9. CHAPTER 9
Kira
Ciondo
An hour into the train ride to Dr. Cooper's clinic, Kira and Zayne had said little more to one another, and she'd analyzed their interaction so much that it made even less sense.
The snowy peaks of the mountains saved her from spiraling into panic.
Calm had just settled over her once more when the door to their train car opened.
Kira didn't turn to see who approached, but Zayne's stare tracked their visitor like a lion in the wild.
“Kira Stiles.” The deep voice flowed smoothly over her, familiar enough that Kira knew before looking at him that she spoke to another Riven. “It's a pleasure to meet you.” The tall man slid into the seat beside her and took her hand. “I'm Captain Luke Riven.”
A shaky smile twitched onto her lips, and she jerked her hand back to herself the moment he released it. “Nice to meet you, Captain Riven.”
The air churned with so much tension. Zayne stared his brother down, clearly not trying to hide it.
The two looked alike with the same gray-blue eyes and short blond hair.
Luke was slightly taller and slimmer than Zayne, though he still looked threatening despite not being quite as built.
But no matter the commonalities, they felt like opposites. Enemies.
“Has my brother made you feel welcome?” Luke crossed one leg over the other, flashing a handsome smile that was warm despite not reaching his eyes.
“Yes,” she said. “I'm thankful for the hospitality.”
Neither of the men listened to her, though. A silent battle played out between the brothers for several seconds.
“He's a snarly little shit sometimes,” Luke said, his stare still on Zayne. “Let me know if he's rude to you.”
The insult didn't ruffle the younger brother. Zayne's jaw didn't even bunch. Expert control. It confirmed what Kira thought about him and proved he meant any shift in his demeanor, no matter how slight, as a message to her. Every time.
Rude.
“What do you need?” Zayne asked.
“I didn't want to be rude and ignore our guest.”
The brothers hated each other. Could Kira use that to her advantage? She'd never been a good manipulator.
Luke's arm slid over the top of her seat as he turned to face her, close enough for her breath to catch. She dug back against her seat, chilled by how the coldness of his eyes contrasted with his warm smile.
“I heard my brother tell you not to be afraid earlier,” Luke said.
“I find a rational amount of fear to be healthy.
So, while you're getting cozy at your mountain retreat, remember something for me.” The man leaned in more, his presence dwarfing her.
“We will know if you lie, and you're not leaving here in one piece if you do.”
Fire burned with her next heartbeat. All thoughts ground to a halt.
“Luke.” Zayne spoke the name in a calm voice, but Kira sensed the threat beneath it. “This is my prisoner. I'll handle her.”
The older brother sneered. “Don't get so touchy.”
No response. No flicker of emotion. Zayne just stared.
Now Luke's deadly gaze bore into Kira. “I'm always watching.”
His threat cut deep into her mind. She'd never free herself of that voice.
Always watching.
Kira forced herself to nod, desperate to get rid of this man who managed to make Zayne seem friendly in comparison.
Luke rose and smoothed the wrinkles from his shirt, regarding her with another smile as he took a step back. “Make wise decisions, Ms. Stiles. We're all eager to see you succeed.”
Captain Luke Riven turned and left them with the heaviness he'd brought into the car.
Zayne's eyes never left his brother.
The polished stone of Dr. Cooper's sprawling clinic looked gorgeous against the distant mountains, but its towering walls only echoed Luke's threats back at her.
Once inside, a nurse ushered Kira into a room that smelled too clean and surgical to be anything except a medical office, though it looked deceptively like a home. Apart from all the equipment.
Sitting in a tall-backed leather chair, Kira squirmed from all the wires they attached to her and watched Dr. Cooper closely.
Studying his wiry white eyebrows and the creases at the edges of his eyes.
He settled into the chair across from her, cupping his knee, smiling like they were about to enjoy a cup of coffee.
Like she wasn't wearing a cap of electrodes and a sensor beneath her nose that monitored her airflow.
She scanned the mirror on the far wall and wondered if Zayne watched her through it. She recognized a one-way window when she saw one. They were a favorite of Ciondian architecture.
“Kira,” Dr. Cooper said in a pleasant voice.
Strange to hear her name instead of prisoner, or a stiff Ms. Stiles. How did something so insignificant warm her? Kira underestimated the emotional danger of isolation and captivity, and the power of even disingenuous courtesy.
