For minutes, we stand like this. And then he bends his head slightly, kisses my forehead.
The contact sends jolts through me, and I lift my head up, pull him toward me.
I kiss him, hard, surprise myself by the ferocity of it. Because, if we do get caught when we try and escape, this could be the last time.
And then his hands are all over me—and it’s like before, like in the Zharat cave, before Jed interrupted us. My heart pounds and everything inside me dances. My hands are in Corin’s hair, and then his lips dip down, cover my neck in tiny kisses that try to flutter away.
I breathe deeply, and he pushes my head back, exposing more of my neck for him. A thousand feelings pull through me as I press myself into him. His hands get rougher, pulling at the thin material of my shirt, harder and harder. His lips press against my collarbone, and he kisses me there, repeatedly. His hands knead the fleshy parts of my upper arms, exerting more pressure. A moan escapes him, and I pull back a little, see his eyes, see how they’re burning.
“I’ve missed you,” he whispers, and then I kiss his lips again, but kiss them softly, slowly.
The full force of my feelings hits me. I’ve really missed him. More than I ever thought it would be possible to miss someone. I just—I need to be close to him. To feel close.
Corin’s the one thing I’ve got left. I’ve lost everyone else. But not him.
He’s still here.
With me.
Together.
I press myself closer to him still as we kiss again. His hands find their way under my shirt and then he’s exploring every inch of my skin, until his touches slide onto the cups of my bra. He squeezes my right breast, firmly, and I gasp, then his other hand’s on my wrist.
Next, he directs me to touch him, makes my fingers slide over his skin just above the waistband of his shorts. He makes a deep sound in his throat, and then his hands move around to my back, and then down to my bottom. He pulls me against him again, and I feel his body respond against mine, respond in a way that’s—
Corin steps away from me abruptly, breathing hard. His lips curl with a smile, and I’ve never seen his face so flushed.
“I’ve missed you too,” he says in a voice so ragged, so labored, that my heart nearly breaks into a thousand pieces. “Gods, Seven, I really want you…need you…but your brother said…” He shakes his head. “Shit. Not now, okay? Now we need to sleep.”
I stare at him, my mouth dropping open. “Sleep?”
But I don’t want to sleep. What if Raleigh comes in and uses me again? But Corin’s here…and the cell door is creaky. At least one of us would wake up, I’m sure.
“We need to rest,” Corin says firmly and sits down, gestures for me to sit next to him. His hands shake. “We need to be ready for when that door opens…not getting distracted.” His lips twitch, and he reaches for the bottle of water, and, somehow, he reaches it with ease despite the distance. He takes a small sip, then licks his lips. “And then, and then when we’re out there—together, free—we’ll have all the time in the world. Time to do whatever we want…” He lets his words trail off, his voice so deep, so suggestive.
My chest hitches. He smiles at me—a smile that is so sexy, so inviting—and I want to press myself against him again.
I sit next to him, willing my body to calm down, and he offers me the water. I take a small gulp, but he tells me I can have it all. I drink greedily, and then he puts an arm around me, draws me in. I rest my head against his shoulder, trying to control myself, when all I want to do is kiss him again, climb onto his lap.
Corin reaches over, pulls a blanket toward us. He drapes it over both of us as we lie down. I think about taking my tennis shoes off, but it’s best to keep them on in case of a quick escape.
Then Corin sits up. He takes his T-shirt off.
I stare at his chest, as he stays sitting up for a moment, looking down at me. How…how chiseled it is. I’ve seen his bare chest once before, when we showered in the Fire Mountain, but my memory doesn’t serve it justice. Corin smiles the kind of smile that says he knows he’s attractive.
He lies down again. A small gap—the tiniest—runs the length of our bodies. No physical contact, but I want to reach across, slide my hand across, know what his muscles feel like beneath my hand.
My heart pounds. I tell myself to stop it, but energy buzzes through me. Electricity tries to set every part of my body on fire.
