He laughed. Actually laughed. "Already I can hear death in your tone. Perhaps I am finally on the right path."

How dare he calmly speak of Devyn's possible torture. How dare he even consider using the man she loved like that.

She sat there, panting and sweating and bleeding. "You. Will. Not!" The last was said on a scream as the rage exploded inside her. It was a bomb, destroying everything in its path, even the thorns. It destroyed who she was, what she was, dousing that inner fire with flames of its own, melting her, making her into a new creature.

"Oh, do calm down," Manus said without facing her. "I have not decided to venture down that road yet."

Her pain-gone. Her strength-unparalleled. She felt it sweep through her, a strength so potent she could taste it on her tongue, feel it singing in her blood, vibrating in her bones. She was drunk on it, dizzy.

"No. No!" Manus said, and she heard the fear in his voice. Her body is vibrating like Fiona's, he thought. She is nefreti. How could I not have known?

Bride could read his mind.

Still she sat, now as motionless as stone, gripping the throne, silent. A sea of other thoughts filled her head, rolling through her, some violent, some sweet, some hungry, all drifting from the dance floor. She was inside the head of every vampire present.

They were maddening, almost deafening, but she managed to ignore them. Her hands were hot, so hot, anything they wanted theirs for the taking. And they wanted vengeance.

"Guards," Manus shouted, his voice trembling. Because of the noise, no one heard him. He jumped up, meaning to run from her.

"Quiet," she told him, and his lips pressed together. "Sit." His expression was shocked and horrified as he fell into his throne.

No longer was her ability to make wishes come true muted. No longer would there be consequences. Anything she wanted, she could have. The knowledge was there, screaming from Manus's thoughts as he recalled his time with Fiona. She could stop time, as McKell did. She could create fire with her bare hands. She could erase memories and suppress another's powers.

"Bride. Bride!"

Devyn. She recognized his voice and turned toward him. Colors winked around him, twinkling stars of crimson and azure. His energy, she thought, awed. So lovely. So pure.

Love, love, love, he thought, his voice already so much a part of her that she had no trouble distinguishing him from the others. Thank God you're all right. I'll think of a way out of this, I swear I will. If that bastard touches you ...

No thoughts for his own comfort. No regrets for the torment he currently endured. All his thoughts belonged to her, for her. He truly did love her. Saw her as a cloud of bliss in the bleakness that was his life.

I'll get us out of this, she projected at him. His eyes widened. He'd heard her, she knew he had.

And now to save him. Her gaze narrowed on Manus. As she studied him, she saw that his energy pulsed erratically, scattering all the other energy around him. Except hers. Hers was too strong. This was how he'd stopped Devyn, she realized. Through a potion that bounced particles off of each other.

Vampires, she had come to learn, loved their potions.

You will pay. She reached inside his chest with a mental hand and squeezed. Squeezed so tightly the previously unused powers inside her recoiled. Still she held firm.

He gurgled out a pained breath, rubbed frantically at his chest, his skin growing paler by the second. He gazed at her, unsure about what was happening. He wanted to speak, but she hadn't released his tongue from her wish for quiet.

What's going on, love?

Devyn's voice hit her in a rush, laced with panic and frustration.

Everything's fine, don't you worry. I love you, she told him, never releasing her hold on the king. I love you, too, but how are we reading each other's minds?

Surprise, your wife is one of the most powerful people in the world. I'm going to handle everything, and then we're going home.

Will you be in danger? he asked. No. I freaking rock right now.

Well, let me have a little of the glory, at least, he projected dryly. No way. I want to tease you about this for years to come.

Manus was gasping now, and people were starting to notice. Two vampires even approached the throne. "My king?" one asked.

So what exactly are you planning? Devyn asked. You'll see.

-make her stop. The king's thought intruded into her mind. The closer he came to death, the louder his projections. So important. Can't die. Can't fail Terreck.

He'd loved his brother. Loved him more than his own life, and when his brother had been taken from him, he'd wanted to die himself. Then Fiona had come to him, taunted him. He'd wanted her head. Still wanted it, and would do anything to get it. Even lie. He didn't want to kill McKell and Devyn, wouldn't kill them. But he would keep them here, use them, to gain what he wanted.

With the realization, Bride released her grip on his heart.

He was panting, sweating.

So was she. Determined to finally end this, to leave and return above with Devyn, she rose. "Stand," she told him.

It was a command, and not something he could ignore. As before, there was power in her voice. Utter compulsion. It was not something he would be immune to later. No, this voice would continue to control everyone who heard it, no matter how many times they heard it.

The king stood, hate bleeding into his eyes. Nefreti bitch. "Yes. I am."

Anything you speak will happen. Will become fate. Anything.

Yes, she realized, the ability to sift truth from lie making itself known. His thoughts were true.

You'll destroy the world, you know that, yes? You'll destroy your lover.

