they wandered through several long hallways until they came to a door that looked like all the others. lexi memorized the room number, hoping she would remember how to get here.

helen opened the door before zach had finished knocking. she wasn't caged or starved or hurt. she looked . . . fine. lexi stood there confused, trying to add this new piece of information to the puzzle.

helen didn't wait for lexi to catch up. instead, she rushed out of the door, past zach and grabbed lexi for a hard hug.

lexi hugged her back. after a month of worry, she'd finally found helen-the best friend she'd ever had. it was a sad comment on her life that a woman she had served dinner to a couple nights a week back at gertie's diner for a total of three months was closer to her than anyone else since her mother, but there it was. plain and simple. she'd missed helen so much, and now they were together again.

it wasn't until lexi felt the cool streaks on her face that she realized she'd been crying. she pulled away and swiped at the tears with the back of her hands. helen did the same, though she gave lexi a watery smile.

"i'm so glad you're here," said helen. "we've been so worried about you."

"worried about me? you're the one who got whisked off by a group of scary men."

zach cleared his throat. "i'm going to leave you two alone to catch up. helen knows my number if you need me. otherwise, i'll find you later."

helen grabbed zach around the neck and pulled him down for a hug of his own. she smooched his dark cheek and said, "thank you for bringing her home safely. i owe you."

"then stop kissing me before drake sees and cuts off something of mine i like."

helen laughed, patted zach's chest and took lexi's arm. "i don't want to see you for at least two hours-got that?"

"yes, my lady," said zach, his voice warmed by his grin. he touched the side of lexi's face, barely grazing her skin. happy tingles slid down her throat and settled low in her stomach. "after you're done talking to helen, after you've figured things out, then you and i are going to have some things of our own to discuss."

lexi wasn't sure if it was a promise or a threat, but she found herself looking forward to being alone with zach again. which made her crazy.

"we haven't eaten, so i'll have some lunch sent up for you both," he told them,

"breakfast for me, please," said helen. "it was a late night."

"the wall?"

helen nodded. "yeah. unfortunately."

"right," said zach. "breakfast it is." then he picked up the bags and walked back the way they'd come.

lexi watched him go, enjoying the sight of his long, easy stride, the way his muscles flexed under his snug jeans. he was so finely built that she still could hardly believe he was real, much less that he wanted anything to do with her.

"that's a mighty fine sight," whispered helen.

"amen," said lexi.

zach disappeared around the corner, and lexi was finally free of his pull. she gave herself a good mental shake and said, "okay, let's get you inside and see if we can undo whatever brainwashing these sentinels have done to you."

brainwashing?

helen gave lexi a long look as they went inside her suite. clearly, lexi had some issues that needed to be ironed out. at least she was here, safe and sound, and helen was able to do the ironing.

"nice place," said lexi. "is anyone else here?"

helen looked around at the suite. it was actually pretty plain, but neat and tidy. she'd been living here for a few weeks, and kept meaning to decorate the place, maybe repaint a couple of rooms, but she just hadn't had the time. whatever excess energy she had, she'd been pouring it into that freaking wall, imbuing the stones with the power to hold them together against whatever the synestryn might throw at them next.

who knew that magic could be so exhausting?

"no, it's just us. drake is in a meeting with some of the men."

"ah. the boys' club."

helen rolled her eyes. "they can have it. i sat in once and my eyes glazed over in about thirty seconds. they can drone on for hours about maps and strategy and whatnot. all i need to know is where are the monsters they want me to set on fire."

lexi gave a low whistle. "you? set things on fire?"

of course lexi wouldn't believe it. when they'd first met, helen had been terrified of cigarette lighters. heaven forbid someone put a birthday candle on her cake. she'd freaked out more than once over the sight of a flame, but now things were different.

now, fire was her weapon of choice.

she opened her palm and called a small flame to her, using the invisible river of power flowing into her from drake. the orange puff of fire flickered in her hand, barely warm against her skin. "things have changed," she told lexi. "for the better."

lexi's knees buckled and she sank to the couch in shock, her eyes wide. "wow. okay. not at all what i expected."

"i imagine there's going to be a lot of that for you for a while. i'm still getting used to all this stuff. some of it is really far out there. you should see this lady, gilda, in a fight. it's like watching a freaking anime cartoon or something."

"how many women like you are there here?"

"a few. me, gilda, andra and her sister, nika, though she's not well. we're all hoping she pulls through."

