everly shoved past Ezra and threw her arms around me.
“Do you know what the Architect just asked me for?” she demanded, edging me away from Ezra.
“Everly, stop. Follow your orders.” Ezra drew his sword, but Hero blocked him before he could reach us. Steel rang as their blades met.
“Stop!” I shouted, throwing up my hands just as the dragon hurled itself at their feet, snapping and squealing. “Don’t fight! And no, I don’t know!”
“The Architect will explain,” Ezra said calmly.
Hero struck out. This time, their blades met and held.
“Hero can handle him.” Everly tucked me into her side. “The Architect will not explain. We need to go, now.”
I struggled to take my eyes off Ezra and Hero. Despite everything I just said, my heart told me Ezra was still my friend. I didn’t want him fighting Hero.
Ezra’s face gave nothing away, but he looked past Hero at Everly. “You must trust us.”
“You’ve drawn steel against my sister. We must do nothing,” Hero stated coldly.
Ezra stepped back and sheathed his weapon.
“Escape. Plan,” Everly hissed. “I will not see you pulled into my world.”
I blinked a few times, well and truly lost. “Right, um, it’s gotten really complicated, but yeah, maybe the escape plan will still work? What did the Architect ask you for?”
Everly dropped her gaze and took a deep breath to speak, but made a confused squeaking gasp instead. She reached out and pushed down my hoodie. “Oh. My. God. What is that?”
I grimaced. “It’s a long story. I thought Brit would have filled you in already.”
Everly shook her head. “The Architect put me in charge of a few projects. I’ve had a lot on my plate and no time to entertain rumors or find you or Brit.” The color drained out of her face. “Do you think he did that to keep me busy and away from you?”
At first, I thought yes, but the castle was a wreck—broken pipes, acid burns, supplies cut off. Everyone had work. It wasn’t a conspiracy.
Before I could say as much, Ezra growled. “Just walk to the Architect, silently. Stop talking.”
Everly scowled and gave me a knowing look. I didn’t return it, but I didn’t not return it either. I was still the ball, and Ezra’s war room held the feet kicking me around.
Everly put an arm around my waist and lowered her voice. “He asked me for a slave collar.”
My eyes widened. “For who?”
“He didn’t say, but who do you think?” She leaned toward me. “Who just murdered one of his precious monsters and can teleport out of his control?”
My stomach knotted. Me.
‘Don’t let them collar you.’ Alex’s voice rang clear in my thoughts.
I jumped, though Everly pulled me closer to her side.
“What is it?” Everly asked.
“Nothing,” I lied.
‘Fight, Quinn. For us. For your new family.’
Images spliced together. Xan and Ezra on either side of me, then Dad’s kitchen. Ezra chopped vegetables; the smell of onions made my eyes water. Alex bounced a toddler on his knee. My two lives braided into one, blurred by voices and movement until I wasn’t sure which was real.
‘They’ll tear this from you, Quinn. From us,’ Alex pressed. The toddler’s beautiful baby-blue eyes looked up at me. Warm arms wrapped around my waist as Xan rested his hands across my abdomen. For a single moment, I felt like I was home.
With a flash of baby blue, the kitchen vanished, and I opened my eyes to the dark stone of the war room, my thoughts once again my own.
Like my visions of the hospital, Alex’s power was so strong I lost awareness of even my body.
A shiver of fear had me bolting up to a seated position, only to find Ezra holding Xan upright like a wax figure.
“I didn’t know, oh, gods, this is my fault.” Tears streamed down Everly’s cheeks while Hero held her back from me.
I took a deep breath. Alex had created another world—not mine, his.
“Where’s Alex?” I asked.
“Xan’s cut him off.” Ezra scowled. “He can keep him at bay until he needs to sleep, though it is at the cost of his physical awareness of the world.”
My heart raced, but with so many emotions, it was hard to interpret. Alex had taken over my reality, which was terrifying, but the visions he gave me weren’t. I’d spent so much of my life wanting to be normal… was that what Alex was drawing on? Is that still what I wanted?
‘It is not your job to fulfill others’ fantasies. Ever. Ezra and I included.’ Xan’s voice filled my mind.
“It’s not,” I agreed out loud.
The dragon cuddled into my hip.
“Quinn,” Everly reached for me, though Hero held her back. “Please tell me you’re okay?”
“I’m okay, a little confused, but I know what’s going on now,” I said, rubbing my head.
