I couldn't describe the feeling settling in. Around me, people were talking, rushing around and arguing amongst themselves, but their voices sounded distant, like I was hearing them through a distorted radio. My heartbeat seemed too loud, radiating through my whole body, and my breath seared the inside of my throat. Shivers ran across my skin, my eyes fixed to the cup of hot chocolate someone had left in front of me.

I barely remembered the Benedicts dragging me out of the house and bringing me up to their house on the outskirts of town. I knew Thea hadn't left my side since we'd arrived, the two of us sat side by side on a sofa that seemed to be trying to swallow me whole. Alex was never far away either, and I knew it was because he was worried I'd break. Only now, he was worried for Thea, not me. Xav and Yves were hovering too, obviously annoyed they couldn't do anything to help find their brother.

"You should drink something," Thea murmured at me softly, leaning forward and picking up the hot chocolate. Carefully, she placed it in my hands with a pointed look. Just to keep her quiet, I took a cautious sip, shuddering when the chocolate hit my stomach nauseatingly.

"None of this makes any sense," Yves scowled, and my sore eyes flickered upward for only a split second. "I can't figure any of this out."

"It's easy," Xav sighed irritably. "Zed was in the way, they took him. End of discussion."

Zed wasn't in the way, I corrected silently to myself. They came for him. They came for him because of me. End of discussion.

"That's not what I meant," Yves snapped back angrily.

"Can we not do this right now, please?" Thea suddenly interrupted from my side. The Benedicts stared at her. "Maybe we should wait for Victor to get back and explain what he can. Presuming anything right now is only going to make everyone feel worse."

Yves cast me an awkward look, and Xav shifted. "Sorry, Grace."

I flinched before I could help it. "Don't apologise," I managed, my voice strangely quiet and hoarse. "Please." They exchanged an awkward, confused look, but in the background, Alex scowled at me irritably.

He knew I was blaming myself for this, but what else was I supposed to think? I told him, time and time again, that being associated with us was a bad idea. I knew they'd find us and they'd use him against me, and still he paid no attention whatsoever. The Kellys might have a personal vendetta against the Benedicts, but whatever anyone else said, it was still Matthews pulling the strings. That meant they came for us. This was our fault - my fault - and there was nothing anyone could say to change my mind.

It took a while for Victor to return, and when he did, there was a man I thought I should recognise with him. He was a little shorter than Victor, with tatty mouse brown hair and alert pale blue eyes. Unlike Victor's smart suit, he was dressed in worn dark blue jeans, Converse and a button down sapphire blue shirt open at the collar and rolled up around his elbows.

The moment he stepped in, his eyes were fixed on me. "Grace Peterson, I take it?" My body locked in place when I heard his broad Scottish accent, and Alex flinched forward.

"It's alright, Grace," Victor assured me.

"No, it isn't," Alex snapped back angrily. "Who the hell-"

"Elijah Redfield," the man interrupted, and my brother's face fell in shock. Beside me, Thea muttered something under her breath with wide eyes and the younger Benedict brothers exchanged stunned looks. Elijah barely noticed. Obviously, he was used to this kind of reception.

"Sorry, for dropping in," he said, his eyes still fixed on me as he strode forward and settled himself on the coffee table directly opposite me. "I understand this must all be very difficult for you, Miss Peterson, and the rest of my family would have been here too, but we can't risk that kind of attention, and most of my siblings are off the grid at the moment."

Thea choked. "Err, off the grid?" she repeated weakly.

Elijah's face broke into a strange smile, and he shrugged. "It's a long story. Hayden and Winter got into a small argument and things escalated . . . a little."

"And they're off the grid?" Xav gawped. "Christ, remind me not to argue with a Redfield."

Elijah winked. "I'll keep that in mind, kid." Xav blinked, obviously not used to be called a kid. But Elijah's attention had drifted back toward me and his eyes became stern and alert again. "The reason I'm here is because things have obviously taken a turn for the worst, and we all need this over with as soon as possible."

I wanted to reply, but I didn't trust myself. Elijah Redfield was one of the most powerful Savants in the world, and right now, he was irritating the hell out of me. As the daughter of the man his family were set on taking down, I didn't think annoying him was a very good idea.

