6. CHAPTER 6
Kira
The Capital
Kallum, Ciondo
Comfort painted over Kira's imprisonment in the distraction of a beautiful day, a spacious train, and a bag full of her own belongings.
Kira sat with her legs tucked into the first-class seat, and a bright blue sky painted the window beside her.
The armed guards rode in the other cars, so she didn't see them.
It made her feel like herself again to slip into her comfortable red knit sweater and leave those prison clothes behind.
The train leading her further from her friends did not, however. Out there in the capital, the ones who loved her searched for her, and they may get themselves killed in that pursuit.
Kira clutched her bag closer. They allowed her paper in her cell, and she'd spent her time alone writing letters to everyone she left behind.
So far, she hadn't found a good time to beg Zayne to send them for her, but she hoped that at some point on this trip she might find a bit of humanity in him.
Just a glimpse of it, and she'd choose that time to ask.
Although the way he looked now left little hope for that.
Despite that he didn't wear his uniform, he made his black button-up and dark jeans look like fatigues.
He secured every single button in place, even though he didn't wear a tie, like he intended to strangle himself with the collar.
Most men left the throat undone. Apparently, that was too casual for the mighty Sergeant Zayne Riven.
Look at him. Standing stiffly in the aisle with painfully straight shoulders. Didn't that hurt his back? This was not a man prepared to let his guard down enough to do Kira a kindness, especially after all his threats.
Zayne hated lowering himself to her level.
Over the past four days, he ensured that Kira never forgot her place.
He generally acted polite enough, but any time the wind gusted outside or he turned his back on the camera while standing close enough to her, his tone changed.
In whispers, he reminded her not to cross him or complained about how little time he had for her.
He saved the somewhat friendly routine for the cameras.
When he managed to sneak in an honest moment, he showed her what he really thought of her.
As the train picked up speed, Zayne continued to stand.
Over the past few days, his limp improved, so he must have been recovering from an injury.
Still, he never used crutches, and he never sat, not even with the train rolling over the tracks.
Did he plan to stand for the next three days straight despite his injury? What a stubborn and ridiculous man.
No discomfort or pain registered on his expression even though the bumpy ride surely hurt. Kira figured that told her something about him. About how well he masked suffering and to never trust what she saw. It made him feel even more lethal.
So far, his intimidation had kept her in compliance. If she wanted to survive or find a way to help her mother and the Followers, she needed to resist at some point.
She'd lean into this game the Phaedra forced upon Zayne. The one her keeper forbade her from playing.
“You never sit,” she said dryly, though her stomach flipped.
His steely stare cut to her, an acknowledgment of her challenge. They both knew that Zayne needed to perform his part and manipulate her. And that he expected her to make it easy.
“I prefer to stand,” he said.
“You're hurt.”
The ice in his eyes hardened. “Don't worry.” He lowered himself to the seat across from her, and she sensed his frustration, though she did not see it. “I really am fine.”
The Phaedra put them in casual clothes for a reason. He obviously wanted to lower her defenses. Breaking through Zayne's armor seemed impossible. She'd start with unsettling him. Right now, he couldn't rebuff her attempts at getting closer.
But what would he do to punish her for defying him?
“What happened to your leg?” she asked, fighting to relax her voice. “I hope you aren't in pain.”
“I just came home from war. It's minor.”
His muscles tensed just enough for her to notice, and she thought he intended for her to see. His way of telling her to shut her mouth and leave him alone.
Not today. It was time to fight back, even if his casual clothes somehow looked more intimidating than his uniform.
The jacket he normally wore cloaked his body.
The thinner fabric of his shirt hinted at the definition of his chest and arms, hugging his shoulders.
Letting Kira see the strength he'd use to crush her.
So, what? Kira felt terrified every time she newspapered an alleyway. That never held her back.
Besides, look at the sunlight pouring over the Phaedran Mountains.
She rested her head against the chilly window, drawing on the peace and strength of sunlight shining against frosty mountain peaks.
Zayne did not rule over anything she saw out there.
