Reversed

xviii. eighteen

Sophie jammed her finger into her panic ring, over and over and over again. Her heart was pounding, her desperation so thick she could choke on it. Her wrists ached from the position she had to twist into to reach her ring, but it would all be worth it if someone found her.

A male's dark chuckle came from the other end of the room she was in. "That's not going to work, darling."

Sophie jumped and pressed it again. Harder. She hadn't heard him come in.

Suddenly the figure was beside her. He yanked the ring off. Sophie adjusted her eyes, using the training she had learned in Exillium to see through the darkness.

The hooded figure waved the ring in front of her face before kissing it and flicking it away. "No one will be coming to help you. We've improved since the last time."

Sophie strained against the ropes that held her. She swiveled her head towards where the Neverseen member had thrown her ring, but she couldn't spot it.

"Ah, so you remember your skills training," the figure observed. "That will be useful for when you join our order."

"What?" Sophie asked. Her heart skipped a beat. She must have heard him wrong. "What did you just say?"

She could hear the male's smile through his voice. "Oh, nothing you need to worry about. You know—" he waved his hand through the air—"Big plans."

"Who are you?" For some reason she couldn't place his voice.

Something slowly seared into her arm. Sophie's eyes watered, but the male was tightening her bonds so she couldn't move. "Wrong question," he hissed near her ear. The blazing heat traced across her neck now. Sophie shied away and muffled her scream.

Fitz, she transmitted. Help. The Neverseen—

Sophie gasped as both her wrists blistered. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to withstand the pain.

"Try that again, and maybe I'll burn your pretty face," he warned her.

Sophie shuddered as a sense of déjà vu overwhelmed her.

Bonds.

Sedatives.

Panic.

Pain.

Burns.

The figure walked around to her other side and laughed. "Bringing back unpleasant memories, are we?"

Sophie shuddered again. "Get away from me."

"You and your order chose to meddle in our business. We're just returning the favor."

"You guys are monsters," Sophie whispered. "And that's what we do. We stop monsters."

The Neverseen member chuckled and reached out with a scalding hand, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. Sophie shuddered at the smell of burning hair and tried not to flinch when a painful heat flared near her collarbone. 

"If we're monsters," he said, "then what does that make you? Heroes?" He snorted. "I don't think so. Because whether you want to hear it or not, we fight for the same thing." He leaned closer. "The Neverseen just have better means to go about it. We're not afraid to make hard choices."

"Just because you do terrible things and then wipe the guilt from your mind doesn't make you the better organization," Sophie informed him. "Or a more effective one. That just makes you villains who think they have an excuse."