Alex had unrestricted access to her mind. The words echoed louder and louder until they drowned everything else.
‘Xan?’Ezra’s voice in my head snapped me back to the present.
I put my hand on the table to steady myself.
I could protect her, but I would have to somehow know when Alex was acting or constantly be inside her thoughts. It would disable me. A second idea came to mind that made me want to vomit.
Ezra slid to my side and wrapped an arm around my waist. ‘You’re turning green, love. What’s wrong?’
Quinn blinked her wide eyes, and concern wrinkled her forehead.
‘Alex, the mentalist who taught me how to make a slave collar, is in Quinn’s mind right now,’I said to Ezra.‘You were right to be so concerned. I don’t want to scare Quinn, or worse, provoke Alex, when he could shred her thoughts at a whim.’
Ezra didn’t respond.
I smiled, or at least I tried to. "Quinn, I need a map from my apartment. Can you go with Ezra to get it, please?”
Quinn pursed her lips. “You’re trying to get rid of me.”
I inclined my head. “Maybe, but Cayden needs time and knowledge to make his decision.”
She couldn’t say no to that. Cayden would always be her weakness.
Quinn bit her lips together but nodded. As she turned to leave, Rowan dropped back to join her.
“No. I need you here, both you and Cayden,” I said.
Quinn paused and looked between the three of us. My lover put his hand on her lower back and got her moving again.
I waited until I knew Quinn was out of earshot before turning to the two other men tethered to her. “Cayden, do you know any runes that repel magic of the mind?”
Cayden narrowed his eyes. “I do not. You’re the first person I’ve encountered with it, so my experience is limited. What’s this about?”
I leaned heavily on the table to hide my trembling. “What I can do with my mind is limited based on proximity. The collar on Quinn’s neck has removed that limitation.” Although the words came out logically, inside, I screamed. “‘Alex’”—I put air quotes around the name—“has taken up residence inside her skull.”
The blood drained out of Cayden’s face, and Rowan swore.
“Has he hurt her?” Cayden asked.
“I don’t know without investigating, which Alex will fight against,” I said. “But I don’t think so. The man she’s connected to is not sane, but he’s not violent either, though his morals are unscrupulous.”
“You know him?” Cayden hissed.
I stiffened and prepared myself for more judgment. “Mentalists are rare; when we meet, we remember.”
“Is that why we can’t get the collar off?” Rowan asked.
“Logically, that tracks, but I don’t know.” I wrapped my arms around my middle and forced myself not to tremble. Right now, I wasn’t Xan. I was the Architect. I had to remain strong. “As far as I can tell, Quinn has no awareness of Alex. He could be changing her memories, and she wouldn’t have any idea.”
“Would he hurt Quinn to get to you?” Rowan asked.
Horax’s actions filled the silence.
I grimaced. “I don’t know.”
Rowan clenched his fist. “How do we fix this?”
Cayden opened his mouth as if to answer, then shut it. Once again, holding back from us. I wanted to throttle the man.
