Blake told him.
I whipped around, sure he couldn’t be too far, but Blake’s hand caught my arm.
“Let go of me!” I snapped.
“You think I am going to allow you to run off looking for Malakai?” he seethed.
I gaped. “You read my mind? I didn’t know you could use the mind affinity!”
Blake’s eyes narrowed. “You are hysterical. Of course I read your mind. I did not see the need to tell you.”
I summoned everi into my fist, trying to free myself from his grasp, but he thrust me against the wall, holding me there with his body.
“How dare you bore into my mind without my permission! All this time, you knew who I was, and you knew I was taken! Is that why you were interested in me? Was I some kind of side-show freak you simply had to get a glimpse of?” I said, dragging in air in desperate gasps.
“You know that is not true,” Blake said, his expression torn.
“All I know is that you’re still lying to me!” I said. “That’s why I’m going to find your fucked up best friend—at least he’s willing to bargain for the truth!”
Blake growled low in his throat. “There is nothing you can do, Anna. The one involved in what happened to your mother bent the fabric of space-time to get to you. Do you see now why I never want you to set foot in The Falls?”
“What does it even matter if he can travel between worlds like that?” I asked. “Besides, it’s not for you to decide what I do. Tell me who killed my mom!”
Blake held me in place with every force of will he had. I couldn’t move an inch, no matter how hard I tried. He wasn’t just holding me; he was fully restraining me, the weight of his mind, body and soul bearing down on me.
“Calm down. There is nothing you can do right now.”
Blake’s words disseminated into my thoughts like a cool rain. I fought it, grasping onto the shackles that chained me to my fury. I was too weak, no match for Blake’s skill in matters of the mind. As my temper cooled, my body gave up and I sank against the wall.
“Anna,” Blake murmured.
I didn’t want him to comfort me, or touch me, or look at me, but I couldn’t get the words out. I couldn’t do anything because the truth was—he was right. What kind of being tore their own rifts between worlds? Murdered with shadows? Destroyed memories specific only to them? What had Blake seen to have kept this from me for so long?
I was weak.
Blake’s grip on me loosened, and the pressure that held me against the wall lessened.
“Blake?” I asked.
His weight shifted, and the warmth of his everi withdrew.
“Blake!”
I grabbed him, catching his weight as he fell, falling with him to the floor. His expression was still, his dark lashes not fluttering at all.
He was unconscious.
I stared into the face of the man I loved, hated and adored, wanting him to wake up so I could punch him without feeling bad about it.
“Blake, wake up,” I said, shaking him.
But he didn’t. His head rested gently to the side, his breathing shallow and slow.
“He will be out for at least five minutes.”
A piercing cold injected ice into my veins.
Malakai stepped into view, his unmistakable sea green eyes watching me. He wore his traditional long, tailored coat, his white dress shirt collared and cuff-linked.
