Author's Note: Hi. Enjoy the chapter, and don't forget to leave a review! I'm thankful for all the people who read and review this story, y'all are great at boosting my confidence! 3
Sophie didn't move. Lady Gisela rolled her eyes and, with a flick of her fingers, Sophie's limbs were moving of their own accord. Telekinesis. Lady Gisela had impressive control. She tried to resist, but couldn't. Keefe was pinned in place, unable to help Sophie.
Eventually, Sophie gave up trying to resist, and Lady Gisela let her sit down. Metal shackles closed over Sophie's ankles and wrists, and Gisela released her control. She proceeded to start setting up one of the machines, hooking it to the back of the chair.
"This will all go smoother," she told Sophie, "if you cooperate."
Sophie opened her mouth to tell Lady Gisela exactly where she could stick her cooperation, but her throat seized up.
"Ah-ah," Gisela said, tracing her fingernails down a machine, adjusting levers and buttons. "What did I tell you about cooperation?"
Keefe, still frozen in the corner, gave Sophie a glance that she was sure was meant to be reassuring. She began using her telepathy to figure out how to break Gisela's control of her voice. Lady Gisela's mind had some impressive shields, especially considering that she wasn't a telepath.
However, Sophie was stronger. She managed to worm her way into Gisela's mind. Gisela's mind was a strange place. Sophie had expected darkness, chaos, a pure, malicious, evil. Instead, Gisela's mind was one of the most beautiful minds Sophie had ever seen.
Sophie could see long, stretching hallways, like she was in a palace. Gold archways, red carpets. Flowing drapes around the gigantic windows. Candles, scattered in patterns across the walls. It smelled of vanilla and jasmine. Gilded portraits hung on the walls, except instead of paintings, there were memories.
A younger Keefe, proudly holding up an impressive sketch of Candleshade. Lord Cassius's hand on Gisela's shoulder. Alvar, messing with the fastening on his cloak. Fitz and Keefe, chasing a stinky green creature. Sophie, laughing in the hallway at Foxfire, a familiar head of blond hair beside her. Tam, wreathed in shadows.
"Remember," Gisela said in the real world, "I won't hurt you. You're too important. But if you don't obey me, then I will not hesitate to hurt him."
Sophie glared at her, but instead focused on her mind. So Gisela had no idea she was there. Interesting. She wondered how she could work that to her advantage.
The machine hummed, and Sophie knew that she had to get out of Lady Gisela's mind before whatever experiment they were going to run started. She'd found a weakness, and it was important that she save it, to exploit later.
Sophie tried to get out of Gisela's brain, but couldn't. She was trapped, lost in the endless maze of hallways. She looked for an exit, but there wasn't one in sight. Usually, it wasn't hard to escape someone's mind. But Gisela's. . .
She'd changed her mind. Yes, Lady Gisela's brain was beautiful. But it was a trap. A prison. Sophie paid no attention with the memories on the walls, except when she caught a glimpse of blond hair, a flash of ice blue eyes. However, she was too panicked to linger on them.
Finally, she reached a large, open room. A ballroom, of sorts. It would have been beautiful, if not for the way the floor was warped, and the walls curved inward. It looked as if someone had liquified the entire room until it was the consistency of putty, then reshaped it. A chandelier full of candles hung upside down, as if gravity had forgotten about it. The smoke floated down to the ballroom floor, creating a hazy fog that only served to confuse Sophie even more.
There was no way out. She was trapped inside the mind of her captor, and she couldn't even see Gisela's thoughts. She'd never seen a mind like this.
Then, her eyes rested on one of the framed memories on the wall. Keefe, sitting in his room, crying. Something inside her broke at the sight of it. She wanted nothing more than to comfort him. Sophie reached out to touch the memory, as if she could help him, somehow.
She was surprised when her arm went through it. The memory rippled, like it was made of water. The other side was cold, but at least it was something different.
Sophie sucked in a deep breath, preparing herself, and pushed her whole body through the frame.