The power immobilized me entirely.

"Incredible, right?" Lote sauntered closer, his sneer cocky and triumphant, and quietly seething with rage. He slowly walked around our group, studying each of us without any concern that we might escape. "I hope that we can bring this to the battlefield one day. What do you think, Elias? It's based on your prototype." He laughed then. "Sorry. I forgot that we still need to adjust the settings so you can talk. One moment."

He looked up at the ceiling like he was reading something and then suddenly I was able to move my lips. It must have targeted certain muscles, because I found I could also swallow like normal, in addition to breathing.

"How did you do this?" Elias asked. "It never worked."

"It never worked because I had the missing pieces. I knew that in order to ever crack this technology, you would need to not simply learn the skill to selectively freeze muscles in the body while simultaneously binding the energy. You would need a machine that could do it precisely and effortlessly."

"So you stifled our research."

"I did. We can't let our best technology get into the hands of our enemies. Our machine division is limited to myself, two of our leaders, and a single inventor that each of us chose. That's why you didn't realize just how far we'd come."

Elias's nostrils flared. "You stole our machine research."

"It's not stealing when we funded it in the first place. That's my research."

"Lote," Ashton said.

He raised a single finger to her. "I don't want to hear from you. Not yet. I promise you that you don't want to cross me right now, Ashton. I'm not happy with you." He looked at Elias again. "I expected this from you." Now at Jax. "No surprise to see you here." His stare turned to Ashton. "You though… You've genuinely hurt me." Finally, he looked at me. "And you," he said, barking out a laugh now. "My first thought was twin, my second clone, and now my mind is reeling with all the possibilities."

Lote walked so close that I could feel him breathing against my forehead. He studied my eyes.

"Just who are you?" he asked with enough intrigue and excitement to make my heart race with fear. "Are you from the world Elias has been traveling to? The timing makes too much sense."

I clenched my jaw, refusing to answer.

"Is the whole world populated with more of us?" He crossed his arms over his chest, eyeing me like I was a brand new machine someone had handed to him. "Fascinating. The possibilities are endless."

"Whatever you think this means, you couldn't be more wrong," I said.

"Well, you've given me plenty of gifts today. My office is wired with all my favorite machines. My best kept secrets. I'm lucky that you chose this location. Then again, I exclusively meet with people here for a reason. I'm not sure how else you could have gotten to me."

This was really bad.

"What other machines do you have?" Ashton asked.

"It's not very fun to tell you. I don't get to try these out very often." He wandered to his desk, opened his drawer, and retrieved a headset. "This is portable, but it just can't do what my office can. The equipment is too bulky to carry out and the conditions need to be exactly right. The temperature being even a degree off can ruin it."

"You must be excited to have the chance to talk about your secrets," I said dryly.

"Yes, actually. It's thrilling. Ashton and Elias have helped me so much with this work and they didn't know. I wanted to share it with them so many times. You just can't be too careful about who you trust." The sharp stare turned to Ashton again. "Can you?"

"I know what you did," Ashton said. "What you're doing now only confirms that you've been shady as hell."

"Yes, well, I have a kingdom to look after. I can't afford to think only of myself or only of our guild. Our enemies will war with us again and we lost too many people last time. Our guild is the best to lead. We have the greatest innovations. We need to get stronger and set our kingdom above the rest."

"Oh, shut up," I said. "No one wants to hear your excuses. You murdered Elias's parents."

Lote didn't look surprised. "I figured that must have been what this was about."

Ashton let out a strangled sounding breath, but Elias only stared with fiery eyes.

"It looks like I don't need to deny it. Elias is a smart kid. I'm sure he has all the evidence he needs, enough for Ashton to ambush me. What else could make you both turn on me?" He shrugged. "It's not that I wanted to kill them. It's just that I couldn't trust them to keep their mouths shut. They were never going to back down from their ideals and so nothing could be done about it."

Elias managed to spit on the ground, which only drew an amused smirk from Lote. "You sick, bastard. They were loyal to this guild. They were a part of our kingdom. What right do you have to take their life? You're a murderer."

