7. CHAPTER 7
Zayne
The Before-Times
The Capital
Kallum, Ciondo
830 P.C. [Post-Collapse]
The slivered moon offered Zayne a touch of light while he scaled the tall office building and stole across the roof, but not so much that his dark uniform didn't blend into the night.
Mom rarely asked him to intervene on behalf of the Followers and never requested help for anyone else. Not once, until tonight, when she sent an encoded message about a woman trapped in the manufacturing district.
Kira Stiles.
She worked as a fruit vendor of all things and broke into a restricted office a mere fifteen miles south of the Phaedra's tower.
A natural valley blocked the ugliness of the manufacturing district from the emperor's pristine city.
Citizens did not set foot into this district unless they worked here.
Mom didn't disclose to Zayne how she learned about this Kira Stiles woman, and he didn't ask.
They shared as little information as possible in case of interrogation.
Thinking about Mom putting herself in danger drove him mad.
He couldn't tell her to defy her heart, though.
Both of them knew the suffering of faking loyalty.
She needed her own resistance as much as Zayne did.
Otherwise, what difference was there between heartfelt loyalty and a facade?
Normally, he kept his illicit work outside Kallum and never came this close to the capital. But he didn't want to abandon the woman to die, and he never said no to his mom.
But he did wish he had asked a few more questions about this perplexing situation.
Soldiers regularly patrolled the district to protect the empire's precious resources, especially the kind capable of making bombs.
So how the hell did a civilian manage to get inside a building that housed select amounts of the Phaedra's uranium? What did she think she'd do with it?
The PXI destroyed any weapons created from materials like uranium. Just exposing it to the air for a few seconds brought in a swarm of nanobots rich enough to paint the sky red. Though he wanted to call Kira's plans idiotic, whatever they may be, she'd made it this far. She wasn't stupid.
He'd also read through her file while he waited on his friend, Reinard, to break into the security cameras.
Sixteen years ago, after the government removed her from her rebel mother, she scored incredibly well on her aptitude tests and earned a spot at one of the children's homes here in the capital.
A rare honor, especially for the child of a traitor.
Normally, they killed the entire family of anyone who betrayed the Phaedra.
A young child with a high degree of intelligence who showed so much promise?
They'd make an exception for such a resource. This empire ran on double standards.
Whoever decided to place her in the home expected her to grow up and enter a highly skilled field. Not sell fruit. Strange.
Maybe she intended to stay off the radar at the market to get away with things like this. Once again, not stupid. A woman as intelligent as her, breaking into a facility like this, knew what to do with her stolen treasures.
She piqued his interest. That may have been one reason he chose such a risky mission in the capital.
Not having Nadia at home to vouch for him made everything more dangerous now.
Her absence clung to him as he picked his way through the dark offices in search of Kira.
It felt like she took pieces of his body with her, and he needed to relearn how to walk and breathe. How to exist in the world without her.
He refused to ruminate. If a thought about her came, he'd cut it off. No exception. Even if he needed to bat away her image every second of the day.
Minutes stretched into two hours as he painstakingly searched each floor, slowed by the need to avoid the soldiers on their disciplined patrol schedule. Finally, when he opened a cabinet on the tenth floor, expecting to see more office supplies, a hunk of wood shot forward.
Zayne caught the slender wrist wielding a broken broom handle. He ripped it from her and set it on the counter.
Wide eyes stared back at him, twisted with pops of emerald and terror and defiance.
A strand of red hair fell from her bun and stuck to her temple.
Even in the dim room, he noticed the freckles sprinkling over her smooth cheeks.
She matched the photograph in her chart perfectly, but in person, the air around her felt charged with her spirit and the kind of determination it took to break into highly secure government offices. Kira looked like revolution.
Captivating.
“I'm here to help,” he whispered, brushing away any thoughts beyond escape. “1-9-3-4-0-2.” The code served as a safe word, one of the only pieces of information Mom gave him.
Kira's jaw loosened, lessening the strain of her fine features and the soft line of her heart-shaped face. A frown looked wrong on her, like the pout of her lips normally lifted in a smile.
Though the code gave her some peace, it didn't inspire her to leave her hiding place. And of course not. She only saw a mask and a black uniform meant to strip the humanity from him. The voice changer lowered his tone to a monstrous, inhuman growl. No wonder she looked so afraid.
Ordinarily, Zayne loved wearing this uniform because it masked his expression. For once, he didn't want to wear this. He wanted to look into her eyes and show her he was a safe person.
“We need to hurry.” He reached for her hand but hesitated before taking it, giving her the chance to refuse him.
Kira bit her bottom lip, and then she grasped his hand, her skin soft against the tips of his fingers where his gloves cut off.
“There's too many soldiers patrolling inside,” Zayne whispered. “We can't use any of the exits. I came from the roof.” He withdrew the rope and harness from one of his zippered pockets. “We'll climb.”
“I don't know how.” Her eyes shifted to the window.
“I'll help you. Put this on.” He opened a loop on the simple harness. “One leg in through here.”
Her hands trembled while she slid into the harness and buckled it at her hips. Zayne fastened the leads of the rope to her and then secured it to himself.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“Tonight, I'm a friend. Let's go.”
As they tiptoed from one office to the next, Kira tugged on the harness, testing it, probably afraid it wouldn't hold.
