o_18vdqvms01tdp1ck54q91frg17mg2d.pdf

TWENTY-ONE
THIS WAS SO NOT WHAT I needed right now. I could have handled anything else Adrian
did: hitting on her, getting her to smoke his ridiculous cigarettes, whatever. But not this. Lissa
quitting those pills was exactly what I'd wanted to avoid.
Reluctantly I pulled out of her head and returned to my own grim situation. I would have liked
to see what further developed with Adrian and Lissa, but watching them would do no good.
Okay. I really needed a plan now. I needed action. I needed to get us out of here. But, glancing
around me, I found myself no closer to escape than I had been earlier, and I spent the next few
hours brooding and speculating.
We had three guards today. They looked a little bored but not enough to slack off. Nearby,
Eddie appeared unconscious, and Mason stared blankly at the floor. Across the room, Christian
glared at nothing in particular, and I think Mia was sleeping. Painfully aware of how dry my
throat was, I almost laughed in recalling how I'd told her water magic was useless. It might not
do much in a fight, but I would have given anything for her to summon up some—
Magic.
Why hadn't I thought of this before? We weren't helpless. Not entirely.
A plan slowly coalesced in my mind—a plan that was probably insane but was also the best we
had. My heart thudded with anticipation, and I immediately schooled my features to calmness
before the guards noticed my sudden insight. On the opposite side of the room, Christian was
watching me. He'd seen the brief flare of excitement and realized I'd thought of something. He
watched me curiously, as ready for action as I was.
God. How could we pull this off? I needed his help, but I had no real way of letting him know
what I had in mind. In fact, I wasn't even sure if he could help me at all—he was pretty weak.