"A murderer with the most advanced machines in the world. Thirty years from now when every person in our kingdom is equipped with the protection of these machines and we can wage war remotely using them, do you think anyone will a fuck about your parents?" He shook his head and leaned in close to Elias. "No one cares as it is."

"What is wrong with you?" I asked. At least Dr. Henderson had the gall to care when she had me killed. He had the sadism of the Prophet of the Valley. I needed to find him in my world and figure out what he was up to because this was a sick man.

"I care." He plastered his hands to his chest. "Genuinely. I celebrated their anniversary with you every year because I actually am thankful for their sacrifice. They gave their lives for our kingdom. It might not have been in the way that they wanted, but they did. I mean it that I didn't want to have to kill them. I'm just saying that it doesn't really matter that I'm a murderer when I'm the person who can save this kingdom. Line up all the children who would die if not for me and ask their mothers how much they care. Give their mother's the choice to snap their fingers and make me disappear or save their children."

Tears sprinkled onto Ashton's cheeks. "I don't know how I never saw it."

"Well, young Ashton, I didn't let you see it. Don't blame yourself. I know how to pretend to have compassion and empathy. I can be more convincing than any of you because I can't afford to ever seem like I don't have it." He stood beside me again, studying my face. "How uncanny. I want to know more about you now. We can catch up on the whole Lote is a monster shock later. Which…" He raised both brows. "I do choose to care, okay? I'm not a monster. It's just that I have the ability to rationally decide when to feel bad and when not to and thus can lead this valley."

"Stop talking," I said. "Just stop."

"Will you fill in the silence? I'm very curious to hear if I'm right about you being from that world."

When I only glared, he groaned and dragged his chair closer. He sat down now and looked between the four of us for a while.

"Listen, you're all very capable at what you do. To force you to talk will probably be very painful and bloody. I'm not sure how resilient you are to forced connection," he said to me now. "But I know that Elias will be exceptionally hard to break through. Ashton and Jax will be simpler, but still, it will be very challenging and stressful for all of us. I encourage you to just talk to me. Let's start over and pretend for a minute you didn't try to murder me. We can negotiate."

"Negotiate?" I almost laughed. "I'm not negotiating with a sociopath."

"You read old medical literature from the original Earth? I'm a fan as well."

It wasn't me. It was Piercey, but I wouldn't say that.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"You really shouldn't use sociopath as an insult," he said. "It's a mental illness and there are plenty of health sociopaths out there living a great life, making contributions to society. It is treatable."

"Fuck me," Jax said. "You're insane."

"I'm using my condition for good if you can bring yourself to accept it. I make our kingdom safer. We need people like me. It's just better to hide such realities from people like you who are hurt by my methods. But don't judge all sociopaths because of me. That's just unkind."

I couldn't believe this. "Fine," I said. "You're negotiating with a soulless murderer."

"I can understand that," he said. "I make very good deals, though. Ashton can testify to that. Let's hear about this world of yours."

"You're making assumptions."

He leaned forward and I saw the danger in him, veiled by his unsetting ability to talk casually about the unspeakable, and hidden by his calmness. This man was sharp, cunning, and absolutely deadly. "My assumptions are correct. You get defensive about your world."

Did denying it even help me? I could position myself better if I told the truth in some way. He already knew I wasn't a twin or a clone. He was right that the timing made it obvious. "You will never step foot in my world."

"I don't think that's true. See, we've already come close to figuring out how Elias is traveling. I have a small team working on it constantly. We're breaking it down and will replicate it soon. In fact, we hope to create a machine that do it for us. Machines are so much more reliable."

Panic made my heart pound in my ears. Their power wasn't simply greater than what we had in our planet. Their technology was far beyond what we'd manage for probably hundreds of years. Those of us with power were so focused on warfare and survival, not to mention that many of us had been hunted and killed by people like the Prophet of the Valley. When would we have time to create machines like this?

