I think it’s time to find out. Are you up for a little game of Antagonize Whoever’s Guarding You? Avalon asked and I could feel the smile on his face. He loved that I seethed with indignant ire, that my emotions matched his. And he couldn’t wait to see how I handled myself all alone. Instead of wondering if my brother might be a little sick, I had to smile at how confident he was in me, how prematurely proud he felt.

That sounds like a fun game. When will Kiran be here? If he can find me…. I added, grimacing at the thought of being trapped here any longer.

Are you still wearing your necklace? Avalon asked. I reached passed the bullet hole I seemed so fascinated with and felt for the onyx stone under my shirt and found nothing.

No, he must have taken it. I shivered at the thought of Dmitri’s hands on my neck, lifting something from under my shirt. A new wave of angry determination washed over me.

Well, hopefully he still has it with him. I doubt he realizes it’s a tracking device. Avalon mumbled, more to himself than to me.

I flinched, realizing my hope rested in Kiran saving me. I leaned against the damp, earthen wall of a basement somewhere in Latvia waiting to be rescued from one prison and taken back to another. I smiled cynically at the irony. Still, I knew that I belonged in the other prison. With Kiran, I was fighting for something, taking a stand and protecting my people. This bad guy represented nothing to me, and had not even bothered to explain what he wanted.

And he shot me, the shock of which, I struggled to get over.

Ok, I say you try to get out of this hole they have you in and figure out where you are. Avalon suggested.

First of all, will Kiran be able to find me if Dmitri still has the necklace? How does it work? I asked, walking over to the staircase.

Kiran created it. Avalon explained, and then I had to wonder how he knew so much. It’s just Kiran’s magic that he injected into a necklace. He’s the only one that can find it, that knows where it is. But it works a lot like how you and I find each other. He can just instinctively know where his magic is.

Oh, so there’s not like a switchboard with a bunch of Titans watching my every move? I asked, suggesting the scenario I pictured in my mind. I paused for a moment, blocking Avalon out to go over his words. I knew it would feel strange to Avalon, but from the first moment I found out the necklace doubled as a tracking device, I assumed Kiran gave it to me for evil intent, always wanting to know where I was so that I couldn’t escape him. And I had then associated it as collaboration between his father and. It hit me then that Kiran gave me the necklace shortly after I ran from the Citadel for the first time and Kiran had been desperate to hide my identity from his father. I stored these thoughts away, determined to have a discussion with Kiran about them as soon as I was free from my current predicament.

Eden! Avalon shouted at me when I opened our connection again.

Oh, sorry. I apologized meekly. He relaxed, realizing I had put up the barrier.

Don’t do that again. He snapped protectively.

Sure. I promised. Ok, next question. Who am I up against, here? Will Dmitri have Titans? Or just a bunch of rogue Witches with him? Seriously, what can I expect on the other side of this door?

I felt Avalon bristle with frustration before answering. I don’t know. He answered with gritted teeth. I haven’t been so naïve to believe that we were the only rebellious faction in the kingdom, but I didn’t suspect Terletov once. He has, up until now, been the model-like citizen for Lucan. It’s no coincidence that Lucan appointed him to the position that he did. Terletov, honestly, deserved it. I doubt he is working on his own. Nobody, especially someone as intelligent as Terletov would go after Lucan by himself. But he won’t have Titans, so I don’t know what you’ll find on the other side of that door.

Ah. I replied, not knowing what else to say. Avalon wasn’t exactly comforting.

I’m sorry. He grunted, reading my thoughts. Do you want me to coddle you, or help you get out of there?

Nobody said anything about coddling me. I sighed, almost laughing at Avalon’s totalitarian leadership style. I’d better reevaluate my alliance here, you might be just as bad as Lucan when all is said and done.

Don’t even start with me. He growled and I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. Ok, are you ready? He asked as I poised myself against the metal door and all of its bolts and locks.

As ready as I’ll ever be. I admitted and held my hands in front of me, readying them with magic.

Eden, Avalon paused. Be careful.

Always. I smiled and then released my magic against the door in a burst of white heat that sizzled against the cold metal. I heard the popping of locks and the creaking of steel as I pushed with determined force against the darkness and the inadequate prison I had been thrown into.

I pushed more magic out with greater force and the door protested in loud screeching sounds that hurt my ears and reminded me of fingernails on a chalkboard. I gave myself the Oracle pep talk, I seemed to always need reminding of and with one last burst of energy the steel door and its panel of locks flew from the hinges and crashed heavily through a wall of rotted wood fifty feet away.

I walked into the muted daylight shining onto a hay-covered floor from an open barn door. The rafters fluttered with the sounds of birds disturbed by my outburst. Outside the barn I could see lush farmland stretching for miles and a large housing structure that seemed more overly-large-rustic-cottage than wealthy-landowners-residence. And all around me men stood to their feet to watch me exit from the barn cellar turned prison with expressions menacing and evil.

