Chapter Twenty-Two #3
“ATTR amyloidosis,” he repeats. When I stare at him blankly, he half-smiles.
“a misfolded protein made in the liver, eventually causing fatal cardiac and nerve issues if untreated. When my grandpa was alive, there was still treatment that could’ve helped him live a very long and healthy life—but we couldn’t afford it.
Now, there’s a total cure. Gene-editing can solve the issue.
” His smile grows. “Modern medicine really is miraculous.”
“It is,” I agree softly, finding his hand and squeezing. There’s no denying it; I’m glad he’s alive. I’m glad he survived the disease, and the assassination attempt tonight. I don’t want Killian to die.
“Back to The Eyes. I became very successful, very fast. They sent senior members to approach me. I ignored them at first, thinking it was a hoax, but after a while, agreed to go to a meeting to see what the fuss was about. First, I had to sign NDAs that threatened my life if I ever spoke about what I saw.” He laughs.
“And what I saw was so incredibly fucked-up, it boggled even my jaded mind. The most powerful people alive, Lyra, working in congruence to benefit only themselves and their families. The corruption in this world runs deeper than I could’ve ever imagined.
They invited me in as a junior member with fast track to seniority.
More money, more influence, more power.”
“More ways to ensure you never regress to the poor boy you once were,” I surmise.
He meets my eyes again. “Exactly. After a while, I took them up on it. No one was more offended at my invite and subsequent rapid ascension to seniority than Silas. Typically, The Eyes don’t have more than one member from any given industry or political realm.
My presence there was an existential threat to his weak hold on his power and company, and it didn’t help that I antagonized him every chance I got. ”
“Because you held his type liable for what happened to your grandfather,” I add.
“Correct,” he nods. “For the sake of appearances and survival, Silas and I occasionally did each other favors. Played nice in public, and even in private sometimes. I think he grudgingly respects me, while I detest his very existence. Now, into the picture comes you.” He reaches up to tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear.
“After years of antagonism, fucking with his money and his life, he wanted leverage on me. He’d wanted it for a long time, but there never was any before now.
All my family members are dead. So, he locked onto you, and in doing so, finally earned the full force of my wrath.
You know what I forced him to do to himself.
Shortly after that, I put in a request to the Eyes…
” he goes on to tell me exactly what Locke already did.
I pretend it’s the first time I’m hearing the information, and the shock I let on when he talks about the threat to my life is sincere.
“Now he has backers much more powerful than he is—other members in The Eyes who dislike me for one reason or another. And they’ll try to use him to get rid of me… and by extension, you,” he finishes.
I swallow. “Can’t you just leave?”
“Oh, Lyra.” Killian smiles sadly. “The only way out of The Eyes is death.”
“Oh.” I inhale sharply. “Are there any exceptions?”
He thinks on that for a few beats. “Very rarely,” he admits. “Sometimes for members who have accrued a lot of good will and want to leave so they can retire. Aside from that, not so much.”
“I see. And is it safe to assume that you haven’t accrued a lot of goodwill?”
“You know quite well that I don’t play nice with others. Not in earnest.”
“Okay.” I nod. “Thank you for explaining that to me. I think we’re all done.”
“If you ever repeat what I’ve told you, I can’t protect you,” Killian says seriously. “I gave you this information because you asked for it and you deserve it, but this binds us on a level that supersedes physical. Or anything else.”
I lower my gaze, pressing a hand to my forehead as the realization sets in. Killian didn’t tell me all of this just because I asked, he told me because it’s another way to control me. It’s another thing preventing me from leaving.
Part of me is upset, the other part of me is unsurprised. There might even be a bit of admiration thrown in there. Everything—everything Killian does is calculated. It’s intentional. It’s ruthless.
I admire him for his ruthlessness as much as I disdain being on the wrong side of his ambitions.
But why am I on the wrong side of it? He’s proven he has no intention of killing me. He’s given me a career I once dreamed of. I’m his captive, yes, but… only because I’m fighting him.
Is the fight really still worth it?
He made a sex tape of you and gave it to his greatest rival, knowing full well it’d probably eventually get leaked, Lyra, the voice of reason cautions.
Yes, and then he had it discredited and labeled as AI. Even ran a campaign around it using it to prove the dangers of reckless uses of AI. He’s fucked up, but he’s also fixed his fuckups to the best of his ability.
And I can’t keep denying that, wrong as it is, I do love what he does to me when we have sex. I’m not a fan of other things, but… maybe they can be changed.
If I can’t go anywhere, if I really am stuck with Killian—which seems to be the case—I should make the best of it.
But, given our history, I don’t know if I truly can.