I looked at my guard; it wasn’t the same one who had tackled me yesterday. “I know you’re forbidden from talking to me. I don’t need you to say a word, but I do need you to help me. My guess is you don’t like her any more than I do. Blink your eyes once for yes, twice for no. Do you understand?” The guard’s eyes darted from left to right to ensure no prying eyes could see. He blinked once. My heart did a cartwheel in my chest.

“Does my father know where I am?” His eyes blinked once, again. “Has he tried to see me?” Again, one single blink. “Do you know how long she plans to keep me?” This time he blinked twice. “Will you help me get out of here?” He blinked twice again. What little hope I had felt when the guard blinked his answers disappeared in front of my eyes.

I heard my mother’s voice for the first time since her hospital room, “Listen to his thoughts.” I looked in all directions to see if she had miraculously appeared, but I couldn’t see her. I smelled her perfume, and a warm glow overtook me — she was with me. I concentrated with everything I had on this guard standing in front of me. I looked at the lines around his eyes, the way the red vessels showed through the white, and the light caramel brown of his eyes. My concentration did not waiver. I was sure he had to feel me tugging at his thoughts. It was as if a thin membrane separated them from me.

The guard did nothing to impede me. I looked in all directions to see if Zandra was anywhere close. I visualized the membrane separating his thoughts from me, and with near surgical precision, I cut a big gaping hole in it. I saw the guard’s knees weaken for a moment; he recovered quickly and looked away. I asked him my question with my thoughts, “Can you hear me?”

No reaction. “Can you hear me in your head?” Again, nothing. He had to have known I was there, but he couldn’t hear my thoughts, so I whispered, “What’s your name?”

His answer came to me loudly, through his thoughts, “I am Phineas.”

“Phineas, I can hear you.” His eyes glistened and a smirk appeared on his face. I was thrilled to have someone who would talk to me. I talked aloud and he through his thoughts. He must have been suspicious that Zandra was closer than either he or I could see because he instructed, “Keep your voice low. I am a close friend to your father. I told him of your tantrum yesterday. He was pleased.”

“I wouldn’t call it a tantrum, more of an assertion of independence.”

“Call it what you want, she was furious when Aragon told her you tried to escape. Have you seen your future?”

“Uh, no. How do I do that?”

“I don’t know how, but all Chiron Centauride’s can see the future; very few can see their own. Zandra saw your future and locked you away to keep it from happening. Gretchen is not as powerful as Zandra but believes you are at a crossroads. You are capable of several destinies.”

“So Zandra is trying to change my future by keeping me locked up here? She can do that? Change someone’s destiny?”

“She can influence it, but she cannot preclude one that has been selected.”

“What’d she see?”

“I don’t know, but whatever it was, it really shook her up. Your father hoped that she would use this time to teach you the things your mother didn’t, to bestow her maternal gifts on you.”

“The only thing I need from that woman is an exit. So how do I get out of here?”

“Your father is still working on that. Because you aren’t married, it is within her rights to remain your guardian. Your father wants to know if you have spoken with your mother’s spirit.”

“Funny that you should ask. She spoke to me for the first time a few minutes ago, telling me to delve into your head.”

“She may be able to help you, more than I can. If I am caught aiding you, Zandra will seek retribution on my family. I’ve already put them at great risk.”

I was so pleased to be talking with someone, I didn’t think of the implications for him. “Thanks, Phineas. Let my father know I’m okay.”

“I will.”

“Why hasn’t he come to see me?”

“She’s put a spell on the gate, so none of your blood relatives can enter. William said you need to ask your mother about the night they met. He said you needed to know something about that night.”

“I will. Tell him not to worry.” When I stood up, Phineas followed me, just as he had during his shifts since the first day I came to Zandra’s home. He neither made eye contact nor shared another thought with me. Unsure of whether Zandra would be able to know if he were communicating with me, I silently closed the hole I had opened in the membrane of his thoughts. It was quiet again, but bearable. At least now I knew I wasn’t alone – I had an ally.

That evening, I sat by myself, the same as I had done every evening, to a lonely dinner in an empty formal dining room. My evening guard had relieved Phineas, and I was feeling sorry for myself again. It was Aragon, who was extremely loyal to her; he was the one who stood guard in my bedroom nearly every night. I hated the idea of being watched while I slept, and I especially hated that he was the one watching me. Zandra walked into the room and saw the food I had pushed around on my plate. She looked at me with her usual disapproving glance, then announced, “I have a gift for you.”

I was startled by her voice initially. This was the first time she had talked to me outside of the garden. My heart leaped at the idea that I might be leaving soon. She withdrew a wooden box from inside a linen bag. When she opened it, purple velvet lined the interior and a shimmering necklace lay waiting. “This was your mother’s. I sense you are eager to leave my estate. I wanted you to have it.”