He was ... right. She knew it, the future suddenly playing through her mind. She would return to the surface with Devyn. One day they would fight, as couples always did. She would say something she didn't mean. He would be hurt irrevocably.

Horror flooded her. She couldn't allow that to happen. Which meant, she couldn't go with him. Oh, God. She couldn't go with him.

Guards pounded toward her, their thoughts converging on her. Must save the king. Kill her before it's too late. How could this have happened?

She held out her hand, only that, but every single one of them went flying backward, slamming into walls and other people. There were gasps, muttered curses, then everyone stopped what they were doing and eyed her with the same horror she felt.

She could sense her ability to camouflage taking over, changing the color and texture of her skin and hair. Could feel her muscles trembling, wanting to break apart, mist and fly. To escape it all.

Not yet. Just a little longer.

Get the whips, someone thought. Perhaps all of them were thinking it. Have to get the whips. Only way to stop her.

"No one move," she shouted, and even Devyn and McKell ceased moving. Soon Devyn's skin paled, turned blue. She frowned, not understanding what was happening. Devyn?

Can't... breathe...

"Breathe!" she rushed out. "Everyone breathe." Oh, yes, she was a menace who would inevitably hurt him. When his color returned, she faced the king, tears forming and streaming freely down her cheeks. "Devyn and McKell are going to leave, and you are going to let them. You are not to chase them. Ever. You are to leave them alone. If you even think of hurting them, you will suffer a pain like none you've ever known." I'm not sure I like this.

The thought hit her, louder than any before it, and so clear it was as if the woman was standing beside her.

Bride cast her gaze through the crowd, searching ... one of her new abilities allowed her to search faces with the precision of a computer, honing in. There, in the far corner, was a shadowy figure. She couldn't see the woman's face, it was cloaked, but she recognized her for what she was. A nefreti. Her powers matched Bride's in strength, in beauty, the aura around her as bright as the sun.

You are Fiona, Bride said. The one the king searches for.

Yes.

She was also someone who could stop Bride and hurt Devyn. You don't like what I'm doing, fine. Tell me what to do. I'm open to anything as long as the two men in the cage are free and unharmed.

Rather than tell her what to do, Fiona showed her scenes from the past, a dark, turbulent past between two people who wanted to hate each other but couldn't stop the lust. Fiona's abduction of the prince, then the king. Fiona's treatment of both. The first she had indeed tortured, but the king she had seduced.

"She's still out there," Bride told the king without turning away, "still watching you. You can feel her, but you can't read her and you can't stop her. But I can read her, and she can read me. She's been an outcast her entire life because of what she is. Everyone thought she was dead, killed as a child as ordered. But they couldn't do it, and sent her away. Throughout the years, she remained in contact with her sister, her twin. She loved the girl more than anything. Until your brother killed her. She retaliated. And somehow in the process, she became connected to you instead. Now she needs you to survive and has asked me not to kill you."

His eyes rounded, though the hate in them didn't fade.

"I will spare you this day. But I say again, if my husband's life is threatened in any way, I will destroy you without any hesitation."

He will not, Fiona told her. I will make sure of it. Thank you.

The cloaked figure disappeared from view.

"You two." Bride pointed to the guards closest to the ropes that held the cage suspended in the air. "Gently lower the men."

Their eyes glazed as they rushed to obey, and soon the cage was settled on the ground. "Open it." Only I have the key, the king projected.

"Then give them the key." It was another command he couldn't resist.

He removed a necklace from around his neck and tossed it at the guards. Weak as his throw was, the key thumped to the ground several feet from them. One guard strode forward, swiped up the key, and returned to the cage. Metal scraped against metal, then the door was flung wide.

So close to victory. Just a few minutes more. "Devyn, McKell," she said.

Come on, love, Devyn said inside her mind. He still couldn't move. She hadn't freed him from her "no one move" command. Let's get out of here and go home. I'm so proud of you. I'll even let you tease me about being a damsel in distress.

I... can't. God, even thinking it was torture. I have to ... stay. What are you talking about? Of course you- She blocked his voice-charmer that he was, he could convince her to do anything, even leave with him, and she would never be able to forgive herself when she destroyed him-and closed her eyes, sending her mind through the entire underground. Because of the thoughts of the vampires around her, still gazing at her with that horror, she knew it as intimately as she knew the surface. Knew where guards lurked. Knew where traps lay Any and every threat, she eliminated.

And then she faced Devyn, determined, soul-sick. "You may speak. Go," she said, heart breaking inside her chest. "McKell will lead you to the surface, and neither of you will return here. Ever. You will not send anyone after me." She could have erased herself from his mind, but in this heartbreaking moment, she couldn't force herself to do so.

Both of their bodies obeyed, heading toward the entrance to the hallway that would take them to the opening to the surface. Devyn peered at her over his shoulder, clearly trying to force himself to stop.

"Come with me," he called.