“My name is Dr. Cooper. Forgive me for all the equipment. I asked the nurses to make you as comfortable as possible.” He seemed to think for a moment. “Would you prefer to start with a cup of tea?”
“No.” Not unless he was open to her throwing it in his face. “But, uh, thank you.”
“This must feel intimidating.” He tapped the table beside him that housed multiple monitors. “I promise we won't need all of this for your entire stay here. It's important for us to establish a baseline with you and get the pesky questions out of the way.”
He wheeled his chair closer, his stare intent, but also gentle. He didn't care about her and planned to weaponize her own mind against her, but he looked so friendly. Just like how cozy the interrogation room appeared—sterilized and poorly masked by bad art and way too many potted plants.
“The questions will be simple at first,” the doctor said. “Tell me your name.”
“Kira Stiles.”
“Your age.”
“Twenty-five.”
“One lie about you.”
After considering, she said, “I love salad.”
He chuckled, glancing at the monitors. “Your mother's name?”
Pain sparked thinking about her. Pain and worry. “Rebecka Stiles.”
“Do you know her by any other name?”
“No.”
“What about Becka Rogers?”
“No.”
A nod while he looked at the monitor. “When was the first time you heard that your mother was working with the United?”
“The day I was taken prisoner.”
Her heart beat hard even though she told the truth. At least now they knew she hadn't been lying when she answered these same questions back in prison.
The interrogation continued with the basics, from questions about the last time Kira had seen her mother—the day soldiers tore them apart—to where she worked.
“You were separated from your mom at a young age. Do you have anyone in Ciondo you consider family?”
Her hands clamped around the armrests. “Yes.”
“Names.”
Nostrils flaring, she shook her head. “I'm not sharing names with you.”
The doctor sat back, both brows raised at her change in tone. “I assure you I don't plan to hurt them.”
“I'll tell you their names if you put on all this equipment and tell me no one in the empire plans to hurt them.”
A smile crept onto his face. “I have a list of everyone you interact with on a daily basis. I simply want to read your biosignatures while you say the name of the people you love.” He snapped his fingers, and a nurse rushed forward with a folder.
He simply wanted to do that, did he? A simple matter of measuring who she loved and how much, so the Rivens and the Phaedra knew who to hurt.
These people didn't know her. Kira tended to be shy in big groups, and she avoided confrontation because she didn't like hurting feelings. But she wasn't shy about the people she cared for, and she had years of practice fighting through fear to stand against the Phaedra.
“Diamond, Patricia, Elijah,” Dr. Cooper said.
Their faces flooded her mind. Their voices. Hundreds of moments she longed to relive now that she had lost them.
“Your closest friends.” Insatiable curiosity replaced the fake smile. “Would you call them family?”
Tears blurred her eyes. What if they had taken them already? What if they killed her friends? “Yes.”
“Especially Elijah. The workers at the children's home had quite a bit to say about you two.” He chuckled and scratched his chin with his thumb, eyes scanning a report. “Apparently, you had a favorite closet your last year at the school. It's the only time you got in trouble.” Another chuckle.
Heat flushed her cheeks. They'd been scared teens on the brink of adulthood with nothing but each other. Dr. Cooper making light of the solace they found in one another filled her with bitterness. “We aren't together anymore. You don't need to involve him.”
“No need to worry, dear. Your friends—your family—are safely at home. I don't think there will be any need to involve them. Do you?”
“No. They're good citizens. They do their work and honor their Phaedra.” All true.
Kira never shared anything dangerous with them, and none of them acted out the way she did.
They didn't grow up with her mother. They grew up learning they were safe as long as they followed the rules.
Life wasn't too bad for them here in Kallum, so they didn't understand that it wasn't true and that no one was safe until everyone was.
The others, the ones who spent the last three years helping her build drones, were not her family. They all kept their distance for a reason. It was safer to know little about one another.
“They honor their Phaedra,” Dr. Cooper said. “Your mother doesn't. You were separated because she was part of a terrorist cell. She took you and fled when a member of the group was captured. Do I have all that right?”
“She was never a terrorist.” The old wound still festered deep within her.
“I'm told your mother made valiant efforts to find you over the years. Still, it must feel like she chose the rebellion over you.”
“No.” Kira should probably shut up. “She chose the rebellion for me.”
Intrigue twinkled in his eye, and that didn't seem good for her. He wasn't letting her leave without digging something out of her. Why did she say it?