"and miss mabel is here, too, right?"

"sure," said helen, letting the flame in her hand dissipate in a puff of smoke as she joined lexi on the couch. "we can go visit her in a little while, but first, tell me what's happened to you. why are you worried about me being brainwashed?"

"you probably don't think you have been, but that's okay. we can still fix you up."

"we?"

"i mean me. i can fix you up."

helen wasn't buying it. lexi was hiding something. "we who, lexi?"

"don't worry about it. really. just know that you and i aren't alone. we'll be able to get everyone out safely."

"everyone who? out of where? i don't know what you're talking about."

"out of here."

"this is my home. i have no intention of leaving." lexi pulled in a long breath as if trying to gather her patience. "okay. fine. no problem."

helen walked to the fridge, grabbed two cans of soda and handed one to her friend. "listen, you need to understand a few things. first, i'm happy here."

"you were kidnapped. it's stockholm syndrome."

"no, it's not. i'm happy. i love drake. he loves me."

helen could see lexi wasn't believing a word she said, but eventually, she would. she just needed some time. "second, you're safe here. no one is going to hurt you."

"that's what zach keeps saying."

"he's telling the truth. you should listen."

lexi's mouth flattened to a stubborn line.

helen ignored it. "and three, zach needs you. he may have been too full of pride to tell you, but he's dying."

a look of guilt crossed lexi's face, but she covered it by taking a long drink from the can. "he mentioned something about that."

"well, he's more up front than drake was then. that's good."

"not for him." she said it like she'd already decided to let zach die.

"tell me you're at least thinking about saving him." helen had to get lexi to save zach. she'd grown fond of him since she'd moved here, and now that she was a part of this war, she knew just how important lexi could be in aiding their fight to save the world from synestryn invasion. she didn't think that starting out by telling lexi she'd be fighting a war was a great strategy to get her cooperation, but hooking up with zach . . . that was its own kind of enticement. helen loved her husband, but that didn't mean she couldn't see what a fine-looking man zach was.

lexi turned her head and stared out the windows. "honestly, i don't know what to think."

"i wouldn't lie to you. you know that, right?"

lexi shrugged. "i know you'd never intentionally lie to me. what i'm worried about is that you may not even know what the truth is anymore."

"you think i'm brainwashed. that's what you said earlier."

"yeah, the thought had crossed my mind."

"why would you think that? whatever gave you that idea?"

"my mom's journal. a group called the defenders of humanity."

helen had heard a single mention of that group somewhere recently. "you're talking about the guys who tote shotguns and think the sentinels are out to ruin their farmland?"

"it's more than that. they're tired of having a war waged right in their backyards. they're tired of having their land destroyed and their families afraid. they've been around for a long time. they know the sentinels are up to no good. they also know how to stop them."

a cold shiver of dread ran through helen. "what do you mean? how are they going to stop us?"

lexi's mouth tightened and she said nothing.

"those guys are a bunch of farmers, lexi. they have no idea what's really going on. they're going to end up getting themselves hurt. or killed."

"they told me you'd say that. and that if you did, there would be nothing i could do to save you."

this was getting out of hand fast. helen leaned forward and took lexi's hand. "i need you to listen to me, okay? whatever they told you isn't true. they're not bad guys-they just don't know the whole story."

"and what if they do?" asked lexi, thrusting out her pointed chin. "what if they're the ones who are right?"

"they're not."

"how can you be so sure?"

"because i'm tied to drake in such a way that i can see his mind. i would know if he was lying to me about something this big."

"how would you know?"

helen pushed out a frustrated breath. "it's like trying to explain the concept of color to someone who was born blind. you're just going to have to take my word for it. or go to zach and put on his luceria yourself. then you'll understand. i promise."

"what if that's how they get you? that could be the way they brainwash you permanently."

"i'm not brainwashed!" helen had shouted it and she had to rein herself back in and control her temper. she was just too tired from all the extra work. she wasn't getting enough rest, and it was making her short tempered and cranky. lexi deserved better-she deserved her patience. this stuff was a lot to absorb for anyone.

in a calmer voice, she said, "there are a lot of people here who aren't wearing a luceria. talk to them if you don't believe me. talk to the teens. if anyone is going to fight back against some mass brainwashing, it will be one of them. and of course, there's miss mabel, and you know how pigheaded she can be. talk to any of them. no one will stop you."