She shook her head, her chin trembling too much to reply. "Bride," he growled.

"I can't," she shouted, finding her voice. "Look at me. Look at what I can do."

And of course, he and everyone else in the room was helpless to do anything else, the compulsion in her voice forcing them to obey.

That caused a sob to gush from her.

"McKell," he shouted, panicked, desperate. "There has to be a way to contain her powers again. Tell her there's a way."

The warrior had never appeared so sad. "Her father was most likely able to do it because Bride trusted him inside her mind and allowed it. I know Bride trusts you and would allow you to do it, but you wouldn't know how. You could cause more harm than good, lock up too much."

"No." Devyn violently shook his head. "We'll find a way, Bride. I swear it. Kyrin once told me the Arcadians are like cousins to the vampires. He has powers of the mind. Strong powers. Let him try."

Hope bloomed. Let him try ... it was a lifeline she desperately wanted to clutch. Then she shook her head. You're doing it. Letting him convince you. What if Kyrin failed? How many people would she hurt? Would she destroy Devyn's friends? Make Devyn himself do a million things he didn't want to do? He would grow to hate her. That precious love would wither and die.

"No." So badly did she want to reach for him, her hands were burning. And if she reached for him, she knew she would summon him to her, propelling him to her side with enough force to knock the air out of his lungs. "I'll stay here. I'll make sure no one comes for you."

"Bride!" There was true fear in his voice. "I don't care about that. They can chase me the rest of my life, and I'll be okay with that. It'll be fun. A game. But I can't live without you. Please!"

Her heart shattered like glass against a hammer. She didn't want to live without him, either, but to keep him safe, she would do it. "Go!" she screamed. "Just go!"

McKell obeyed.

Devyn compressed his lips into a mulish line and managed to hold his ground. She felt him push mental fingers inside her mind, knew those fingers were trying to latch on to her energy and control her, but she easily swatted them away.

That swat sent him to his knees with a pained groan. His head lifted, his eyes narrowing. A vessel had burst in his forehead, and a bruise was already spreading from temple to temple, even down his nose.

"I'm not leaving," he gritted out. "We'll battle this out if we have to, but love, you're stuck with me."

Suddenly the doorway burst open-even though McKell hadn't reached it yet. Over forty AIR agents rushed inside, pyre-guns raised. They didn't stop to see who their targets were, they just started firing. Blue beams, stun.

Bride could have stopped them with a word. She could have danced through the crowd, faster than they would have been able to see her, plucking their guns from them. But she didn't. She heard their thoughts, a jumble at first and hard to sort through, but she managed it. They didn't plan to kill the people here, or even take them all above. They planned to leave them, to let them live as quietly as they wished, form some sort of truce with them, and get Devyn the hell out.

She pivoted on her heel. She would leave them to it. She needed to find someplace to hide, someplace she would not endanger anyone but could monitor things. Perhaps Fiona would help her, after all.

"Dallas, shoot Bride," Devyn called, "and fucking keep shooting her!"

A second later, beams slammed into her, one after another, freezing her in place. She could still feel her power, but it was unusable at the moment, held captive as her body continually absorbed stun ray after stun ray.

Damn that Devyn.

The battle continued to rage behind her, blue beams constant, feet scampering, people shouting. She saw it through her mind, through the thoughts of others. Panic, so much panic. Fear, so much fear. Who are these people? the vampires wondered. What do they want, what are they going to do? They smell so good, their blood rushing through their veins swiftly, sweetly. Hmm, the hunger is too much. Why can't I move? I need to feed.

Soon the AIR agents had each of the vampires locked by stun. The battle had been easier than they'd anticipated. Because I already did the work, she wanted to shout. And this was how they repaid her?

Footsteps echoed behind her, then beside her, louder, and then Devyn was standing in front of her. He was grinning smugly.

"You commanded me to follow McKell, just not when I had to do it. Still, that's what I'm gonna do, but I'm taking you with me. I told you I'd find a way."

Devyn paced the confines of his bedroom. It was a mess. Wrinkled clothes littered the floor, and there were food wrappers on the dresser. Bride perched at the edge of the bed. He and Dallas had rigged a pyre-gun to the wall across from her, and it fired a continual beam directly into her chest.

It had been like this for over forty-eight hours.

He could see the rage in her expression every time he glanced at her, but he could also see the hope. Everyday Kyrin came over and dug inside her mind, trying to bury the worst of her powers. So far, no luck. But if this worked ... He sighed. Please let this work.

"I can't free you yet, you know that." He was babbling as he paced, but he couldn't stop himself. "Your powers are too great; even you can't control them. Plus, you'll leave me. To protect me from yourself," he added with a shake of his head. Who would have guessed his love life would come to something like this? Holding a female captive? "And that's just ridiculous, love. There's nothing you could do to me that I wouldn't like. You've met me, right?"

A knock sounded at the door.