His lips curved into a small smile like he knew what I was thinking. "I won't be offended if you yell," he promised me softly. "I can't begin to imagine what you're going through, but I understand better than you think I do."

I stared at him for a moment. "I don't believe you."

Alex shuffled awkwardly, but Elijah merely lifted an eyebrow. "Really? You don't think I know how it feels to be a constant danger to your own soulfinder?"

I didn't answer, but my mouth ran a little dry. I hadn't expected a question like that, but it made sense. People like the Redfields were targets. It was only natural they'd be worried about their soulfinders. But worrying about it being a possibility was very different from where I was now.

"Do you know your soulfinder?" I asked in a quiet voice.

"No," Elijah answered, and I knew he was telling the truth. "My family and I have had to take extreme measures in recent years to keep ourselves away from any Savant that could potentially be linked to us. It's a little complicated at the moment, but it's far too dangerous. Catherine's entire family was killed because she found my eldest brother, Isaac."

Thea shuffled anxiously beside me awkwardly. I knew she was sure that being a soulseeker was a good thing, and that finding Savant's over halves was amazing, and here was a Redfield admitting that it was likely one of the worst things about his life.

"The point is, if we can make the US safe, that would be a major blow to Matthews," Elijah continued, shaking off the subject of soulfinders. "What we need right now is to figure out how they found you."

"We've already traced back through Thea's movements," Victor added. "They didn't follow her here, and we're sure they don't even know she found Alex."

"At the moment, I have people combing through all the communications from you and the people who knew who and where you were," Elijah told me. "But nothing's coming up."

"There has to be something!" Alex suddenly blurted, and after patiently waiting for Elijah and Victor to produce a miracle, the room was in chaos. Yves, Xav and Alex were all trying to shout at the same time, Victor and Elijah were hopelessly trying to calm them down. Thea hesitated a moment, then rushed around them to get to Alex, pleading with him to calm down.

I watched for a moment, my stomach sinking through the ground. These were supposed to be the people I was counting on to save my soulfinder . . . Gulping, I pushed myself to my feet silently and let myself out of the house.

Outside, snow was falling thick and fast and my breath hung in the air in front of me. Shivers ran across my skin, and I wrapped my jacket around myself tighter as I leant against the side of the house. Zed was gone. The Benedicts were falling apart, and now the Redfields were directly involved. And still, no one could bring him back.

So what happened next? I refused point blank to give up, and no matter what the others said, I wasn't going to sit here and do nothing. Suddenly and without warning, my mother's voice seemed to ring around my mind. You have to focus, Livy, she'd tell me when I'd yet again failed to keep control of my ability. You're a smart girl, Olivia, and I know you're going to be just fine.

Shaking the voice away, I blinked back the tears springing up in my eyes and took a ragged breath. My mother was right. I wouldn't be able to help Zed by wallowing in self-pity. There had to be something we were missing, some way that the Kellys found us.

So think, I urged myself. How could this have happened?

Victor had said that they knew Thea hadn't been tracked. I shuffled slightly at the thought, since he'd also been sure something like this couldn't happen anyway. Still, presuming he was right, it was looking likely that Thea had nothing to do with it. It could have been possible, I supposed, that she'd told them where to find us before she'd left them, but I'd been inside her mind. I knew that wasn't true. She'd never risk Alex's life like that. No, this definitely wasn't anything to do with Thea. She'd been the Kelly's original plan, and that had failed.

Failed . . . that made my eyebrows tighten. My father didn't accept failure, and he certainly didn't believe in second chances. So why were the Kellys still standing? It didn't make sense. The only reason Matthews would keep them alive was if he already knew he was going to need them. That made a little more sense, since everyone here seemed to believe his influence over here was severely restricted. Every Savant counted. Still, he definitely wouldn't have trusted them to pull this off alone after Thea escaped. That much I knew for sure.

Which meant there had something else going on here. Somehow, he'd found someone more reliable. Someone who knew who we were, where we lived and that Zed was my soulfinder and my biggest weakness. That limited the number of people dramatically. There weren't many who knew about my connection to the Benedicts, and the Benedicts themselves would never give us up to the Kellys, for their son's sake more than anyone else's.