I nodded enthusiastically, pleased that all our lessons and this dreadful prison were soon going to be a part of my past. Zandra motioned for me to stand, and I held my hair away from my neck, allowing her to clasp the exquisite necklace to me. It was made of platinum and unbelievably large sapphires. I had never experienced wearing jewelry made of platinum before and had no real appreciation for how heavy it would be. When Zandra secured the clasps, I felt a short burst of energy encircling my neck. She said, “This necklace’s weight is meant to remind you of your obligations to this bloodline, to your family.”

Zandra had given me a gift that belonged to my mother, acknowledging for the first time that I belonged. I was her flesh. I was thrilled, and without thinking, I blurted out, “When can I see my father?”

An electric shock so powerful shot through my body from the necklace, it brought me to my knees. I knelt on the floor crumpled from the energy, wondering what had just happened. Zandra’s wicked voice calmly responded, “You will not see him until your wedding night, Camille. Each time I feel your belligerence or you initiate a quarrel with me, you will be reminded of your place in my home. Do you understand?”

I nodded my head in horror. A second ago, I had felt like a princess. What I realized was that in addition to my 24 hour guard watching my every move, my grandmother had given me the Centaur equivalent of an electrified shock collar to curb my outbursts. She smiled widely, in an effort to project her dominance, “Your mother wore that same necklace. She, too, was headstrong and threatened to run away at the first opportunity. I mistakenly removed it from her before she could marry the Centaur I selected for her. I will not make the same mistake a second time.”

“Zandra, I can’t be married. I can’t choose. Mr. Richardson had me swear an oath that if his son was still not chosen by the time he was twenty-nine, I would choose him.”

Her smile widened, giving me goose bumps. “You won’t have to wait five years, Camille. I have already chosen Gage Richardson for you. You will be married in a month.”

I shouted at her, “But I don’t even know him!” Another electric charge rocked my body. My body shook in a mixture of adrenaline and desperation. I gritted my teeth, knowing that I would bring on the brutality of the device with another outburst, but I didn’t care. “He is about to be chosen by another Centauride.” The electric charges seemed to grow in intensity and length with each zap, as I braced myself when the third shock hit me.

Zandra shook her finger at me, as if correcting a small child caught in a cookie jar. “I’m afraid that won’t happen. I’ve already spoken with my dear friend, Kyle. After your mother’s stunt, he and I have developed a healthy respect for one another. You and Gage will be married in one month. Preparations are already underway.”

I put my hands to the torturous device in an effort to move it away from the delicate skin around my neck, “I won’t marry him.” The fourth shock hit me so hard that I felt the flesh around my neck scorch, my fingers went numb, and I couldn’t help but scream out in pain.

Zandra seemed to be enjoying the brutality of her present, “Have we learned our lesson yet? I can assure you, you have no alternatives.”

I didn’t think I could make my voice work without releasing sobs instead of words. The smell of burned flesh was thick in the air, and I knew she would continue to batter me until I relented or went up in flames. She stood in front of me, “Do not try to remove my endowment. It is your legacy. It can be removed by me or by your husband. I will only warn you this one time: should you try to remove it, the pain will be unbearable and the scarring a permanent reminder of your insolence. Attempting to leave my estate has similar results. You will learn your place. You will be obedient to me for the remainder of your stay, and you will not run away from your obligations. Goodnight, Camille. ”

With her final threat, the tears that I had held for the last forty-three days of loneliness, and the last fifteen minutes of brutality, let loose. She had won. I was a sobbing mess, and as the salt from my tears streamed down my face, several down my neck and into the now open wounds, the sting was a horrific reminder of how utterly horrible my existence had become. I finally understood my mother’s diary entry: it hadn’t been some vampire. My own grandmother had put this device on my mother. From her description in the diary, it could do far more than scorch my skin.

Sleep didn’t find me that night. The pain of the raw, charred skin on my neck didn’t permit me to find any sort of position that would dull the pain. I asked the guard if he could get me some Neosporin, but he looked forward, with no acknowledgement to my request. I watched the sun pour in through the window, praying that my nightmare would be over soon. Why was she so set on me marrying Gage Richardson? She had set up a similar arrangement with his father and my mother — but my mother was able to escape. Waves of sadness washed over me as I imagined my mom growing up here with this lunatic. No wonder she told me her family was dead. No wonder we never traveled outside of California. I was furious with myself for not having run away to a remote jungle to escape this crazy woman when I had the chance. But at this point, running away was no longer an option.

In one short month, I would be married, married to a man whose heart would forever belong to Bianca. She told me no decision I ever made would drive a wedge into our friendship. Marrying the man that she loved might qualify as a wedge. Three heavy knocks hit my bedroom door with such force that the wall shook. I stared at the door, not willing to utter a syllable.

“Camille, could you come out here?” It was a man’s voice. I didn’t recognize it, but someone was talking to me. It was someone besides Zandra.