The Cage (The Cage 1)

It wasn’t all a lie.

The words echoed in her head. Cassian’s voice, and yet his lips hadn’t moved. Unspoken words. He had only thought them. He glanced toward the door, removed his gloves, and pressed his hands against Cora’s temples.

Electricity jolted through her, grabbing her floating perceptions and pulling them all back into flesh and bone. She sputtered awake, shoving him away. “Don’t touch me!”

She stared at her shaking fingertips. What the hell had happened?

He ignored her. “Did your vision change? Were you able to read my thoughts—”

“Stop it!” She clamped her hands over her ears, trying to wrap her mind around what was happening.

“It’s true, isn’t it?” He reached an ungloved hand toward her, but she shoved him away again. “You perceived something. This will change everything, Cora. There are others like me, who believe humans are capable of intelligence, but we are a minority. Most fear what would happen if humans gain intelligence. The right to govern themselves. The right to participate in our commerce and law. If the Council learns of this, they will try to silence you, just as they did Anya.”

She drew in a sharp breath. God—was he right? Had she actually psychically perceived those two Kindred standing behind the window? There really wasn’t any other explanation for something that should be impossible, and yet . . .

She slumped against the wall. She’d never even considered that the rumors might be true. It had sounded so far-fetched when Mali talked about kids becoming psychic. They lived in the real world, not a fantasy one.

But she had seen those Kindred behind the window.

“I don’t care what you have planned,” she snapped, trying to catch her breath. “I’m done being your experiment.”

His enthusiasm melted off his face. “I broke you. I know that. But I will fix you again. I will make you even stronger. I am not alone. We intend to hide you in a menagerie, but I will watch out for you there. I will not let any harm come to you. I will teach you how to control and focus your ability. Cora. We can change everything, together.”

That last word hung in the air. There was hope in his voice—hope her heart didn’t mirror.

She gave him a cold look. “Get away from me.”

He hovered by the door, as though he wished she would change her mind. After a few painful breaths he left, his boots loud, and the sound of the closing door louder.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Lucky waving his hands to get her attention. “What happened?” he mouthed. In the cell next to him, Mali hunched in the corner, watching keenly. Mali had known Anya well, almost like a sister. She must have seen Anya have a seizure like that at some time. Did she know what Cora had just experienced?

Lucky pointed at himself, then Cora, then Mali. He kept repeating one word, but Cora didn’t understand until he pointed toward the door. Escape. He was trying to get her to cling to hope. But Cora let her head fall. Her body was spent. Escape? There was no escape for them. Even if they managed to get out, even if Leon was crawling around in vent shafts to break them free, the Kindred would only catch them again. They were in Cassian’s world now, and he made the rules.

Cora picked up the radio with shaking hands. It felt so solid, so comforting. The last thing she had to cling to. From the speaker came the sound of a song. It didn’t bounce the right away around the sharpened corners and metal bars.

Not at home in paradise, not at home in hell . . .

Cassian had taken her freedom but given her the last song she’d written, in Charlie’s Jeep. Her last memory of home. She squeezed the radio, fighting back tears. Had Cassian’s awful experiment really worked?

She pulled her knees in tight. Her whole body was shaking. Maybe it came from her intuition. Maybe it was a latent talent all humans had, but none developed because they didn’t know it was even possible.

But she was psychic.

At least she had been, for a moment.

The Kindred thought they were like children, naive and in need of protection, but they were wrong. She had changed, which meant humanity could change, and if the Kindred didn’t think they were intelligent creatures, dangerous creatures, they weren’t nearly as perceptive as they thought. Humans didn’t deserve to be caged. They didn’t deserve to be dressed up like dolls and toyed with. They didn’t deserve to be used and manipulated and betrayed, even if the ends were just.

She would show the Kindred how powerful humans could be. Maybe some mistakes were worth making, but ripping her from her home was a mistake they would regret dearly.

She would make Cassian regret it most of all.