“You have her number?”

She rattled it off. “It won’t do you any good. She’ll change it the minute she realizes I’ve been caught.”

“Then we’ll have to ensure she doesn’t become aware of that fact.” Cynwrig glanced at me. “Can your controlling magic erase memories?”

“Don’t you even fucking try,” Vincentia growled.

I met her gaze. I wasn’t sure what she saw in my expression, but her face went pale. “I can certainly prevent her from giving anything we’ve said or done here away, but releasing her will nevertheless be dangerous.”

No magic, no matter how powerful, was without fault or problems. And when you were dealing with a human mind, well, those problems just multiplied.

“Yes, but throwing her in prison will only drive the Looisearch deeper underground. We have more chance of finding them if Vincentia remains free. It also means we can use her as our inside source.”

“Even if the all-encompassing depth needed to totally control my actions and thoughts were possible,” Tia growled, “it’ll come with unwanted side effects.”

That was no doubt true, given full telepathic control over another mind was considered dangerous for both parties. And there had to be a reason why magicking kin was against the code.

But we didn’t really have many other options right now. Even if the control didn’t hold for all that long, even if it did come with risks, a few hours breathing space might be the difference between us finding the sword and the Looisearch.

“Do it,” Cynwrig said, and held her down again.

She opened her mouth and sucked in a deep breath, but I’d already curtailed her ability to scream, and no sound came out. She silently seethed instead, her gaze promising retribution and worse as I wove a tight network of orders around her, allowing her to work and send us information without giving the game away to either her employers, her kin, or her friends. Then I forced her to sleep. By that time, my head was booming, and I was so damn weak my knees were threatening to buckle.

I scrubbed a hand across my face and said, “The orders will come into play when she wakes up. She’ll remember up to the point of the bedroom wall exploding and nothing after that.”

At least, that’s what I hoped. I’d never attempted this depth of control before and had no idea if I’d done it right.

“Perfect,” he said. “How long will she sleep for?”

“Half an hour.”

“Then I’ll untie her and drop her back into her car.”

“Isn’t that a risk, given what’s happening at the other cottage?”

“It’s the events at the other cottage that makes this the perfect time. It’s doubtful many will be paying attention to this end of the road.” He moved around the bed, tugged me close, and wrapped his arms around me. I could have stayed there forever, drowning in his heat and strength. “You, my dear woman, need to grab a shower to chase the chill from your skin and then climb into bed.”