That discounted them and Thea. The only others that knew were me, Alex and the Redfields, and there wasn't a chance in hell Matthews had managed to get to them. My anger flared again at the thought I'd just gone in circles. I was missing something, forgetting something I shouldn't, I had to be. The Kellys knew Zed was my soulfinder. Whoever told them had to be close to us, it was as simple as that.

And then it hit me, like a wrecking ball to my stomach. How could I have been so stupid? It was obvious, but . . . I found myself praying that it wasn't true. It couldn't be . . . could it?

I felt tears trailing down my cheeks, and I started, shaking myself and wiping them away. Without waiting, I pushed myself away from the house and started forward. I couldn't tell if they were still arguing inside, and I knew Victor would kill me himself if he thought I was intentionally leaving safety on my own. But I had to know the truth, however hard it was to get or how painful it was to hear. So, locking my jaw in determination, I broke into a run and bolted away from the Benedict's house.

It took me awhile to walk back to the house, but I didn't stop or slow down. Eventually, the Benedicts would realise I was gone, and then I was in for it. Finally though, I made it back to the house. The police had long since abandoned it, obviously sure they'd found out everything they could from the mess the kidnappers had left. It didn't surprise me. The Benedicts had pretty much torn the place apart.

Hesitating outside for a second, I took a deep, shaky breath and forced myself to focus enough to prepare my ability. I had to remind myself that whatever I'd thought up to this point was probably a lie, which meant I had no idea what I was about to face.

But if you don't, Zed will die, a small voice at the back of my mind whispered. I shuddered, an icy chill trailing down my spine. "You can do this, Livy," I muttered to myself, scowling at the front door in concentration. "Deep breath. This is for Zed."

Pursing my lips tightly, I started forward, up the garden path and toward the broken front door. Reaching out to touch it, I was suddenly hit with the same, overwhelming devastation. Zed was in danger because of me, and I had to fix this.

He was gone and it felt like Matthews had ripped my heart out of my chest.

Gulping hard, I shouldered the door open and took a few cautious steps inside. The wooden floors clipped ominously beneath my combat boots. Somehow, the whole house seemed too dark and cold, despite the mid-day sun reflecting off the bright white snow outside. The comforting atmosphere this house had once possessed was long gone, filled with nothing but bad memories.

Everything was worse in the living room. Tears brimmed in my eyes at the sight of all the broken furniture. What kind of struggle causes this much damage? The brutal kind, the voice in my head supplied darkly. I shook it away, shivering in fear. Instead, I kept moving into the room, stooping to pick up Zed's shirt.

The sight sent more tears streaming silently down my cheeks, but I straightened out and ran the shirt through my fingers. My eyes stared at it, almost unseeing, and the longer I stared at it, the more I became sure that something was wrong. Slowly, the tears dried up and my eyebrows began to tighten. Casting an uncertain look around me, I lifted the shirt higher. I remembered the way Zed's arms felt when they were wrapped around my waist, the way it felt to bury my face in his neck. He smelt of cologne and mint body wash. This shirt, however, didn't.

"Grace?"

The voice made me whip around in surprise, and Cassandra frowned cautiously at me. She was standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame. She looked fine, more than fine even. Dressed in a sharp, business styled dress, her eyes were fixed to my face. For a second, the two of us just stared at each other. Then, her eyes drifted over the rest of the house.

"The police called me while I was with Darwin," she told me, her tone too measured and rehearsed. "They said that boy had been taken. Zed Benedict, was it?" I didn't answer. A lump was forming in my throat, until it became painful to breathe. Cassandra's eyes dropped to the shirt in my hands. "That's his shirt?"

"You tell me."

She blinked at me, shifting her weight slightly. "I beg your pardon?"

"Who's shirt is this?" I demanded, suddenly furious, and her face straightened impassively. "Because it sure as hell isn't Zed's." Her eyes widened a fraction, and something like fear flashed in them momentarily. But I didn't care. My anger was burning in my veins, and I needed a release. Vaguely, I wondered for a moment if this was how it felt when Matthews broke, but it was a distant thought and it didn't change a thing.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she muttered darkly, eyes scanning my very emotion.

"Don't lie to me!" I found myself screaming at her, throwing the shirt across the room. Cassandra barely flinched. "You're the one person who knows everything about Alex and me, the only other one who knew who he was, and the Benedicts sure as hell didn't hand over their own son!"

