57. Kaiya
My head throbbed, sending stabbing pain through my eyes as I forced them open. Judging by the brightening sky, it was almost dawn. Cool air rustled my hair, and a strange, rhythmic hum vibrated beneath me.
Where the fuck was I?
Pressing my lips together, I pretended to be asleep while looking around for answers.
Had they brought me aboard Frexin”s airship?!
Nearby, a handful of Japhire”s men sat talking in groups, while collared mages ran about, manning the thing. A few mechs sat empty near the railing a ways away.
I had to find a way to get free and stop Frexin.
Where was Tye?
In this position, I couldn”t see much more of the ship … could he have escaped? My heart skipped a beat as my gaze met Japhire”s — those yellow eyes watching me intently. Fuck!
But he glared at me a moment longer, then turned away.
My stomach sank. It was never a good sign when a captor didn”t care what you saw or did.
Concerned, I felt for my bindings … but my arms moved freely.
I looked down to find no ropes, no shackles, or even a collar holding me!
Someone had even placed a stuffed bag beneath my head as a makeshift pillow for me, and there was a blanket twisted around my hips.
What in the seven hells was she planning?
”How long until we arrive?” The familiar feminine voice put some instinctual part of me at ease, and I cringed, cursing myself for even momentarily being glad to hear that monster”s voice.
”Just over an hour, my lady,” replied a man.
I sat up and turned toward the back of the ship to see her.
Lady Frexin stood on the top deck, just a short ladder away, at the side of a collared mage who seemed to be manning the helm. She was clad in a deep red dress with her signature tiny hat and goggles perched atop her head, casually flipping through a stack of papers as though she hadn”t just murdered dozens, maybe hundreds of people!
Betrayal burned like a pile of hot coals in my gut. I needed to look into her eyes and …
”She”s awake, my lady,” the helmsman said before returning his cold gaze to the front.
Frexin looked up from her documents, hat bobbing atop her head. ”Kaiya?” her voice trembled as she took a step in my direction. ”I”m so glad you”re alright. For a bit there, I thought —”
She dared to pretend she cared? After everything she”d done?
My eyes burned. ”I — I can”t believe you lied to —”
But the smaller woman was already dashing down the ladder and running to me, ignoring my words entirely. Her stony eyes searched mine as she held out her arms, then pulled me into a tight hug.
”Thank the Gods!” she whispered. ”Korym, the fool, almost killed you!”
I stood there woodenly as my mind struggled to comprehend what was happening. Did she not know what happened?! The lives lost because of her actions? Or did she just feel nothing?
Squeezing me once more, she finally stepped back, fingers gripping my arms tightly, as if she were afraid to let go.
She took in my face, grinning proudly. ”And before you ask — yes, Mage Korym has been punished. I had him beaten, stabbed, and his throat slit. It doesn”t make up for what he tried to do to you, of course — but it was the best I could do given the circumstances.” She nodded toward the front of the ship … to where Korym sat glaring at us, his neck covered in red wet clothes.
My jaw dropped. What the hells?!
”Oh, he can”t die,” she continued in a stage-whisper. ”I mean, that”s the main reason why I keep him. And why he”ll continue working for me, despite what he did to you. No use in throwing away a valuable tool, wouldn”t you agree?”
My stomach lurched.
She spoke about him as if he were a hammer — not a manipulative homicidal maniac.
”There, there, dear. You look upset,” she said. ”Trust me, though. Over time, you”ll come to appreciate what he contributes to our work.”
Over time? OUR work?
Did she actually think I”d be complicit in her actions? That nothing had changed?
My brain struggled to comprehend what was happening as I stared at her, taking in the strange frenzy in her eyes and the almost giddy way she was speaking.
I”d expected her to lie or plead with me to understand, or even be cold and emotionless.
But this?
It was so familiar, yet so strange. She was acting as if this were a normal mission that went awry!
”The relic,” I rasped. ”You gave him the Karemi Relic. And he used it to murder all of those people.” I yanked my arms from her grasp and stepped backward. ”How could you do that? You promised you”d destroy it!”
She winced. ”Oh, that. I feared that might be an issue, and it was why I tried so hard to keep you away from it, sending you on the boat and all. It”s your one weakness, you know.”
Was this really the same woman who”d saved me in Gleyma and helped me find purpose?
”If only you were more mature about this side of the business,” she continued. ”You”re so impressive in all the other ways, but you can”t handle getting your hands a little dirty sometimes. It”s so childish really.”
Sighing, she clucked her tongue and gestured to the ship. ”You may not see it yet, but this is all necessary for our mission to rid the world of corruption. Nasty business, yes, but I”d exhausted the other options. And getting those body mages under control was necessary for the next phase. Trust me.”
My brow furrowed.
”Necessary? TRUST YOU?” I snapped. ”You massacred innocent people, and now you stand there in your stupid hat with that ridiculous smile, acting as if it were nothing!” My voice rose into a yell as my fists tightened at my sides. ”How could you think I”d EVER trust you again? I mean — how many times have you done this sort of thing? How many souls are lost because of the relics I gave you? You told me we were —” my voice cracked. ”You told me we were saving people!”
