15. CHAPTER 15
Zayne
Ciondo
Zayne slipped into a small exam room with Brock, where Reinard remotely manipulated the cameras. They'd lose access soon, but it was easier to take over one camera in a confined space than multiple.
“How is she?” Zayne asked.
Brock rubbed his eyes. “Confused as hell that she woke up to some man she doesn't know.”
The rebuke didn't faze Zayne. Neither did the anger stiffen Brock's shoulders. When he opened the door to see Kira trapped in that tank, the memory of that pain cut through everything about this operation and his life, even Edwards' death.
Kira's skin had been as cold as the dead when he pulled her from the tank. If not for her violent shivering, he would have worried she was already gone.
He failed to protect her from Dr. Cooper. He failed to protect her from himself when he walked into this trap. He'd been on the defensive and let these bastards outmaneuver him. No more.
As much as he wanted to forget holding her icy body close—needed to forget—his anger kept him locked in that moment.
No matter. His mind was sharp again, and he knew what he needed to do, which was not to allow emotions and personal bonds to cloud his judgment.
“I meant medically,” Zayne said.
“She'll recover. I'm sure she felt like death, but she had more time, as long as Dr. Cooper didn't drown her. But you know how that feels.”
“Yes.” He snapped his eyes up to his friend. “I do. I need you to update me on her vitals and any damage to her health.”
“She'll make a full recovery, your highness.”
“Brock—”
“I told myself to be patient with you. You wanted to be there with us searching for our friends.” His voice rose. “But I lost them too. I can't do this right now. I can't give you the patience you need.”
A soft sigh fell from Zayne, and he clasped his friend's shoulder. “It's okay, brother. I'm okay. And I'm sorry I wasn't there to help bring them home. You don't need to protect me.”
Brock closed his eyes, his jaw balling. “What are we going to do with her?”
“I don't know.” He checked his watch for Reinard's signal. “I'm trying to get her out. But we only have another few minutes before we lose the surveillance system. Offer her comfort. I'll be in soon to help her get back to the prison.”
“She wants you.” The challenge in his friend's stare burned.
“She already suspects I'm trying to help her. There's a dangerous amount of bonding happening.”
Brock barked out a laugh. “Only you could say something so ridiculous. If she trusts you, then she'll listen to you, and you can guide her through this.”
“She's too smart. If she knows I'm trying to help her without the Phaedra knowing then she's going to put the pieces together and figure out information that'll be very dangerous for her.
You want to see her undergo real interrogation?
The kind that doesn't end? I'm not letting her learn anything else about me.”
Brock scratched his chin. “Or you're too afraid of her getting close.”
“That's not what this is about.”
“Yeah. Well.” His friend held his eyes. “I know who she is, Zayne.”
Hot frustration spread over his chest at the implication of what he said. “Do not—”
“You always send me to her when you're too much of a coward to do it yourself.”
“That's not fair.”
“It's incredibly fair. You've asked me for all these favors over the last three years, not wanting her to know you're looking out for her, not wanting her to see you. You're hiding.”
“Six people died in the North because I'm my father's son, and you want me to put Kira in a position to be next?” Zayne struggled to keep his voice under control. The reek of their blood clouded his senses. “I won't get her tortured for my secrets.”
“She already is. We have to find a better way than this.” Brock backed up a step. “I'll go today, but we're fixing this.”
All the suffering of this week overcame his anger. “I need your help with her. Okay?” He breathed out slowly. “I need help.”
Brock's face softened. “We'll go to our friends in the territories and make a plan.”
“Okay.” A look at his watch. “I should get back to the doctor.”
“What will you do?” Brock asked.
“It's already done.”
They both walked down the medical ward, and Brock passed Kira's room, following Zayne into the last door on the right.
The doctor looked up, scooting back in his chair. Vengeance hardened Zayne's insides with ice, just as Dr. Cooper's tank once had. Just as it had done to Kira.
A smile twitched onto his lips as he looked at the sling stabilizing Dr. Cooper's shoulder.
Brock stumbled to a stop. “Did you—”
“I broke his collarbone,” Zayne said. “As promised.”
The snap sounded so wonderful reverberating through his memory.
“The Phaedra won't stand for this,” Dr. Cooper snarled.
“Not from anyone else. From me?” Zayne stalked closer, leaning down as he loomed over Dr. Cooper.
“He loves when I surprise him. Just like you do.” Zayne allowed every bit of the hatred he felt for this man to fill him and did not try to hold it back.
