Hidden Hope (Hidden Saga Book 3) (21 page)

Fighting to control my breathing and basically not have a heart attack on the spot, I crossed the stage and went to Nox’s side. His large hand squeezed mine.

You can do this. You
have
to do this.

I nodded, accepting the microphone he held out to me. And then I looked up. And around. I actually turned in a circle. There were faces and the tiny lights of cell phone screens and cameras surrounding me 360 degrees. The walls of the stadium were even higher than the interior walls of Altum’s cavernous underground world.

My knees wobbled so hard I thought I might fall down right there and ruin the entire plan. I darted my eyes at Nox.

Does Sway still work when your mind is absolutely completely blank?

His reassuring smile gave me courage, and I put the mic to my lips.

“Let’s hear it one more time for Nox Knight and the amazing We Are One band.”

The crowd erupted in a deafening roar before quieting enough for me to continue. I took a breath to focus my Sway. There would never be a more important moment to employ it. I had to put all my cards on the table—right now.

“On this special night when we all gather as one world, one people, let us take the message of that beautiful song to heart. There is no better way to connect with each other than face-to-face, voice-to-voice, and heart-to-heart. Let’s carry the spirit of these Olympics and this song with us this week. For seven days, I’m asking you—these people...” I held out my arms, gesturing toward the gathering of instantly recognizable faces and names. “… are asking you to put away your electronic devices—your phones, TV’s, tablets, computers—turn them off. And turn to your friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers. They are the only fans any of us have ever truly needed. They are the only ones who deserve our devotion. But first...”

I let the words hang for a moment, and the stadium went eerily quiet. I had to add one more thing, or the extreme change I was encouraging would never stick. I felt so cheesy about it, but there was no other way.

“We must thank our sponsors for the evening... especially Magnolia Sugar Tea... the official drink of the We Are One singers and the best way to quench your thirst this week. And now ladies and gentlemen here in Boston and watching from every corner of the world...” I pulled my own phone from my pocket and held it up. “Let’s turn off our devices!”

There was a long moment of excruciating silence… during which nothing happened. What had gone wrong? Had they not heard me? Was my glamour not strong enough to influence them to abandon their electronic lifelines? My belly dropped through the stage to the stadium floor.

Lad… it’s not working.
In my moment of desperation and fear, my mind called out to him.

Stepping up beside me, he took the microphone gently from my hand. It was the first time I’d seen him up close since the confrontation in Nox’s room. I looked into his eyes, not sure what I’d find there.

He gave me a quick smile before putting the mic to his lips.

Together
, his voice spoke inside my head.

To everyone else, he said, “Are you with us? We are one. Now… let’s Turn. It. Off.”

As if a black wave was sweeping across the stadium seating, phone screens blinked out, one by one.

The darkness had never been more beautiful. It signaled hope. It meant victory—over Davis and over the evil Dark Elven takeover plan.

The stage lights went out, and the fireworks began over the Olympic Stadium. I had no doubt every pair of eyes there was focused on the colorful light show instead of on a cell phone or tablet.

But what about the people at home? Had the message affected them as strongly? The fact that electronic signals enhanced glamour gave me reason to hope that it had been even stronger.

That would mean they’d turned off their TV’s already and were missing the spectacle playing out around me. It was too bad—these were some pretty freaking amazing fireworks—but compared to slavery and subjugation, missing a light show was not so great a loss.

Only time would tell if we had truly succeeded. By the end of the week, there should be reports of a monumental and inexplicable TV ratings flop for this incarnation of the Summer Games.
Sorry Boston.
If I’d been able to figure out another way, I would have.

Warmth enveloped my hand, and I looked up to see Nox’s eyes shining with the same hope blooming in my heart. He embraced me in a tight hug.

You did it.

We did it,
I corrected.
Your song was brilliant.

The moment of intimacy was hidden from everyone except those closest to us. Which included Lad. Nox released me and slapped him on the shoulder. Lad grinned and dropped his head—in modesty or relief, I wasn’t sure. I couldn’t hear what Nox said to him.