After a moment, Corin turns his head fully toward me. So close. His face is the picture of calmness. “Just sleep, okay? But we’d better not touch,” he says, and he scoots over a little more—even though we weren’t touching. “Temptation and all that. Gods, this could be difficult.”
I start to laugh. “But we’ve slept before, like this…where we haven’t actually done anything… At the Spirit temple. In the Zharat’s lorry. Even in their den, that first night.”
“But you didn’t look as irresistible as you do now. And I didn’t have your brother’s warning ringing in my head.” He chuckles, but it sounds forced. Then he looks at me. “We’ll be together soon. Now, Sev. Get some sleep. Rest. We don’t know how much time we’ve got.”
I nod, but I don’t go to sleep. I start thinking. Thinking about everything. The events of today whirl back and forth in my mind, blending with one another, like colors mixing to create new shades. I start to wonder what will happen if Three opens the door and sees us lying together under the blanket. The blanket’s not covering Corin’s shoulders and I wonder if it’ll look like he’s completely naked beneath the cover.
Naked.
And that makes me actually think about him…naked. About what he’ll look like and… Heat rushes to my face. I wonder if he’s thinking the same thing about me.
After a while, Corin asks if I’m asleep, then he breaks his no contact rule and takes my hand, looks into my eyes.
“Have you thought about trying to connect to those other Untamed?” He pauses. “I know it’s what Raleigh wants. But it’s also a lifeline. An advantage… You could tell one of them what’s going on. See if they can help on the outside, be waiting for us.”
I shrug and breathe deeply. There’s a seam of my shorts digging into me, and I shift around a little. “I don’t know.”
I start to nestle into him before I even realize what I’m doing. Corin’s body tenses at first, but then he relaxes. His arm goes around me, and I rest my head against his chest, listen to his heart. He moves one of his legs, then the side of his knee presses against mine. Skin against skin.
“We need all the help we can get,” he says. “Now, try and get some sleep, Sev. I’m here. You’re safe with me. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Safe. Safe with Corin. He’d protect me if Raleigh came in here. I know that.
And so I sleep.
We do. We sleep like this, together, safe.
I’m not sure what time it is when I awake, because there’s no window in here. Corin’s hand feels heavy over my side. My back is against his chest, and my skin is hot, sticky. He’s warm, very warm, and I’m sure the back of my shirt is damp with sweat.
I slide out from the blanket as quietly as I can, careful not to disturb him, and—
I catch a glimpse of his face as I turn.
My blood turns to ice.
No.
No.
No.
It’s not Corin.
Oh—oh Gods.
It’s—
No.
No.
No.
The man opens his eyes. He smiles at me.
I stare at him, at his eyes, at the—
Every part of my body recoils, every part of me feels sick, every part of me screams.
I propel myself away from him, grab hold of the blanket, wrench it from him, to cover myself. Even though I’m fully dressed. Never took any clothes off. Thank the Gods. But my heart’s still pounding.
“What…” But I can’t speak properly, my words, they’re tangled and sti
cky. My heart pounds. I look around, then back at him. “Where’s Corin, where’s—what the hell are you doing? What’ve you done to Corin?”
Raleigh sits up. “What’s the matter?”
And he speaks in Corin’s voice.
Corin’s voice.
I go cold. Completely cold. No. No. No.
Raleigh looks down at his hands, then curses. And the way he curses….
And—and… Oh Gods. Why didn’t I check?
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
I can body-share. I’m connected with Corin, and I didn’t even check it was him. I just assumed, and—
Oh Gods.
And it’s him. Not Corin. Oh Gods.
I hold my own hands up slowly, flex my fingers, then clench them into fists. My heart pounds. My legs start shaking.
“What are you doing?” My voice trembles, and thousands of things fly round and round in my head, try and make me feel sick.