“Stay away from Kira. Next time…” He snapped his fingers. “I might just snap and kill you.”
The doctor's shallow breaths sounded painful. Despite this, he smiled too. “So many years of work culminating. This girl will purify you and then you'll be perfect. Perfect!”
The ominous decree wound into his chest, but he wouldn't let Dr. Cooper see him shaken. “I serve the Phaedra. I don't care about your experiments.”
“Yes, you do. You're my greatest achievement to date.”
A gasping laugh bellowed from him as Zayne turned, fearful Dr. Cooper may not survive the day if he didn't leave.
He stopped at Kira's room and opened the door to where she lay on the medical bed.
A wet tendril of hair clung to the soft slope of her cheek.
She still shivered beneath the blankets, and the memory of her cold skin spread over his palm.
Zayne didn't remember many things about the reprogramming, but he often dreamed of being trapped in blood that boiled or froze, unable to breathe.
When he saw Kira writhing in that tank, the water rushed into his lungs too, and his body relived what his mind rejected.
Relived each moment all at once in a flash.
What if it haunted Kira's dreams too?
He needed to break the rest of Dr. Cooper's bones. Pulverize them into dust and stuff the debris into his lungs.
Her eyes opened weakly, stealing him from his wrath. Warmth filled her gaze. Hope. Zayne worked so hard to keep Kira from trusting him.
He refused to get her killed.
So, he forced himself to speak with his coldest voice. “You needed to learn what happens when you don't listen to me.” Every single word plunged a dagger into his gut. “Don't test me again, prisoner.”
Unbearable agony burned up the warmth in her gaze, and that precious hope in her bright eyes grew dimmer. He knew this attack surprised her more than anything else so far. Kira thought he came to save her. If she believed he ordered the torture, it would crush any bond they'd built.
That was best for her.
Zayne pushed past Brock's shocked form and abandoned Kira with all the soul-crushing fear of being the Phaedra's prisoner.
This was the only way to save her from the Phaedra's plan. From Zayne's bloody curse.
The Capital
Kallum, Ciondo
“He broke my collarbone.”
Zayne nodded. “I told you I would, and you still did it.”
They gathered with the Phaedra, his father, and brother around a large table in one of the emperor's suites. Dr. Cooper watched their emperor expectantly, but when the man's expression did not change, he turned to Zayne's father with an exasperated sigh. “Brandon.”
“This sounds like a matter between the two of you,” the High General said.
None of the Rivens forgave Dr. Cooper for what happened during reprogramming, even if his father ordered it himself.
“You stuck your hand in a lion's mouth.” The Phaedra shrugged and offered a conciliatory smile. “What did you expect? We all saw the footage of the night you drugged him.” A hesitation and he eyed Zayne. “Why did you imply to Ms. Stiles you ordered Dr. Cooper to use the tank?”
“She's already beginning to trust me,” Zayne said. “She needs to fear me too. Otherwise, she won't believe any threats we make.”
The Phaedra nodded at Dr. Cooper. “What do you think?”
“I broke her with the understanding you'd put her back together, not stomp on her shattered pieces,” the doctor said.
“I'll put her back together then.” Zayne sighed.
“Walk it back,” his father said. “Undo the damage.”
Could that damage be undone? He hoped not. Trusting him, coming close to him, meant death.
“Yes, sir.” Zayne dipped his head. “I won't repeat the mistake.”
The way Luke watched him unnerved him. “Be warmer with her. You hardly look at her.”
Willing calm into his body, he spoke without emotion. “I'll work on that, Captain.”
The Phaedra looked all too pleased to see them getting along. “I'm eager to learn about your findings, Dr. Cooper. We can critique Zayne's handling of our guest later.”
“Kira Stiles is a true idealist,” the doctor said. He lifted a remote, turned on the large screen hanging on the far wall, and flooded their view with an image of the top of the tank, where Kira shook violently in the water.
Drowning.
The freezing water washed over him right now as he watched Kira, trapped in there, all alone.
Wave after wave of pain and guilt wracked his body, but he couldn't show any of it. Kira didn't deserve to suffer.
His father looked at him, expression heavy. As far as Zayne knew, the reprogramming was one of the only things in his father's life he felt guilty about.
As the video continued, Zayne didn't react to Kira's torment or the memory. The numbness that coated his insides that day washed over him and allowed him to hide. Breaking Dr. Cooper's collarbone helped as well.
The doctor watched the screen with his coy smile, unbothered by hurting an innocent woman. “I told her to knock on the tank to tell me she was ready to comply.”
Her palm flattened against the window.