For a second, she didn't move. Then her lips twitched in a dark amusement, and the back door swung open. My eyes flicked sideways and in the doorway, three large figures blocked out most of the outside light. I recognised one as Darwin from the accident at the hospital, but I'd never seen the others before, both of whom were broad, muscular and itching for a fight.

Somewhere deep down, fear began to mix with my anger, but my eyes narrowed. "You weren't unconscious at the hospital," I glowered at him. "You just had to make sure it was actually me."

He smirked. "Not as dumb as you look, kid," he snorted with a strong English accent. No wonder I'd never met him before. Just hearing it would've made me suspicious.

"Which means you've been in on it the whole time," I muttered dark at Cassandra, torn between the shame of getting caught out so easily and fury we'd been betrayed by someone we trusted.

"Not the whole time," she shrugged, completely calm. "Just since I met Darwin and I realised who the two of you really were. Do you know how much you and your bratty brother were worth? And that's before you met that Benedict boy!"

My jaw locked, my body shaking in fury. Mind whirling, I focused all my energy on Alex and blocking Darwin and the other Savants out of my mind. Alex! I almost yelled mentally. Alex, answer me!

"So you handed us over for money?" I glared, snarling through my teeth.

Cassandra scowled at me irritably. "Don't get all high and mighty with me, girl," she hissed. "Not exactly the best example of citizenship yourself if I remember correctly." My lips pursed furiously, partly to conceal the wince as Alex's reply broke through my thoughts.

What the hell are you, Liv? his snarl came.

Our house. Cassandra's here. She sold us out, Alex.

WHAT?

"We need to wrap this up, Cassie," Darwin yawned, striding casually into the room. "She's calling for backup."

What the hell did you run off for? Alex yelled at me.

Another voice broke through, calmer and authoritative. Keep them talking, Grace, Elijah Redfield's voice came. Give us five minutes.

I scoffed darkly at Darwin before Cassandra could answer, my eyes automatically flicking toward the clock on the wall. "I don't need backup."

His eyes glistened in humour, obviously positive that the four of them could handle a seventeen year old girl. "No, you don't," he agreed. "Because you're going to come quietly, or your little boyfriend is going to be seriously hurt."

Anger flared again and I felt my face flush in fury. "Put a finger on him and the only one that gets hurt is you," I promised him darkly.

"Really?" he laughed. "Is that so? Just you?"

"Just me."

His two henchman chuckled darkly, moving closer and a shot of panic flashed thorough me. Without thinking, I took a step back. Darwin laughed again. "See?" he grinned. "What could a seventeen year old girl."

"You'd be surprised."

For a moment, the sheer conviction in my voice made all four of them hesitate. My eyes flicked back to the clock. Two more minutes.

"She's bluffing," Cassandra muttered at him, almost convinced.

Darwin's eyes narrowed cautiously. "Of course she is," he snapped back. "She's just a kid. She can't beat all four of us."

My lips curled slightly. "Let's see," I glowered. "Two Savants-" I jabbed a finger at Darwin and one of his henchman, who instinctively flinched back, "- and two regular people." I pointed to the other man and Cassandra. "Now the last two will take barely any effort at all. Just breaking into their mind can be seriously painful . . . or so I'm told. The real question is, are you two as strong as you think you are?"

The two men glanced at each other. "You're just a kid," Darwin repeated, not at all confident.

"Bearing in mind that I've been doing this my whole life," I nodded with a frown. "Sure. I'm just a kid."

They exchanged another, nervous look, and I glanced back at the clock. One minute. Can't stall much longer, I snapped back at Alex and Elijah.

I could feel Alex's anger turn to worry. Come on, Gracie, he insisted nervously. If anyone can stall for more time, it's you.

"They won't get to you in time," Darwin snarled at me suddenly, and in the same second I felt him try to break into my mind. Gasping in surprise, I threw up as many barriers as I could and fixed my eyes to him as he started forward. "Time to go home, Miss Matthews."

The name made me flinch back, but I forced myself to stand still, my body as cold as ice. My eyes watched him move slowly forward, flanked by the other Savant and a very reluctant Cassandra. Pace yourself, Liv, I repeated, over and over again, and I felt another wave of concern from Alex.