They reached the window closest to the next building's fire escape, and Zayne opened it slowly, surveying the dark alley.
“Stay quiet out there,” Zayne said. “We're above the streetlights. No one will see us. Do exactly as I say, and you'll be fine.”
Kira peered out the window and stumbled back, touching her chest. “I don't like heights.”
Perfect.
“You're attached to me, and I won't let you fall,” Zayne said. “We need to move. In three minutes, a soldier will patrol this hallway.”
Her eyes closed before she nodded.
Zayne climbed through the window onto the narrow ledge outside and shifted to allow Kira as much room as possible.
When he motioned for her, she froze halfway out the window, the breeze dragging strands of hair across her wide eyes.
Right when Zayne expected her to panic, she breathed in deeply and continued.
He placed a hand on her back to steady her and held her arm while she eased beside him. “I have you,” he whispered as quietly as he could.
Though Zayne wasn't formally special ops, he spent any spare time in the military academy on special trainings like his brother did.
Once receiving his first seal, he also began covert missions for the Phaedra as part of his inner circle.
This wasn't his first time extracting an untrained civilian from a sensitive area, and definitely not his first climb doing so.
It would be difficult, but they could do this.
“I've done this before.” He spoke close to her ear. “You'll be okay. I promise.”
Kira's breath hitched, and she nodded.
No more lingering. Zayne leaned toward the other building and stepped across the gap to the edge of the fire escape with one boot.
Then he snapped the end of a lead onto one of the thin railings.
Shifting, he balanced his weight equally between each foot.
Fortunately for them, the Phaedra packed the district into the smallest space possible to keep it out of sight, so most of the buildings were accessible to each other.
Kira gaped at him, looking horrified.
“Just step across. I'll do the rest.” He shifted his weight to her side, reaching for her. “I need to pick you up. Is that okay?”
“Yes. Of course.”
He searched for the most innocent place to grab her, but she was all curves. Zayne clasped her waist, nearly apologizing for how his hands dug into the deep dip of her body. Her breathing came in short, terrified spurts, and he realized she was too afraid to feel awkward.
Hopefully, she didn't panic and flail.
Braver than she looked, Kira took a large step toward the stairwell. The momentum helped him support her as he helped her to the railing.
“See, not so bad,” he whispered, releasing her.
Kira clung to the outside of the fire escape, both feet planted safely now, her entire body shaking. Or it was as bad as she expected.
After he worked his way to the landing of the fire escape, he turned back to help her over the railing, but she didn't move, eyes closed so tight it contorted her face.
When he took her waist again to pick her up, her arms shot around his neck so tight her strength surprised him. He almost chuckled.
Once he settled her feet on the landing, she still clung to him. Zayne dropped his hands, offering her space while she calmed down.
“Sorry,” Kira inched back, wrapping her arms around herself. “I really, really don't like heights.”
He'd noticed. “You did well.” At least she didn't panic during the most dangerous part.
Zayne nodded for her to walk ahead of him while they climbed the stairs to the roof.
Above them, a couple of stars shone faintly in the dark sky, just far enough outside the city not to be drowned out. Zayne passed water to Kira. “Keep hydrated. We have a long way to go.”
“Thank you. I didn't mean to slow you down.”
He waved off her concern with a flick of his hand.
Reinard said a maintenance request on a broken window lock read unresolved. They traveled to the fire escape on the other side of the building and down to the floor they needed.
After helping Kira over the railing, he repeated the same process as before, bridging the gap between the staircase and ledge. A more frightening maneuver given the narrow space to stand.
When Zayne reached for her, she stared at the ground, looking faint.
“Eyes on me,” he said.
Her gaze lifted to his mask, the green of her eyes catching moonlight.
“You can do this.”
Breathing heavily, Kira moved over the steep drop, gasping for the fraction of a second that her feet touched nothing but air. Zayne had her. Would not let her go.
His chest and arms burned as he strained to plant her firmly against the window. She fit on the ledge well enough on her own. The two of them though? Not as easy.
When Zayne crossed over and swung his leg to her other side, his body plastered her against the glass.
Shit.
“Sorry,” he said with a grunt. He leaned back, straining with effort while the brick dug through his gloves from the pressure he applied to keep his balance.
Her voice sounded strained anyway. “Don't fall...”
Shuddering breaths pushed against his chest. They were melded together on that ledge, neither of them able to move. Clawing his fingers into the brick, he gritted his teeth and forced himself backward a few more inches.
Now the worst part.
Without alerting Kira, he unhooked her lead from him, just in case. Then he shifted his hands along the side of the windowsill, lowering himself into a squat.
Zayne sighed in relief when the window opened. Now he rose, able to slide his boot inside and let his legs dangle to give her space.
“Go,” he said. “I'll spot you.”
As she lowered herself in, he used his free knee to support the back of her legs.
Once inside, she whirled around and reached for him.
He smiled beneath his mask. “Just move.”
Zayne climbed in easily now that he had the ledge to himself. Finally, his muscles relaxed. Sweat coated his torso and tickled the side of his face. “Stay here while I check the hall.”
Though he pointed at a place for her to hide, she hesitated.
“Be careful,” she whispered, eyes fiery with concern, as if she knew him. Cared for him.
His shoulders tensed, and he walked into the darkness of the office, looking back at her gentle form outlined in moonlight, until she disappeared to the place he had asked her to hide.