It was well played. Keefe knew Gisela had thought this through.
Apart from keeping Sophie from using her many abilities, the ability restrictor would cut off all of Sophie's self-confidence and, if it was anything like the last one, actually cause physical pain and keep her from being able to even think straight.
It kept them from just fighting for control—Mesmering or commanding her to give Sophie up—and simply fleeing with Sophie, because they'd need Gisela's technopath—whoever they were—to remove the ability restrictor.
And it had effectively incapacitated one of their members.
Because at the sight of Sophie with that circlet around her head, Dex's knees gave out and he crumpled to the floor. He sat, ghostly white, staring in agony at Sophie.
Keefe, who happened to be next to him and was close enough that Dex brushed against his leg as he fell, was keenly aware of the grief, guilt and bitter regret Dex was feeling.
"No," Dex moaned quietly. Weakly. "I knew this invention would come back to haunt me someday." Tears were falling now. "Sophie, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." He kept repeating the apology, sobbing.
Gisela's mouth twisted into a cruel smile, but she didn't speak right away. She seemed to be enjoying giving them a moment to fully realize the weight of the situation.
Keefe's eyes flicked quickly from his mother's face back to Sophie.
Ashamed, scared, yet still an air of stubbornness about her. Defiance. Keefe could feel those emotions coming off her, reflecting what he saw in her face.
She was so brave and so strong.
She was looking earnestly at him, and when they locked eyes, he felt her rush of affection for him.
She's okay, Fitz's voice filled Keefe's mind, talking fast. That device restricts her abilities but it can't stop me from transmitting to her and reading her thoughts like I do with you. She wants me to let you know Gisela hasn't hurt her, that there are trolls waiting in the next room in case we attack, and that you aren't under any circumstances to give yourself up for her sake.
But her words for Dex, she spoke aloud, her voice weak—Keefe wondered when she'd last eaten or had anything to drink—but still clear. "Don't blame yourself. You didn't make this one and you're not responsible for copycats. Please, Dex." She was begging now. "Don't let this break you. I need my best friend."
Her life—all their lives—were in danger and what was she doing? Telling her boyfriend not to bring himself to harm and her best friend not to give in to guilt.
If Keefe hadn't already known he was completely in love with her, he'd have known it now.
He had to get her out of there.
"I'm glad to see that you are aware of the hopelessness of your situation," Gisela said, eyes on her son. "You understand, now, that you have no way to free her unless you come with me?"
"No," Keefe said angrily, though it nearly killed him to say it. He had to stick to the plan, and not offer himself up—fake or real—just yet. "You'll let her go in exchange for me hearing you out. We both know the experience with Elysian didn't go according to your plan. She put my abilities back in balance without adding in your creepy plan for forcing my obedience. And hurting Sophie doesn't exactly warm me to your cause. I'm only willing to even consider helping you if you take that monstrosity safely off her head and give her back to us unharmed."
Years of hiding how he truly felt were working in his favor. He was terrified, scrambling to try to figure out how to get Sophie out of there without an ability restrictor on her head, and so angry at his mother, so filled with hatred, he didn't know how he wasn't seeing red.
But his manner and appearance implied that he was in full command of the situation, and the fondness emanating from Sophie bolstered him to continue, to hold himself together.
Keefe suspected Fitz was continuing to communicate silently with Sophie, and hopefully with the others. And sure enough, as his mother stood there, shamkniv still at Sophie's throat, surveying Keefe with a shrewd look, Fitz's voice filled his mind again.
Keep her talking. I think we've got some things figured out.
Keefe looked at Sophie, his gaze softening. "I'm so sorry, Sophie."
Sophie smiled at him, though she looked like she was in pain. "You warned me it could get messy," she said softly. "And I still have absolutely no regrets." The memory of that conversation in the clearing--and the world's most perfect kiss that had accompanied it--was just what Keefe's fraying nerves needed.
He winked at her--acting far more lighthearted than he felt--before looking at his mother.
Gisela's cold smile made Keefe's blood boil--all the more when she said "it looks like I was right about the nature of your relationship with the Black Swan's little experiment. Your love for her is exactly why I'll be able to convince you to come with me." Her shamkniv moved from Sophie's throat to her shoulder, and in a flash there was a deep cut, blood pouring from the wound. Sophie cried out in pain.