Raleigh doesn’t even blink. “I was getting to know you better. But someone thought they’d sabotage my plan. Switched my concoction. Different grade. Not long-lasting.” He swears again. But he must see the look on my face, because he laughs. “You really are good at kissing, aren’t you? Extraordinary, for such an Untamed individual… Such sensual lips.”
I feel sick.
My heart pounds as I stare at him.
It isn’t Corin.
It was never Corin.
Can’t have been….
It was Raleigh. All the time. The augmenters…the augmenters can do anything.
And Three—Three knew. He must’ve. Oh Gods. He’s with them. My own brother—he set me up. Played me. Pretended and—
No wonder he was so desperate for me to see Corin. Because it wasn’t him. He and Raleigh must’ve planned it—to trick me.
Oh Gods.
Three’s with Raleigh. Not one of us after all.
But someone sabotaged it…changed the augmenters, made them last fewer hours?
My mother.
It has to be her.
Raleigh stands up and looks at me. “The channels to your mind were practically wide open when you were unconscious—such easy access. And sleep renewed your powers remarkably quickly.”
Dread fills me as I look at him. My powers. They weren’t sealed off. He….
Oh Gods.
Raleigh leers. “Oh, yes. I’ve connected you to eighteen Untamed, individually, of course—for now.”
Eighteen Untamed.
I’m connected to eighteen Untamed. And he must’ve felt my connections to the others…to Taras. To Corin.
The real Corin.
I clap a hand to my mouth, stare at Raleigh.
“Don’t look so alarmed, my butterfly.”
Nausea pulls through me. I kissed him. I kissed him. I pressed my body against him, I slept cradled into his chest, I listened to his heart beat. I thought about him naked.
Oh Gods.
And for how long? How long has it been? How long was I asleep in there with him?
The door creaks open. Harsh light. I blink. A silhouette in the doorway. Three’s silhouette.
Three.
My brother.
I see red.
The traitor.
Fire charges through my bones.
I catapult myself upright, turn, fire in my blood. And I run, manage to skid past Three before either of them realizes.
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
I look up. The corridor. Which way?
And I’m out—Gods, I’m out, running free and—
Oh Gods. It was all lies. Lies!
My head pounds.
I’ve got to get out.
Before Raleigh uses me again.
“Shania!”
But what about Three?
The traitor!
And Esther? Your mother? Your dog?
Oh Gods. I start to slow, then realize I can’t. I can’t save them. Don’t know where Esther and my mother are, and I wouldn’t be able to get Esther out. Not with her injury. And my dog—is he still in my room? But I can’t go back. I have to get out. I can’t do anything that might compromise my escape. Because the Enhanced can’t have me…not now…now when the next time I’m asleep, or drugged, Raleigh will use my powers, if he has me. Even if I seal them off, something tells me he’ll find them somehow, break the seal. Or he’ll trick me again… He’ll make more connections and—
Shit. Escape. What am I even thinking? I’m not going to escape—hell, Raleigh won’t let me.
And, as if on cue, I feel him trying to take over my body, trying to control me, and—
I turn back, as he wants, but I scream, and I—I break the control. Somehow, I do it. Pain snakes from my head, down my neck, my spine, and I lift my hand up at the two of them—Raleigh and Three.
My powers surge within me—fueled with their anger at being exploited—and I send the white light at Raleigh.
It hits him.
He grunts, loses his grip on my soul, and—
And I don’t stop to watch.
I run.
I run as fast as I can.
An alarm blares down the hallway, the red light chasing me. I dive to the left, skid into the next corridor. There’s no one about. It’s empty. Just me. Me running, and I’m like a mouse, trying to escape, knowing the cat will be just around the corner.
I keep running, get to some stairs, ascend them so quickly my legs feel like they’re moving too fast, and I’m going to fall over.
And then there’s another flight.
My lungs are going to burst. The red flashing lights are disorientating, dizzy, and—
Voices.
Behind me.
