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Scarlett, still holding onto my arm, fared little better. She gritted her teeth, a pain-filled groan escaping her. “Fucking ultraviolet magic.”

In my desperation to escape, I never noticed the red currents dancing up the warrior’s arms. The burn on my back continued to increase. “I can’t do…anything with these fucking cuffs.”

Scarlett clenched her eyes shut as she withstood the pain.

The warrior descended upon us. Metal rang out as he withdrew his sword.

My mind raced for a plan, but the heat on my back threatened to melt the silk dress into my skin. I battled the gut-wrenching scream that fought to erupt.

The warrior’s shadow loomed over me. Blue glowed from the sigils on his sword, illuminating the surrounding floor.

I braced for the impact—for my death.

A burst of violet electricity shot past me, slamming into the warrior. Scarlett’s magic forced him to release control of his power, allowing the ultraviolet burn to ebb in its intensity.

The high voltage locked up the warrior’s body in uncontrolled convulsions. His eyes bulged from his skull as he forced out guttural grunts. My insides twisted at the sound.

Scarlett continued to unleash her visceral power onto him, even after he collapsed to the cement floor with a thud.

“Scarlett!” The warrior’s eyes glazed over with lifelessness. “He’s dead. Stop!” Scarlett would expend all her magic on a godsdamned corpse; she was lost to it. Some Kinetics’ powers were more addictive than others due to the volatile nature of its energy source. Scarlett’s was one of them.

I shifted my attention from the body wrapped in purple volts to Scarlett. Her green eyes were unfocused, lost in the trance of her nuclear-powered magic. Violet streams of electricity poured from her outstretched palms into the dead warrior. My shouts fell on deaf ears. “Scar!” I tried again. “Let it go!”

All the commotion attracted the attention of the surrounding Kinetics in the training room. Voices drew closer, and my only option was to snap Scarlett out of her trance. The warrior’s body smoked from the electricity charring his flesh, and its stench made my stomach roil.

Scarlett’s magic attacked anyone who touched her skin while she wielded her power. I braced for more pain as I swung my bound hands into her jaw. Upon impact, I seized up in my own electrical onslaught. Purple volts bridged my fists and her face while she still unleashed upon the warrior.

My body spasmed as I grunted from the high-voltage currents; my veins and arteries fried. I had seconds before I succumbed to her power, considering I had no way to fight back.

The pain came in quick waves as the electricity moved to my organs. I wanted to either climb out of my skin or freeze in place, which created an insufferable dichotomy.

The irony that I would die by Scarlett’s hands while trying to flee from my father didn’t escape me.

Scarlett suddenly collapsed to the floor in a pool of red hair. The purple volts receded back into her currents. Sweat glistened on her skin from thefluorescent lights, indicating the amount of effort she used to wield her magic.

I crumpled to my side, weakened from the pain and strain of my muscles. A whimper fell from my lips at the sight of a pair of polished black boots that stepped into view. Through my hazy vision, I focused on the Kinetic in front of me.

I imagined Grim standing there, ready to haul me back to the interrogation room one level below. I was too weak to fight back. Too much had happened in such a short time.

I lay on the cold, hard floor, waiting for another round of agony to kick-start me alive. Erratic breaths clawed their way from my lungs to keep me afloat. Miraculously, I remained somewhat conscious.

The man squatted in front of me. I barely made out his silhouette, but the sleek boots were at the forefront. Gentle fingers pressed on my carotid artery for several beats before they retreated. But then, the Kinetic moved to my cuffed wrists.

A flash of white hair caught my attention. “C—Cotton?”

There was no verbal response, but I felt his hands fiddling with the manacles. I was still in pain from the warrior and Scarlett’s magic, but I’d heal faster once the cuffs were removed. They didn’t entirely suppress our healing abilities; instead, they only slowed them down.

Cotton jiggled my wrists, not even bothering to be gentle. My body protested; every fiber screamed in torment. He didn’t appear apologetic about it. He simply offered a shrug.

My wrists finally broke loose from the magic-restricting cuffs. A firm hand grabbed my forearm and yanked me to my unsteady feet. With my magic freed, my healing abilities kicked in and began to cool the burned areas of my body.

Cotton bent down to scoop Scarlett up and started toward the elevators. Curious gazes landed on us as we passed, but we avoided them on our trek. I wondered how much time Cotton had bought us with the guards.

Scarlett lay limp in Cotton’s arms while we waited for the elevator. I bounced on the balls of my feet, impatience gnawing away at me fromprecious seconds wasted. I fought off the growing urge to panic at the slow elevator. I hated that the fate of our lives hung in the hands of an inanimate object.

No one approached while paranoia swallowed us whole. Every few seconds, one of us would glance over our shoulder to ensure we weren’t being followed.

The elevatorfinallysounded its arrival. Cotton’s breaths grew labored from carrying Scarlett’s dead weight as we stepped into the lift. His physical strength hid behind his tall, slender physique, and the hardness in his facial expression gave people pause. Yet, it seemed Scarlett was the only one able to break through it.