Linh P.O.V 

I don't think I had ever seen Tam so aggravated or pissed in his entire life, which was a pretty big statement seeing as he had to suffer through 11 years of living with our parents. 

When I finally awoke from the blackness, instinctively, I tried to take a breath of air but found that I couldn't. When my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I looked down and saw that the either Gethen or Tinker, (I hoped it was Tinker) had tied my hands and legs together and placed a gag over my mouth. 

My clothes and my tracking pin had been removed and replaced with rags. They looked like the kind of things that humans without homes or money would wear. 

I glanced around and saw that everyone had been given, more or less the same treatment as I had. Sophie obviously had more precautions as she was the crazy girl with like, 5 abilities. She was in a huge metal cage with dozens of wires attached to different technological stuff that Tinker must have had made. Her arms and legs were attached to the walls of the small room we were in using long, black ropes that my arms and legs burned at the sight of it. She also had on a helmet that I assumed was designed to stop her telepathic signals. 

I turned and saw that Tam and Fitz had also been given bigger precautions. They both had full masks on that had two small holes punched out for their nostrils and a small hole for their eyes. Like Sophie, Tam had his arms attached to the walls and Fitz also had on a helmet. 

Even though I couldn't see his full face, I could tell by Tam's eyes that my twin was mad. Like really, really mad. He was non stop pulling at the ropes around his hands and kicking his feet like a crazy person, pulling forward until the ropes gripped his chest and forced him to fall back. 

Fitz looked defeated, his back pressed up against the wall and his head in his hands. I needed to go comfort him, so I tried to scoot over, but it really wasn't working. I settled for talking with Tam, as he was close to me.

"Tam?" I asked, as best as I could with my gag. 

I felt his shadow travel over to mine. How could I tell? The coldness and the silky feeling in your bones that something was different. 

"Can you get me out of these ropes?!" was the first thing Tam shadow-whispered. Even though his shadow, I could tell that he was both impatient and anxious. 

"I can try!" I thought back to him. 

He nodded and sighed through his mask and slumped against the wall, watching me as I made my very slow and tiring process over to him. 

I had to wiggle on the ground because both my hands and my feet were disabled. The wood banged on my face every time I wiggled on it and I groaned in pain. 

The noise I was making woke everyone else up and I watched as each of them, in turn, realized what predicament we were in. 

 I had to hand it to them. They tried everything. Sophie thrashed around maniacally and tried to scream, but found that, unlike Tam, her ropes refused to let her arms and legs move even an inch. 

Keefe jumped around and around, trying to be able to see his ropes so he might be able to unknot them, but he ended up looking like a cat that was chasing his own tail by the way he kept spinning around, desperately trying to catch a glimpse at his back. 

Marella literally tried to set herself on fire so she could escape the ropes that bound her hands. It was working, but then Marella's flames suddenly went out. 

As for Dex, he still hadn't stirred yet. He was still lying on the ground and not moving at all. 

Marella glanced around, puzzled as to why her flames went out. Then, she groaned. 

Even though her words were muffled by the gag, she was clearly saying, "Darn! They used fire-resistant ropes on me!" 

"Well, duh!" Tam said through his gag. "It's not like they would be that careless." 

"I was just trying to help us!" Marella said back, clearly getting mad. "If you rather me not do anything to help, then just say it!" 

"Good!" Tam said. "Just stay still and let me figure a way out of this, okay?!" 

"YOU figure a way out of this?! Why not me then!!" Marella shot back angrily. 

"Both of you guys! Seriously!? Stop arguing!!" I said, throwing my hands up in such frustration that I actually ripped the rope that bound my hands together. 

Fitz jerked awake for what felt like the first time in a century. "How did you do that Linh!?" he asked. "Hurry! Undo all of us!" 

I nodded and quickly untied the rope around my leg as fast as possible and pulled off my gag and rushed toward Fitz and pulled off his mask with some difficulty and undid his arms. 

"Do your own legs," I said, rushing off to release Tam. 

"Thanks!" he said, wincing as his fingers burnt from pulling the rope. 

As soon as I reached my brother, I could tell we had a problem. I had no idea how to detach the ropes around his arms without tearing down the whole room. The ropes were literally inside the walls. 

I unknotted his mask from his throat, took a breath and ripped it off. "Tam!" I said after he finished his first breaths of real air. "How do I get this rope off of you!?" 

"How am I supposed to know?!" he asked. "Get Marella and tell her to burn them down!" 

"Burn them!!?" I said, forgetting to be quiet. "Tam!!! They might burn you! No way am I ever doing that!!" 

"Shh!!!" he said, putting a hand to my mouth. "Listen, I don't care if I get burned, okay? All that matters is getting Biana back." 

"But...Tam..." I said. I didn't want to say it, but I had to. "What if Biana really ran away to be with the Neverseen?" 

"I don't care!" he said with such force that I actually secretly felt glad that there were ropes holding him back. "We will convince her to come back, no matter what the Neverseen has done to her! She has to come back! She..she has to." 

Tam ended on such a defeated look that I sighed. I just couldn't get mad at my brother when he was like this. 

"Fine," I said unwillingly. "I'll have Marella try and burn the ropes for you." 

"Thank you. Thank you so much!" Tam said. I had never seen somebody so excited to be almost burned before in my life. 

I walked over to Marella and took off her gag. As soon as I helped her get it out, she said, "Sure. I'll help Tam burn the ropes off. Just get my ropes off me first." 

I helped unknot her ropes and she stood up and raised her hands in front of Tam. Her tongue stuck out of her mouth in determination. 

"Okay, if I burn you, totally not my fault," she muttered. "Get ready." 

I knew that I had to continue unknotting people with Fitz, but I couldn't pull my eyes away. 

Marella took a deep breath and aimed one of her hands toward the rope constraining Tam's left arm. Small flames flickered out of it and she grimaced, sweat pouring down her forehead from holding it so small and steadily. 

She approached Tam and placed the hand on the rope. Slowly, but surely, it started to burn, the flames flickering up to Tam's bicep. Marella gritted her teeth and pushed them higher, up into the wall. 

Suddenly, the rope snapped loudly and we all flinched, looking around to see if any of the Neverseen had heard the noise. None came, which I took as a good sign. 

Marella put the fire out on her hands and put both of her arms on Tam's currently free arm and leaned her head onto them. 

"I...need...a...quick...break..." Marella said, gasping between words, leaning onto Tam's arm and shuddering. 

I knew they weren't doing anything weird, but from my position next to the door, it looked like they were kissing. I know. Awkward...

"Okay.." Marella said. "Next one." 

"NEXT what?!" I heard a voice say. I turned around and there, stood a very angry and hurt looking Biana. 

Her expression darted between Tam, Marella and Marella's arm on Tam's. She bit her lip and shook her head like she didn't know what she just saw. 

"Biana?!" Fitz asked. "Biana!" 

"Biana? What are you wearing?!" Sophie exclaimed from her position in the corner. She was craning her head as much as the ropes constraining her allowed her too. 

I glanced at what Biana was wearing. 

I gasped. No wonder Tam looked so shocked and so hurt. 

She was wearing a Neverseen uniform, cape, and pin.