My heart pounded and sweat beaded onto my skin. Dizziness washed over me and blackness danced at the edges of my vision.
Not again. Not right now.
I breathed in and out deeply through my nose, trying to fight off the fainting spell but when he stepped closer and held the scissors up to my pinky finger, my heart rate tripled and then everything went black.
Chapter 7
Igasped as I came to and immediately peered down at my hand. I sagged in relief when I saw that I did in fact still have all of my fingers.
“You fainted.” Lord Stryker’s deep gravelly voice came from behind me and I jolted, but then yelped when I realized I was still strapped to the chair.
“How long was I out?”
Lord Stryker watched me keenly. “Hours. I had my lunch. I thought you were dead but alas, no such luck. Does this happen often?” He seemed curious as if I were some science experiment.
Was there a point in lying here? In a world where I didn’t know a single soul. Perhaps revealing my greatest weakness to my enemy would be a mistake; I knew Queen Liliana and my mother would tell me it was, but I hoped that knowing about my ailment might actually soften him toward me.
“Yes.”
He frowned. “Interesting.”
He walked over and picked up the scissors again and I balled my hands to fists.“There is no need for torture, Lord Stryker. I will tell you whatever you need to know.”
He raised one eyebrow as if he didn’t believe me and I arched one in return as if to saytry me.
Setting down the scissors, he crossed his arms over his chest and peered down his straight nose at me. His pose was probably meant to be intimidating, but I was too relieved he’d put the shears down to be properly threatened by his imposing figure. Besides, I think I was somewhat getting used to his size and scowls. And his scar, which may have been menacing to others, didn’t faze me at all. If anything, it added interest to his face, which was vexing to me.
“Explain your magic,” he ordered, and I held back a sigh. Of course he had to start there.
“I can influence emotions and feelings,” I said. Choosing my words carefully, I went for the simplest explanation for my magic, hoping that he would accept that at face value and move on.
“So mind control,” he said, his frown turning into a full scowl.
I winced. I’d often referred to my magic as mind control to myself, but I hated that implication. I did not strip away a fae’s free will. At least, not completely. I couldn’t tell them to jump and they would do it.
“No,” I said, shaking my head and shooting him a glare. “I don’t control minds.”
The look he gave me said that he thought I was lying.
“Yes, my magic has a persuasive element,” I admitted. “I can alter how someone feels, or at least their perception of how they feel, making them angry or calm, more agreeable and the like. But if I could control minds do you really think I would be strapped to this chair and at your mercy?”
He tilted his head a fraction, considering my words. After a long pause he gave a small nod. “Then explain to me how this magic of yours works. And I wantdetails. Does it work on all fae? Can you use it against more than one at a time? Do you have control over how long it lasts?”
After his last question a spark of anger flashed in his eyes and I had to school my features to keep from smiling. He probably struggled with the emotions I pushed on him for hours after I’d passed out. The thought of that gave me no small amount of pleasure.
“I’ve never met anyone my magic doesn’t work on,” I said. “However, recent developments have shown that some can hold up against my influence better than others.”
I gave Lord Stryker a pointed look. I was still a little baffled about how he’d been able to function with so much of my magic piled on him. That had never happened before.
If he was pleased with his ability to best me, he didn’t show it. His face remained hard and unchanging. Like one carved from cold stone.
“Go on,” he said.
I didn’t want to reveal so many of my secrets, but what other choice did I have? My own secrets weren’t worth my life, or my fingers.
Under duress and repeated prodding from Lord Stryker, I spilledallof them.
Yes, I could push my powers on multiple people at once. No,I didn’t know how many. Yes, I had control over the intensity of the feelings I forced on fae. No, I couldn’t direct anyone to do something specific, but if I pushed enough of the right emotion on someone, then they could be persuaded in a direction. Yes, I could pull my magic back at will, and if I passed out before doing so the magic would linger, but eventually fade.