Nearly there, sis, he told me quietly. Hold on.

Not the first time I've been here, Alex, I pointed out dryly as Darwin cracked.

"Stop talking to them!" he shouted furiously and in a blind fury, he leapt forward and grabbed my arm. Yelping in surprise, I staggered on my feet, my back colliding with his chest. Dipping into the back of my mind, I reached out for all five of our mental patterns and twisted, slowing time right down.

I saw Cassandra move to grab my legs, slow enough for me to comprehend through my panic. Taking a ragged breath, I let my eyes slip to the next guy, the slow time meaning I was still staggering backward into Darwin. The moment I was sure I knew where everyone was, I released my hold of their thoughts, immediately kicking out at Cassandra as hard as possible. She squealed in surprise, my foot colliding with her chest so hard she toppled backward, choking and gasping for breath with wide, fearful eyes. But I barely noticed. I'd already shifted my attention to the two henchmen, breaking into their thoughts as aggressively as possible, until they both yelled out in pain.

Once more, Liv, I thought in determination. Breathing deeply again, I reached out again and manipulated the men's thoughts until time slowly began to turn back.

I stumbled forward as Darwin turned me back around and his grasp started to loosen on my arms. The two Savants continued to yell, reliving the mental break-in in reverse, and Cassandra was too dazed to do more than blink up at the ceiling.

By the time my head was starting to hurt with the effort, Darwin had released me and the front door smashed open loudly. Still furious, I just about had time to kick Darwin in the stomach with as much power as possible before Elijah, Alex and the Benedict brothers scrambled into the room.

"Grace!" Alex rushed, pushing past the confused Savants and hauling me into his arms protectively. "Grace, are you alright?"

I lifted a hand to my nose, which had started bleeding slowly. "Fine," I managed through my teeth, glaring between the four in front of me.

"Well kid, if you ever want a job in law enforcement," Elijah grimaced as he strode into the room. "Looks like you did a real number of these guys." His eyes were fixed on the two henchmen, who were clutching their heads carefully.

"Remind me not to argue with her again," Xavier muttered sideways at Yves from the doorway as the two brothers watched Victor and Trace handcuff the henchman.

"Xav, take a look at Grace," Trace instructed with a frown. Pulling a face, he slowly stepped forward and moved toward me as Elijah cuffed Darwin.

"Haven't I arrested you once already?" he asked him with a dark scowl.

"No, but I met your sister once," Darwin snarled back under his breath. "Had a real nice chat too."

Elijah snorted with no humour, eyeing Victor and Trace for a second. Then, without warning, he spun Darwin back around and punched him in the face, so hard I thought I heard his nose break as blood spurted everywhere.

"You're lucky," he commented dryly. "That would've hurt a hell of a lot more if I didn't know my sister could easily kick your arse."

It took a moment or two for Darwin to collect himself, spitting blood out of his mouth and onto the floor. "You won't get the boy back," he growled irritably. "If Matthews doesn't get his brats back, the boy dies."

Alex stiffed next to me. "And if he does?"

Darwin shot him a cool look, but Elijah pushed his chest with a scowl. "Answer the kid's question," he ordered.

"How am I supposed to know?" Darwin grumbled. "The Kellys wanted to keep him as an example to the Benedicts."

"And Matthews?"

Darwin's eyes flicked toward me. "If Olivia returns to London with Jackson, she can keep him."

It took a moment for the words to register. If I went back to my father, Zed stayed with me . . . and Matthews. He said . . . I could keep him? Without thinking, I tore myself out of Xav's and Alex's hold and smacked Darwin as hard as possible. "He's not a pet!" I screamed, stumbling as Elijah half-heartedly pulled me back.

"He won't be anything if you aren't in Vegas by morning," Darwin snarled back.

My face straightened slightly and my anger was slowly replaced with overwhelming fear. They were going to kill him, that much I knew for sure. And even if I did turn myself over, we'd have to fight the Kellys to get him out of there. And even then, I'd be subjecting him to a life under my father's rule. I'd been there before. It wasn't a good life, not by any stretch of the imagination.

But, however confusing it was for me, Elijah obviously wasn't troubled.

"I guess we'd better get going then," he shrugged simply, throwing an arm over my shoulder. "Come on, kid. We've got a lot to talk about."