I spin around, my heart pounding even harder. See men coming. Enhanced. Mirror eyes flashing.
Shit.
I turn and run again. Got to keep running. Have to keep running. Need to breathe properly—not breathing right, I’m going to crash, using up all my energy.
I pump my arms faster, try to think what to do—but can’t. My head—there’s too much going on. Just got to run. Need to run. Must get away.
But they’ll catch you. You know they’ll catch you.
No.
They can’t.
They won’t.
Eighteen Untamed are connected to me. No—shit, there’re more… Corin, Viktoriya, Esther, Dominika, the man who leant over the ice, the person I shared with when I saw the blue-eyed Seer, the Zharat man with the hairy arms. Oh Gods. What’s that? Twenty-five. Twenty-five people who can get converted if the Enhanced have me. Twenty-five people I have to keep Untamed.
I plow ahead, reach more stairs. My heart thuds against my ribs. Waves of dizziness wash over me—tightness spreads across my scalp. My chest feels like it’s going to cave in.
“Shania!”
My head turns, like there’s a string attached to it, and jagged pain darts down my spine. I see shadows and men. Mirror eyes, but not Raleigh.
He’s injured? My white light hurt him? And he’s not controlling me…. It’s just the other Enhanced here.
“Stop running! You cannot escape!”
I don’t stop running. Somehow, I manage to go faster. I pass a window—a blur of sky and—
I’m higher up now than I thought.
Shit.
Shit.
Shit!
Too high—there’s no escape up here. I need to be on ground level. I curse, feel my momentum slipping away. How have I got so high up? But Esther’s high up too, isn’t she? For a moment, my mind backtracks. Could I get her out? What about my Seer powers? Raleigh said about super human strength. I could carry her….
But there’s no time. And I don’t know if she’s in this part of the compound.
My breath comes in rapid bursts, and—
Stairs.
I see the sign to my left, and then I skid wildly. My hands grab for something—anything to stop me falling as I turn, and I knock hundreds of tiny things off a counter
before I even realize what it is, what they were.
Augmenters.
But there’s no tug in me now. Just nausea. Conditioned to make me feel sick looking at them.
Shouts fill the air.
I keep running, and the soles of my shoes slap slap slap, then—
Shit.
I’ve missed a turning?
Because there are no stairs. There’s nowhere to go. A dead end. Just a big window ahead, several feet wide, square. One huge pane of glass.
I try to turn, but I’m going too fast and—
They’re right behind me. An army of Enhanced Ones.
I can’t get around them.
I can’t stop.
I skid, reach out for something, but my body’s speeding up. I can’t stop. My legs are—they’re not mine. I’m not in control. Raleigh? But no—it doesn’t feel like—
It’s me.
I’m doing it.
I know what to do.
I run at the window.
My shoulder hits the glass first. Pain shoots down my spine.
Glass smashes.
People scream.
I shriek.
And then I’m falling through the air, outside. Free.
I fall, scream, and—
Cold, ice-cold water. Around me, over me—my head and—
Gulp a mouthful down, splutter. My limbs lock, and I try to move them—need to move them but—
Pain in my head; a lightning bolt with a tongue of iron.
Raleigh.
I can’t move. Falling. Sinking. Lower. Lower. Lower. In the water, the ice-cold water and—
No.
No.
No.
Drowning.
Shit.
Again, I try to move, but—
Oh Gods!
My lungs—pressure in my chest.
And my feet—my shoes are getting heavier, filling with water, and I kick out, kick wildly. Need to get them off—like with Dominika and—
Pain, sharp, and—and then my body’s mine again. I thrash my arms, my head pounding, my heart pounding, everything pounding pounding pounding. Manage to turn. Murky blueness all around me and—
Something clasps my ankle.
I jerk back, splashing, try to turn, but my head—I’m dragged down, deeper, deeper. Its fingers—whatever it is—clamped around my ankle. Long, splayed out, dark fingers.
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