Couldn't destroy it or beat it down. It was stronger than him and all the empire.
“I haven't seen the mountains this close in years,” she said.
Zayne didn't respond.
“This reminds me of growing up in the children's home. Once a year, we took a trip out to the mountains as long as we were good. Times like that, we forgot reality when they disguised it so well from us.”
He surprised her by answering, though he avoided looking at her. “It doesn't bother you being tricked?”
“Happiness is never a trick. If you find the good, it's real, even if someone's trying to manipulate you.”
He grunted quietly. What? Was that his way of insulting her without the cameras catching it?
She tore her stare from the window to look at Zayne. His eyes stayed locked on the mountains too, only through the opposite window as hers, because apparently just sharing a view was too intimate for him.
With that stubborn stare nowhere near her, Kira looked at him more closely, desperate to find a flicker of his humanity. But if Zayne hid any softness, as well as the pain of his injury. Better.
Despite the warmth of the bright sun after a long winter, Zayne looked colder than the icy tops of the mountains.
Rays of light highlighted the glacier blue of his eyes.
Zayne Riven was tragically handsome, wasn't he? Tragically, because his cruelty ruined everything pretty about him. And handsome, because, well, obviously. His light blue eyes glowed in the sunlight like in the movies. Kira always assumed that wasn’t real, but his were so bright.
And his deplorable personality didn't soften his high cheekbones.
It unfortunately only highlighted the strength of his jaw since he loved clenching his teeth when she angered him.
He had such a handsome face and such a disgusting personality.
It twisted his allure into something brutal and dangerous.
And she desperately wanted to hate that about him.
Well, did hate that about him. She definitely hated everything about him.
Definitely...
He must have felt her staring because he looked at her, but she didn't avert her eyes. Ironically, she was lucky that he was so intolerable or the Phaedra's plan might work. If those eyes looked kinder, then the isolation of her captivity might tempt her to mistake any softness for decency.
“Do you need something?” Zayne asked, the muscle in his jaw feathering.
“I need many things.”
Kira braced for his wrath, but he merely held her gaze. “I scared you when I warned you about Dr. Cooper. That's why you're acting weird.”
He never said that to her. What did that mean?
The second day he came to see her, he told her she was not allowed to question him or seem surprised if he said anything that confused her. Since then, he'd mentioned a few odd things. The first time, it took her off guard.
Now she memorized whatever he said that didn't make sense.
Just this morning, he told her not to forget about the girl and the forbidden. The what? Made no sense.
“I'm sorry,” she said. “You're right. I'm nervous.”
“I only meant that it's important for you to cooperate with Dr. Cooper, because the Phaedra trusts his counsel. It's easy for the imagination to run wild. I wasn't implying he's dangerous. Relax and be yourself.”
What in the empire was he saying? He acted as if they'd shared an entire conversation. If he said this right now for the cameras, then he wasn't speaking honestly. Did he mean the opposite, that Dr. Cooper was dangerous and she should be scared?
Or was he messing with her for goading him into sitting down and talking to her?
Kira knew to fear Dr. Cooper. They were taking the train to visit a psychiatrist who planned to interrogate her and analyze her. She was on her way to be dissected. But, of course, the comfy sweater the Phaedra allowed her to have eased all fears.
Deep breaths. Many deep breaths. “Thank you. I'll try.”
The way he held her stare a beat longer than usual made her heart race.
A dangerous thought toyed with her mind.
Because he hid his pain so well, and cultivated his entire demeanor, and uttered strange enough things to sound like code, Kira didn't really know his plans or intentions.
This all felt like a great deal of work when he claimed he didn't want to be bothered with her.
So what if Zayne had something to hide?
The Phaedra chose him specifically for this job, and he'd insulted her by saying that he didn't need to try, because she'd eventually trust him no matter what.
What if that was just a warning too?
What if he didn't want her to drink his poison?
She'd felt lucky that Zayne was so detestable because otherwise she might fall into the Phaedra's trap.
And she was beginning to see there were no coincidences with Zayne Riven.