"No!" Keefe shouted, his composure slipping, Fitz and Tam--who had somehow moved next to him--physically restraining him from rushing forward.
"Like I said," Gisela told him. "You'd have been far more able to resist me if you didn't allow yourself to care for others."
"My love for her is what gives me the strength to resist you, and the resolve not to do something she wouldn't want me to do," Keefe countered, barely registering the fact that he'd just admitted to a room full of people--including Sophie and her dad--that he loved her. "And the fact that I care for others--others who, by the way, care for me too, which you never did--means I don't have to do any of this alone."
He looked at Sophie. The wound was still bleeding, but didn't appear to be dangerously deep.
Yet.
And if there was poison on that blade...
"Please don't hurt her anymore," Keefe begged. He raised his hands to show he had no weapons in them. "Please just let me come look at her wound."
Gisela sighed. "I didn't cut her deeply—this time."
Keefe already knew that, but he wasn't telling her that. "I'll believe it when I see it."
"You can look--and then stay by her side if you wish. In fact, that may be better: you'll be able to clearly see that I will cut deeper each time you resist."
Keefe made no attempt to disguise the hatred in his gaze as he glared at her for a moment before turning his focus to Sophie. He stepped toward her and knelt beside her, looking at her shoulder and stroking her cheek. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. Then--partly because he was desperate to do so and partly for the shock value--he kissed her.
And he knew his mom hadn't expected that as she started to let out an impatient and exasperated sigh, but it was just the opening they needed.
Her distraction caused her to loosen her grip on the shamkniv and it went soaring out of her hand, straight into Tam's.
Tam and Linh's time at Exillium had made them hone skills like telekinesis better than the rest of them.
Things started to move quickly then.
Gisela lunged for the shamkniv but a wall of flames held her back, courtesy of Marella.
Gisela stopped, barely managing to tuck and roll to avoid falling into the flames.
As she stood back up, a force field built up around Sophie and Keefe--which he hadn't expected. He needed to get at his mom! He looked at Maruca, who shook her head at him before looking back at Gisela.
Linh put out the flames.
Keefe placed one hand on Sophie's knee, needing that point of contact for her sake as well as his own, but angled his body away from her and towards the scene unfolding before them.
His mom was now glaring in frustration towards a door--behind which stood who knew how many trolls.
Grady was bearing a look of deep concentration.
"Waiting for your troll puppets to come take us out?" Fitz taunted her. "I'm afraid they're not able to come to your side at the moment."
Keefe realized that Grady must be controlling the trolls, keeping them from following Gisela's command.
But those were large, strong, bloodthirsty creatures--controlling them must have left no concentration for attempting to also control Gisela.
But, Keefe realized Grady wouldn't have dared to control her for long anyway--they needed information from her on who her technopath was. Mesmering that information out of her would have been too dangerous--the moment they all leapt away, she'd have gone to her technopath and hidden them, made it much harder to find them.
And Keefe's commanding ability was still untested, particularly after Elysian. They wouldn't want to trust it, not with that ability restrictor on Sophie's head.
There were no easy answers here.
And as Keefe thought that, he realized he didn't know where Dex had gone.
Or Biana.
Things were not going according to plan. At least, not the plan they had concocted before learning about the ability restrictor.
"I'm afraid we're still at an impasse," Gisela said, smoothing her dress. "We all know you can't do anything without my help, because that device around Sophie's head can only be safely removed by my technopath, and I'll only give you that information when Keefe leaves with me."
"Think again!" a voice right behind Keefe shouted.
Biana and Dex were both suddenly visible, and the ability restrictor was in Dex's hands--Sophie safe and of sound mind.
Somehow, Dex had removed it without hurting Sophie--and without being seen.
Gisela wheeled around at the sound of Dex's voice and couldn't hide her shock at seeing the device in his hands.
And Fitz didn't miss a beat.
A goblin throwing star took her out in an instant--followed, as she fell to the ground, by the dagger that Fitz had somehow, at some point, stolen from Keefe.
The throwing star had gotten her across the throat, and the dagger right through her heart. Both flung with incredible precision.
Fitz looked pale and was leaning on Linh, who was nearest, and was breathing hard--but it was done.
Gisela was dead.