My chest heaved, and she stood there, face pinched and hands clenched, watching me.
Finally, she let out a long sigh and turned away. ”I don”t know what you want me to say, Kaiya. We are saving people.” The warmth from before had been replaced with an unfamiliar coolness to her voice. ”And damnit — this was not at all how I planned for this conversation to go! Frankly, I”m beginning to wonder if not doing the collared route with you was a mistake.”
Sighing, she turned back to face me. ”When I found you in Gleyma with your life destroyed by twisted relics and those who would wield them, I saw someone who understood the world like I understood it. ”Finally!” I thought.”
She frowned, truly looking sad. ””Finally, I might not have to do this alone.” So, I took you in and put you to work. Not on the unpleasant stuff, but on important work! I knew it would only take a few years of seeing how broken this world truly is before you”d understand the other work was necessary work as well.”
She looked at me, brows knit. ”But fate had other plans, and you stumbled into Korym”s mission before you were ready. How unfortunate.” She tsked. ”Gods. How I wish you”d just stuck to the plan and retrieved that damn relic.”
My throat burned and my skin crawled as her words sank in. This was not the woman who saved me two years ago.
Shewas kind and patient. She”d understood me in a way no one else ever had …
But that woman had never existed.
I fought the urge to vomit.
”Fuck you, Frexin,” I ground out, wishing I could grab her and throw her off this damn ship. ”And fuck your mission! I will never —” I jabbed my finger toward her. ”— EVER help you again.”
Frexin”s gray eyes widened, and her gloved hands flew to her mouth as she turned away. Her shoulders began to shake, and for a moment, I relished the feel of hurting her the way she”d hurt me.
A strange sound came from the shaking woman and I stared — aghast.
She was fucking laughing!
”Oh, dear, that”s rich!” she said between wheezes as she turned back to face me. ”You think you”re done? That throwing a tantrum will get you off the hook? No, my dear. That is not how this relationship works.” The smile fell from her face, replaced by a cold, lifeless expression I”d never seen before. ”I am NOT your friend or lover or even your boss. I am The Empire. I am your Master. And you”re just a bird that never realized it was in a cage.”
Heat burned in my chest as I stared at the monster I”d once called friend and mentor.
How could I have been so wrong?
Still chuckling, she shook her head and turned back to the front of the ship. ”Thank you for that laugh, though, dear. Now, you”d best prepare yourself for the final leg of your mission. We arrive at the Heartless Basin shortly. I expect you to be on your best behavior.”
My brows rose, and I let out a disbelieving scoff. ”Did you not hear me? I”m NOT helping you,” I spat. ”Lock me up. Torture me. Fucking kill me. But I”ll never help you again!”
She clucked her tongue, then turned to face me, holding out a hand toward a stone statue that stood on the deck near the mechs.
What? And why put a statue on an airship of all things?
”Oh, how rude of me!!” she said, smiling widely. ”I hear congratulations are in order! You have a bond mate now? I”ll admit that I”ll miss Investigator Fordyth”s good work hunting Forsaken … but you know how it is. You can”t stuff the gremlyn back in the hole.” She motioned to the strange stone statue once more, lips curled in a malicious smile. ”Aren”t you going to say hello, dear?”
My heart dropped, and I stared at the statue, confused, as the moonlight hit the statue”s face. It was Tye, his face frozen in a familiar enraged snarl.
A gasp escaped my lips, and I reached through the bond.
It pulsed warmly between us … as though he were in some kind of stasis instead of being actual stone. It almost felt like the drake back in Gleyma …
”Is he still alive?” I bit out, ignoring the panic making my heart race.
”Yes, of course.” She tsked. ”But in this state, he is quite fragile. A single, well-placed tap.” She rapped her knuckles on the banister to her right. ”Could crack and kill him. We wouldn”t want that, now would we?”
My heart slammed against my ribs, and I forced myself to shake my head.
”Excellent!” she clapped. ”Because I have been at this fucking plan for far longer than you can imagine, and I”d rather not suffer any more delays. I like you, Kaiya. I really do. You remind me so much of myself, when I was young and hopeful.” She sighed softly. ”But if you do not do exactly as I say, I swear to The Queen that I will shatter Tye into a thousand pieces without a second”s thought. And for every minute of disobedience beyond that, I will kill another innocent person. And I will continue killing until you come to your senses.” She smiled. ”Is that clear?”
Pinpricks spread across my skin. She was insane.
Frantically, I looked around the ship for help. Someone here had to be willing to stop this mad woman! But the helmsman turned away before our eyes could meet. I looked to the dozens of collared mages and shifters around, but they refused to meet my gaze, as well.
They were all scared.
Only Japhire met my gaze. But he looked broken, and shook his head before looking away.
If they were this afraid, she had to have done this before. Gods! How had I not seen who she really was?
”Monster!” I whispered.
Lady Frexin chuckled and shrugged. ”Yes, yes. Monster. Sage. Reaper. King … I go by many names. But one day soon, history will remember me as the Savior.”