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"I'm sorry." I hadn't missed the smell of my own mother until now. Hers was similar to the one he described, while my stepfather smelled of musk and bravado. I scrunched up my nose and pressed my tongue to the back of my teeth to keep my emotions in check.
"It doesn't matter now," Luther said. "Helene and the others are my family." He gave me a look which suggested they could be mine as well, if I let them.
I ignored it. Helene was my captor, nothing more. Part of me was curious as to what the woman might be able to teach me, but I wouldn't be used. Now I had more idea of what I could do with my powers, I would teach myself if I had to.
"So, there are probably others out there you don't know about," I stated.
Luther shrugged. "Potentially, yes. If it's Hades's will, they'll find their way to us."
"And if not, you'll kidnap them as well?"
Luther chuckled. "Is that what you think this is?"
I frowned, surprised at his response. "What would you call it? I'm restrained against my will, cut off from my power, forced to follow like a dog on a leash." I didn't bother to keep the accusation from my voice.
"We saved you from the Keeper," Luther declared.
"Strange," I said slowly, my temper just this close to boiling over, "I didn't feel as though I needed to be saved. I certainly didn't ask. Is it customary in the Vault to save people against their will and force them to bend to yours?"
If I expected him to become angry, I was mistaken.
He laughed again. "In time, you will come to understand," he said.
"Or you could explain it to me now."
I barely finished that sentence when what felt like a fist of air slammed into my face.
I jerked back, but it slid across my mouth and clamped down hard. I tried to gasp though it, but nothing would come.
I sucked in several frantic breaths through my nose and raised a hand to my face. My fingers found a mass of warmth a centimetre from my mouth. I curled my fingers around it and tried frantically to pull it away.
"That will stay there until I remove it." Helene barely turned around in her saddle to speak. "Until then, you will remain silent."
As if I have a choice. I tugged again, but the gag of air was firm on my face. Tears of frustration spilled down my cheeks. My hatred of Helene cemented even harder.
I would learn from the woman, then I would beat her until she cried. More than that, I wanted the woman to scream.
"Apologies, Hemathea," Luther said meekly. "I shouldn't have engaged her in conversation. I was merely trying to be friendly. She's…not the enemy."
If that was the case, I shuddered to think how they treated people who were.
"Precisely," Helene said smoothly. "She must learn obedience, or she will endanger herself and the rest of us. You, of all people, know the dangers of the power."
I shot him a glance, but his face was turned away. What did he know? Had he injured someone while he learnt to use the power?
I shook my head. It didn't matter. I had no intention of sticking around long enough to find out. I shot Helene a look, but the woman rode with her back firmly to me.
Calm,I told myself. I had managed to bide my time before I came to the Vault. I had found a way to avoid slavery. I had entered the presence of the Keeper with a blade. I had argued for, and won, my freedom. I could and would do so again, no matter how long it took.
Helene would not break me.
I focused on breathing through my nose, slow and steady. I needed to calm my mind to stay in control.
It didn't work. My heart raced. The pressure from the binding over my mouth threatened to drive me to the edge of panic. I wanted to throw myself off the back of the horse and wrap my hands around Helene's throat. She would see how it felt to be cut off from air.
I let my vision blur and counted my breaths in and out.
One.