“That’s quite the trick,” a gruff man, with a thick beard grunted in a British accent. “How did you do that?”

The threat of their magic sent surges of alarm prickling my blood and to the back of my neck. I tipped my chin and faced the eight grown men, ignoring the chill of fear hollowing out my stomach.

“Where’s Dmitri?” I demanded in a voice much stronger than I felt.

“Don’t worry, we’ll take you to him,” another man answered. This one with thick, silvery hair shared Dmitri’s Russian-like accent and had such unnerving white eyes that his pupils contained no color. “He’ll be very interested to know how you escaped his special room.”

A shiver ran down my spine at the reference to “his special room.” I stepped toward the man with no pupil pigmentation and let him lead the way from the barn toward the house. The rest of the men surrounded me, so that during our walk to the oversized cottage, my vision of the premises stayed severely restricted.

I know where you are now. Avalon whispered in the recesses of my mind. That room must have somehow blocked your magic from the outside world. I internally felt him call Kiran on his cellphone and explain to him where Dmitri imprisoned me, but from Avalon’s response, it sounded like Kiran already knew and was well on his way.

I did find some courage in that. And then I reprimanded myself for not having more courage to begin with. I knew they couldn’t kill me. If nothing else, the bullet to the heart had proved that. And even if they tried to kill me, I could take any or all of their magics if I wanted to. Although, the memory of the last time I took several magics at once in India reminded me to be careful and avoid over-collecting.

We walked through a stylishly decorated house, with extravagant, antique detailing. I quieted the urge to knock over an expensive looking porcelain vase, hand painted with blue flowers, just to cause trouble. The white-eyed man led me up a set of wooden stairs and down a long hallway. He knocked on a door that opened at his pressure and revealed Dmitri standing over a table with papers spread out across it. My necklace lay in a careless pile on top of some of his documents. He looked up slightly annoyed, until he saw me, then his expression turned wrathful.

“Why did you let her out?” Dmitri demanded of the man who brought me upstairs.

“I didn’t let her out, Terletov,” the man growled back. “She broke out. She blew the door right off the hinges and sent it flying through the barn wall.”

The man put his hand on my back and pushed me inside what appeared to be an office. I stood, taking in my surroundings, letting them argue back and forth. Bookshelves lined the walls, except for one where a large picture window overlooked the rolling farmland. Latvia, from my limited perspective, seemed breathtakingly quaint and undisturbed. The ground appeared fertile and green and the air, quiet and clean.

“That is impossible,” Dmitri hissed at his guard.

“Apparently not,” the other man snapped, irritated.

“He’s not lying,” I offered innocently. “Listen, if you want to keep me as your prisoner, than you’re going to have to do better than that. Oh, and also, what’s with shooting me? That kind of hurt!”

“It was supposed to do a hell of a lot more than hurt,” Dmitri snarled, turning his attention on me fully. I couldn’t help but be intimidated by his eyes, eyes that seemed to roam over me like I was his property.

“Well, you’re not going to kill me, if that’s what you want,” I argued, crossing my arms, and hoping to regain my confidence.

“I don’t want to kill you either,” Dmitri softened his tone, smiling at me.

“Well, whatever you want, you’re not going to get it from me,” I warned.

“Come, Eden, surely we want the same thing,” he purred. He stood up from the table, where he was leaned. He walked toward me, slowly, methodically, stalking his prey.

“I doubt that,” I muttered, taking an unconscious step backward.

“Do you? Well, why don’t I tell you what I want, and you tell me if you agree or disagree,” he offered slyly. I didn’t respond and so he took that as a cue to continue. “I want the throne, Eden. The Kendrick line has ruled long enough and they have squandered their power. It’s time a new bloodline took over, one that is not so afraid to go after what we want.”

“And that’s what you think I want?” I asked casually, almost laughing at the idea.

“Why else would you be marrying the prince after what Lucan did to your parents?” he asked smugly.

I sighed and then answered, “First of all, I don’t know what you think he did to my parents, but Lucan didn’t do anything. They left, remember? He hasn’t been able to find them in two hundred years, so I’m a little confused about what you think the exact offense he has caused to my family is. Unless you mean the murder of my grandfather, and then, Ok, I’ll give you that, but that is not why I want the throne. I want the throne because I belong there, it’s my rightful place. I am the heir. And if none of that was true, I would rather be human than take over this damned kingdom that is giving me an early ulcer. Second of all, I’m marrying the prince because if I don’t, Lucan is going to genocide an entire race of Shape-shifters if I can’t figure out a way to kill him first. Until then, I plan on playing along so that doesn’t happen.”

“What a saint you are!” Dmitri purred. “Trying to save all those pathetic animals,” his voice turned to a disgusted growl, “this is what I mean by using the power of the throne. He has had the capability to wipe those beasts off the face of this earth for years, just like his father before him. And they have let them fester like open sores on the face of our people. Action needs to be taken, and where our current king is weak and indecisive, I will be strong. I will do what needs to be done.”