Hero let go of Everly, and my friend pushed through my guys to hug me. “I should have listened. It’s just tough to let go of The Evil Mastermind Architect. He was our adversary for so long.”
I chuckled while Ezra scowled at Everly.
‘Can he still hear?’ Everly mouthed, pointing at Xan.
“Yes,” Ezra growled.
Everly blushed before straightening and owning her words. “You were, and I’m not sorry. Trust is earned.”
“He can’t respond. He’s not in his body,” Ezra said after an awkward pause.
“Right.” Everly straightened her dress. “I knew that.”
“Um, Everly,” I said, changing the topic. “Why did the Architect ask you for a slave collar?”
Everly’s posture fell. “The Griersons use slaves.” She bit her lips together. “We’re not in the trade, but we take our own and occasionally purchase. I don’t like it, but one woman can do little to change an entire system.” Everly swallowed, and her confidence vanished. “Do you hate me?”
This time, I pulled my friend to me. The dragon wiggled between us and let out a little puff of annoyed rainbow magic. “Never. You don’t need to hide from me.” I released her. “So, they asked you because they want to put a collar on me because I killed Professor Holiday?”
‘No,’ Xan shouted in my head.
“Where did you get that idea?” Cayden asked.
Rowan shook his head and clenched his teeth.
“No,” Everly added, just in case I hadn’t had enough of those. “That was me making assumptions, again. I’m sorry. A slave collar blocks all magic. Yours and anyone else's. It should block you from the man who just took over your mind.”
“And this doesn’t bother you?” I asked.
Everly let out a frustrated sigh. “Yes, it bothers me. But one minute, we were walking, and the next, you were just a shell.” Everly poked my chest, though tears filled her eyes.
“It’s better than watching your mind get taken over.
” Her voice broke. “That was terrifying, Quinn. Everything just went slack, and you were gone.”
Fear crawled up my throat. “You think I should do this.”
The dragon growled unhappily, and I petted its oddly soft scales.
Everly shook her head. “No. I don’t. I don’t want to see you or anyone else in a collar again, but there isn’t a better answer, at least not right now.”
I took a deep breath. I’d lived most of my life thinking my magic was actually crazy and trying to stop it. “I will overload and black out if I can’t use magic.” I studied the top of the table I still sat on.
“Collars are keyed to a master,” Everly explained. “They can let you use magic only with permission. Like the boy at my uncle’s forge.”
I took a deep breath. I could still use magic, but only with permission. I didn’t look at anyone. “Who will key my collar?”
“Xan,” Ezra stated.
“Fuck no,” Cayden hissed.
“Xan knows how to key a collar,” Ezra pointed out. “He can have it on her and working instantly. He or the Griersons will have to teach anyone else.”
“And that’s why it can’t be Xan,” Cayden stated. “He knows. He already has too much power over Quinn.”
I didn’t argue with that. I was shitting where I was eating, considering Xan. He ran this family, and though he hadn’t put me back on train duty, he could have. My fear had been justified, even if it was wrong.
‘I would never, Quinn. Ever. We need to talk, but not when you’re unwittingly sharing your thoughts with me. What happens between us has no bearing on your place in my family. I will do whatever you need to make you feel comfortable with that.’
Right, Xan was in my head. Responding to my thoughts with actual words.
I blinked rapidly, desperately trying to digest all of that so I wouldn’t freak out.
Xan stayed quiet while I breathed. I was getting good at adapting to impossible situations.
Hell, it should go on my résumé. Humor—yes. Perfect. I was fine.
I focused. “All four of you.” I brushed Alex’s collar. “If I have to wear a second, then I want all four of you to have control over it and balance each other. Everly will teach you while we ride.”
“We’re going somewhere?” Everly asked.
I looked at Cayden, who took a deep breath and nodded.
We found each other's hands and squeezed. “There are people who need more help than I do right now.”
Everly pursed her lips as if to argue before letting out a dramatic sigh. “Fine. I guess I have three students to teach something I wish I didn’t know.”
“Right now, I’m glad you know it.” I smiled sadly at my friend. “Thank you.”
Everly’s gaze misted with tears before she gave me another big hug.
The dragon hissed, demanding attention. He was pure chaos wrapped in scales; he couldn’t join us.
‘If you really want to keep him, we can try.’
I took a deep breath. I could barely take care of myself, much less a pet.
‘Ezra will take us to the Alun while the others prepare. And when this is over, you can have as many pets as you want.’
I snorted and pictured a room of fluffy cats.
Sheer terror flowed from Xan. ‘Whatever you want.’