"You're doing the math, aren't you?" Lote asked. "Trying to figure out if you can stop me. Calculating the costs of doing so."

I couldn't let him see that our world absolutely could not have any hope of stopping his attack. "It's not simple to wage war in an unknown world."

"True. We have the logistics of bringing our people and potentially machines to you–machines that we haven't even used in combat here yet. So, you know. I won't lie and say that we're going to be widely using them. But I won't give you false hope and pretend there won't be any."

I didn't like the cavalier way he discussed his strategy with me, making it obvious that he didn't care if I knew about his battleplans, because his victory was so assured that he could tell me exactly how he wanted to beat me and do it anyway.

This current situation didn't exactly show him any reason to have confidence in us. So far, I had no idea how to break free of this machine. I didn't even know where it was. What it was. Normally, when enemies used power attacks like this, I could at least count on it wearing them down. Lote didn't use any of his power.

The machine did need a power source, though. And Lote was desperate for resources. "You want machine parts and fuel for your power source," I said. "What makes you think there's any more in my world than there is here? Or that you'll have easier access to it?"

"Good questions." Lote crossed one leg over the other. "You were worried enough about it to try killing me, unless you're also avenging Elias's parents. I doubt that. Even if you do want to avenge them, I doubt you're in this world simply to do that. I'm a threat to you. How much of a threat is the question."

I didn't hide my emotions as easily as Nash or Piercey did and it was something I had been working on. I didn't want Lote to figure out what I was feeling. Total fucking panic. That wouldn't serve me or my people well.

"I'm so curious about your people," he said. "I wonder how similar and different our worlds are."

I knew from Elias that they didn't know about the experiment here. Their supervisor hadn't gotten involved in their world the way mine had and so the gods' true nature hadn't been revealed like it had in mine. So Lote didn't have as much information as I did. "You have plenty of battles to fight here. Focus on your own world."

"I can't ignore an opportunity like this. You're powerful. I can tell. Ashton and Jax are two of the finest warriors I've ever met, but you're the one piercing my shield. That's incredible. Are all people in your world this powerful?"

"You'll just have to start your stressful bloodbath, because I'm not telling you shit."

"We have so many politics at play here. We're at an impasse on trade because anyone in this world giving resources to my guild also gives up their power. We're hurting each other because we won't share what we need. Your world isn't mired in my politics. What if we can offer something to you that you need? Who in your world would I need to speak to about this?"

I spoke in a low growl. "You will speak with me and only me." Where was Piercey when I needed him? He was so diplomatic. I knew war. If we couldn't fend off Lote, then it was possible we needed to consider a deal. I couldn't trust him, though. If we made a deal, it would only be to buy time for figuring out a plan to survive. I knew from the Prophet of the Valley that there was no long lasting peace with men who were gluttonous for power.

Elias's voice came through my mind then. "Don't respond or acknowledge that you can hear me. I found the machine but I can't hack it. I've never seen anything like this before. But I do know that behind the walls, there's veins of fuel."

Message received. I needed to cut the fuel lines. That was why Lote had protected his paintings. It was really the fuel he protected.

"I'm going to try to help you break free. The machine uses your own power against you to utilize the energy inside of you to contract your own muscles. My energy, from an outside source, has a better chance of freeing you."

I didn't want Lote to suspect that Elias was talking to me, because I knew that it was risky for him to send any messages in a room like this, equipped with technology far beyond my imagination.

"What do you think you could offer me?"

I purposefully said "me" and not my world because I wanted to send the message that I had the authority to decide. That I was not someone to fool with.

Damn it, Nash had told me not to start a war by myself and I'd gotten myself trapped in Lote's office after an assassination attempt. I should have gotten help after all, even if it was risky traveling like that when Elias was supposed to be brought in today.

"You see that we have a great deal to offer. You're surprised by our machines. I can tell. I doubt you have any or that if you do, they can't do this."

He was right. We had some level of machinery in factories near the mines, but no one had ever managed to make machines of war. Our world simply didn't have enough people with power or the infrastructure to make advancements like this.