But I heard what Lad said to me. He lifted his face again, locking eyes with me.
I’m proud of you… and of Nox.
He’s a worthy leader.

He is.
I nodded.
So are you. The leadership glamour came through there big time—your dad was right. It took our combined Sway to get the job done.
Here I had to stop and take a steadying breath.
So… you said maybe we could talk…

He stepped closer.
I’m sorry if I was rude before.
I wasn’t ready to deal with losing you. I needed to wait until this was over, until I had myself under better control. And until I could look into your eyes again and ask you mind-to-mind… Ryann… I have to ask it again… just one more time. Do you love him? 

Well, it depends on which “him” you’re referring to.
I took his hand, intertwining my fingers with his.
If you mean the guy standing in front of me now, the answer is… “yes.” I love him. Always have… always will.

A grin slowly developed on Lad’s face, lighting up those remarkable eyes that had always seemed to see right into my soul.

Off to one side, there was movement. Vancia and Davis emerged from the tunnel. He was bound and tightly under her control.

I was touched to see pure love shining on Vancia’s face when her eyes met Nox’s. He stood, looking back at her with unmistakable longing, but not making a move in her direction.

Hey—Rock God—what’s your problem? Go to her, idiot.

He glanced over at me. His fear was palpable. He shook his head.
We’re just friends.

No. You and
I
are friends.

One of his eyebrows lifted.

Okay, we were friends with glamour-induced benefits,
I amended.
But the real deal is standing right over there—just on the other side of fear.

He grinned at me and then took a step toward her. Her flushed face and the obvious connection between them had my emotional glamour pinging off the charts.

And then my gaze went to Davis’s face, and what I saw there erased the happily-ever-after-glow from my heart in an instant.

He didn’t look defeated. He looked... satisfied. A grin formed and slithered across his mouth. What was there for
him
to be happy about? He’d lost.

His adoptive daughter was reunited with her true love—whom he’d attempted to kill. It looked pretty good for me and Lad as well. And we had freed the earth’s human population from the grip of Dark Elven glamour.

There was no way he could get that horse back in the barn even if he were able to somehow free himself. The message was already out there. Nox’s song was already playing on radio stations worldwide, influencing those who hadn’t been tuned in to the Olympic broadcast tonight. By tomorrow or the next day they’d turn off their radios and other devices and be on their way to glamour-freedom as well.

The effect would multiply and spread when those who
hadn’t
seen or heard it went on social media and saw the majority of their friends weren’t on and interacting this week. The big influencers—the fan pod members—had no doubt abandoned all online interactions already because if
anyone
had been watching tonight, they were.

Davis’s plan had failed.

Still—that smile gave me the creeps. It stole away the joy I’d felt moments earlier.

Congratulations, Ryann. You possess all the glamour gifts of your father... and then some.

I heard his distinctive voice crystal clear in my mind. There was no use pretending I didn’t anymore. I had just displayed my Sway for all to see—anyone who could recognize it—and Davis certainly had. And of course he now knew I could communicate mind-to-mind as well.

That’s the ONLY way I’m like you. You’re a monster.

He laughed.
You must feel very pleased with yourself, daughter. But I wonder... if your mother is as proud right now?

I whipped my head back and forth, looking for her. Craning to inspect our box seats, I saw she was no longer there. Was she sick? Had she finally collapsed from the cumulative effect of weeks under his non-stop glamour? My insides froze over with arctic fear.

Where is she? What have you done with her? 

Davis laughed again, this time tilting his head back and letting the sound flow richly. Then he lifted a hand and pointed to the tower that held the Olympic Cauldron.

Look up. Look to the eternal flame and see how you have murdered your own mother. Now who’s the monster?

Heart zooming to the top of my throat, I turned my face to the sky. My gaze landed on the giant bowl that would hold the flame steady above the Olympic stadium for the duration of the games, a symbol of friendship among the nations of the world.

To me, it had morphed into a symbol of impending death. Because just above it, at the highest point of the tower scaffolding, stood a tiny figure.

