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I check in with the spark to find it gleefully, causing GV’s body to tremble with tiny shocks to her nerves.

“And apparently, torturing them a little,” I mumble with a glare.

“King?” he breathes out, and his eyes focus on him.

“I’m sorry, Mal. I think we can get the brainwashing out for both of them. I promise I’ll do my best to get him back to you, okay?”

He takes a deep, shuddering breath and focuses back on me. “Wake Mitri,now.”

“Okay, I’ll try,” I agree, gently lowering his head.

I walk to where Mitri sits, sidling around GV to crouch at his feet. The manacles around his ankles are held with padlocks that have a strange glowing symbol on them, the same with his wrists. Why him and not the cages? Never mind, that means they have keys.

I turn to GV and look at the silky dress she’s wearing with doubt.

“I’m not seeing that dress having pockets,” I mutter, leaning around her to see King. He’s wearing slacks and a loose-flowing silk shirt. “Better option.”

Walking around her to get to King, I feel a viselike grip on my wrist. I jerk, trying to pull myself away, but the limb doesn’t move. The painful hold begins to cover my entire arm, but I can’t see what’s holding me when I look.

“What the fuck?” I try jerking back again, putting my body weight behind it. The pain as I try to dislocate my own shoulder puts a stop to that quickly.

“Mal?” I squeak out in a panic. “Something has me!”

I hear chains rattle harshly, but my arm is jerked forward until I slide towards GV.

“Mitri! Wake up!” I scream as I stop directly in front of her line of sight.

The feeling creeps over my chest and back, settling over my hips. My right arm is free, pressing uselessly at nothing as it tightens around my waist. It flows down over my legs, slamming them together painfully, and squeezes. I breathe in to scream again and feel my feet lift from the ground. Whatever it is has enough power to hold me aloft as I struggle in vain.

It tightens like a boa constrictor around my body, forcing my breath out. My knees start to grind together, but I can’t pull them apart. Whatever this is, it fights against me. I can’t feel anything when I try to grasp along my body, so there’s nothing to fight.

Mal roars in a fury and begins struggling harder.

The spark wavers in indecision before starting to loosen its hold on them.

“No! Don’t let them go,” I groan as my ribs press in. I look around to see what could be doing this but see no one in the room.

“Mitri, please!” I whimper. “Ben!”

The slow tightening stops momentarily, and then I’m crushed from below my breasts to my knees in a sudden snap. My left arm shatters as bones crack, and Ichoke on a scream coated in blood. The world becomes a kaleidoscope of pain blurring at the edges. Darkness blankets my vision as I cry out without sound. Tears pour down my cheeks as I struggle with the only limb I have available. And then my body drops to the ground.

I must lose consciousness because when my eyes open, GV has moved, and King is gassing Mal again as he snaps and snarls with rage.

The agony washes through me again, and I fight to stay conscious. The spark is frantically trying to repair my internal damage, forcing bone shards out of my organs, and re-inflating them. Breathing is easier, even if it is torture. I can already tell by the numbness below my hips that my legs are useless.

“As interesting as that was,” GV’s shrill voice hits my ears, and my eyes roll to see her again. “I’m not amused.”

She’s walking towards me, hovering over my prone body with a smirk. “What was it that you did to us? I’ve never felt anything like that before.”

She gives me a second to answer and shakes her head when I lie there, trying to breathe. “Whatever it was, you made a mistake. Here’s a hint. Never get in the eyesight of a telekinetic.”

Fuck, I’m useless.

How could I forget that she can move things with hermind? Locking her muscles left herbodyuseless, not her brain.Fuck!

She begins laughing at whatever look I have on my face and waves to King. He sets the canister aside and comes to stand with her. He doesn’t look down at me, staring straight ahead and waiting patiently.

“Grab her,” she says dismissively and walks away.