A vague hope filled me that the gods would see this predicament and intervene, because I knew they wouldn't want one world invading another. I'd told them to stay out of our worlds, though. If I asked for help now, how could I ever get leverage again? They were far more dangerous than any person in any world. Asking for their help today could surely lead to our downfall.

I forced my breathing to slow. Elias had said he was going to focus on helping me break, but I didn't feel any power from him. I realized, though, that his power had felt different when he erected the shield, one more like a wall than a shield. Maybe because he used his power differently, in such a technical way, he could work more quietly.

"Do you really think we could ever have successful negotiations when we began this way?" I asked. "We tried to kill you."

"I know it's nothing personal. Elias is angry because I killed his parents and lied to him about it for a decade. I understand that. Jax is my enemy. And Ashton feels betrayed by the lies. Who could blame you for trying to kill me? I can be a business man first."

Unbelievable. The Prophet had been vindictive. Was I really supposed to believe this man wasn't? Everyone wanted revenge at some level. Perhaps he wanted the resources we had more, though.

"I honestly really want to talk about a deal. I agree that warring in an unknown world is dangerous. I will do it, but negotiations benefit us both. We should see what we can work out before we jump to destroying each other."

"Considering that you have no idea who I am, who my people are, or how many of us are here, you had better believe this is dangerous for you." Oh, that was good. That put some worry in him. I could tell by how calm he looked now. "You don't even know what we really want."

Lote's voice dropped to a growl. "Oh, I knew not to assume you'd be simple."

"You know Ashton, so you should know I'm not an enemy you want to have."

"Why do you think I worked so hard to keep her close."

"Asshole," Ashton said. She and Jax had kept quiet while I fought for my world with the only weapons I had available right now, my words and my mind. "You aren't saving our kingdom. You're staining it. This feud is the reason we aren't safer. People like you make it so we can't have peace."

"I'm happy to work for peace. I won't simply give it away for free, though. I do care about our guild. Does it even matter to you how badly it would have hurt us if I suddenly died? Think of how we would look to our enemies."

"Don't listen to him," Jax said. "He only wants to hurt you."

"Hear me, Lote." I raised my voice. "If you step foot in my world, I will kill you."

He rose from his chair and took his time working close once more. "I can't wait until the day you're forced to submit to what I want. Just remember that the more lives and time you cost me, the less I'm willing to give in negotiations."

The power that forced my muscles to contract strengthened, until a terrible pressure bore down against every bone in my body. My muscles were tightening more and more, my body rigid now. Pain splintered through me.

"Stop," Jax said.

"Did you know that muscle contractions can be strong enough to break your own bones?" Lote glanced down me. "Snap. Snap. Snap."

I struggled for breath, feeling like my bones would do just that at any moment.

As hard as I tried to gather my power and defend myself, I couldn't.

"We can heal you and do it again. That's no problem. However long it takes for you to be willing to have a more honest conversation."

"That's enough, Lote." Ashton and Jax were both yelling at him now, but it wasn't them that Lote noticed. He turned finally, eyes on Elias, who stared at him silently.

"What are you up to?" Lote asked.

I couldn't take much more before I actually did pop a bone. Pain consumed my entire body.

"Elias," Lote said.

Snap.

I gasped in the deepest breath of my life as relief flooded me. The power forcing my muscles to contract had snapped suddenly like a bone breaking. Letting out a cry, I shot power out of both palms toward the paintings.

Lote tried to shield the walls, but he was too late.

A sweet smelling mist poured out from the walls.

Jax broke free first, wrenching himself one step forward to catch Elias's arm. Lote aimed his palm directly at me.

I grabbed Ashton's hand this time and we were gone before the energy could hit us.

We all collapsed onto our knees in the cabin where Ashton had been hiding, silent, together.

Sweat doused my body. My muscles ached from contracting and my bones felt bruised. Everything hurt.

I lifted my head and looked between the three. "We're all going back to my world. Now."