Mom.

Her face was a miniature pale oval as she stared into the roaring flame, transfixed by the changing colors of the firelight.

Apparently reading my panicked expression, the others also looked up.

“What is it?” Lad said.

“What’s up there?” Nox asked.

“It’s my mom. She’s on the tower near the cauldron.”

“Oh God,” Nox breathed, his body going rigid as he spotted her. “We have to get to her.”

“What have you done?” Lad fired at Davis. “She could fall. She could slip and die.”

He looked wholly unconcerned. “That is precisely my purpose in glamouring her to wait there for me and Ryann. Let us go, my dear. Every moment we waste is one in which she could lose her balance or be buffeted by the wind… and reduce our happy family by one member.”

He raised his bound hands as if expecting to be set free.

“What do you think is going to happen? It’s done, Davis. Your scheme to enslave the human race is over. And you can’t possibly believe I’d be interested in being a family at this point. I could never love you.”

“I don’t need your
love
.” He spat out the word like it was spoiled meat. “Only your Sway. You know by now how strong mine is. Only a suggestion from me—even at this distance—and your mother will step off that platform, and well... you can imagine how that will end. But I don’t think you’ll let that happen. I think you’re going to accompany me to the top of that tower where she is waiting for you… afraid and alone.”

“And then what? You’ll throw us both from the top?”

“Oh no. I need you alive. And if you do exactly as I say, I’ll allow your beautiful mother to live as well.” Pointing to a cameraman and audio tech standing nearby, he barked an order. “You. Both of you come with me.” Then, skewering me with his glare again, he said, “You are going to
undo
the damage you’ve done, and they will broadcast it to the world.”

I shook my head vigorously. “It’s too late. You heard me tell everyone to turn off their TV’s and phones—not to use electronics for a week.”

“Yes, and to drink your nasty tea-and-saol water concoction to break the influence of glamour. But there are still enough people who may have just tuned in to the broadcast—as well as the nearly seventy thousand people present in this stadium who can still be influenced to reverse that suggestion. With your glamour and mine together, working in tandem, we will send a message so powerful no one will be able to resist it. Those people will become absolute evangelists for Elven rule. They’ll be
begging
us to rule them, and they won’t stop until they convince their friends and neighbors to turn all those devices back on and avoid your poisonous Magnolia Sugar Tea at all costs.”

“No. I won’t help you make the humans your subjects. I’ve seen what you and your kind do with that type of power. And I’ve seen what
it
can do to people.”

Davis’s calm expression contorted into barely controlled rage. His patience was at an end. “You
will
help me. Or perhaps I was mistaken about the level of devotion you have for your mother.”

He gave a pointed glance overhead, and my eyes followed in time to see Mom take another step closer to the edge of the precipice and teeter there. My heart seized with panic as I pictured her frail body toppling over the edge into the furnace below.

“Stop,” I yelled at Davis. “Tell her to step back. I’ll go with you.”

As I started toward my father, Lad stepped up beside me, obviously intending to come along.

“Alone,” Davis said, stopping me and Lad in our tracks.

Of course he wouldn’t allow anyone to come along and possibly overtake him physically again. It remained to be seen whether I could challenge him mentally.

Turning to Lad, I looked up into his worried eyes. “I’ll be fine. I’ll be right back.”

He shook his head, his brow furrowing heavily as he whispered. “No way. I’m not letting you go with that madman.”

I grabbed his hands.
There’s no choice. I have to do this alone. I’ll be all right. Let me go.

One finger at a time, he loosened his grip on me but rested his forehead against mine and stared directly into my eyes.
I will never let you go, Ryann. I can’t. I love you too much.
And he released me with one last desperate whisper. “Come back to me.”

I nodded and turned to go then abruptly swirled back around to face him. “I will. I love you.”
I love you.

The brilliant light that flashed in his eyes bolstered my courage. I
would
return to him. Somehow. I had to. There was so much more I had to say to him—so much lost time to make up for.

But first thing’s first.

“Release him,” I said to Vancia.