58. CHAPTER 58
Luke
The Capital
Kallum, Ciondo
Luke's family had spent the morning at Memorial Park with guests from all over Ciondo to honor the passing of his mother, which the empire believed came about from a heart attack.
Each member of the family cast one handful of ashes into the air, returning her spirit to the Old Ones, and one into the receiving bowl for the Vault of Honor.
Steepled towers of ashes glowed with the sun around the park, the final resting place for those who lived a worthy life. The Phaedra only allowed Mom here because of her status. Otherwise, she would have been tossed out with the damned in the Ruins, lost to the desert forever.
Luke had scattered ashes many times, but never with his girls beside him.
Never when it felt like this. His daughters had touched the golden tears falling from the Phaedra's statue, flowing into the black pebbles covering the park.
The sound of their weeping looped through his mind constantly today, no matter what he did.
Now their sobbing reverberated off the prison walls while he walked the final stretch to Kira's cell and shoved her door open.
A startled gasp left her mouth, and she scampered off the bed, watching each step he took.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“My mom was fine before she met you.” He continued until he backed her up against the wall. “A few weeks of you, and now she's dead.”
Pain flashed in Kira's eyes, but it didn't satisfy Luke.
“Who will you kill next? You infected my mom with your ridiculous ideas. My brother doesn't need you twisting his mind either.” He eased in, forcing her to push herself against the wall. “I'm here to put a stop to this.”
Luke never entirely understood Kira. She could be quiet and shy, but when challenged, she was so defiant. This time, he witnessed a new side to her, perhaps the worst yet. Kindness shone beyond the fear in her eyes. “I'm so sorry you and your family are hurt.”
He placed a hand against the wall. “Does that meaningless compassion work on my brother? You still haven't given in. I can see it in your eyes. Do you need to drown in blood before you stop?”
“Do you?” Kira searched his eyes. “How many people will the Phaedra force you to kill before you stop destroying the empire for him?”
The gall of this woman, speaking such nonsense after all they'd lost. “If the Phaedra released the territories, they'd destroy each other in a year. Their chaos isn't better than our control. Their power-hungry leaders will feast on the bones of ordinary people when given the chance.”
“So whatever crimes you commit is fine?”
He thought of his daughter drawing wings on his back and of the people he killed to earn that mark. “Whatever protects us from collapse and lets our children sleep safely is fine by me.”
“Whose children? Only yours?”
Calm worked over his thoughts until he only heard his heart beating. This was the kind of calm that came before a kill, one that enabled Luke to become whoever the Phaedra needed him to be.
“Do you understand that I'll kill you?” Luke studied her to see if she grasped that. “I won't even blink.”
He heard her swallow, but she didn't back down. “I do.”
“I hate killing civilians. I hate hurting them. But I do what needs to be done without hesitation.” His daughters' cries filled his ears.
“My father should never have let Zayne take the hit for you.
You've been bleeding everyone else's blood all this time, saying you'll die before you cooperate, when you don't know what pain feels like.”
“You're here to teach me what it feels like.” Kira's jaw tightened. “Because you think you could ever hurt me more than I've already been hurt. I would rather it be my blood.”
“In your mind, maybe. The body is different. I know you're too stubborn to acknowledge you're wrong, but I want you to understand this is only a taste of the pain you'll cause my brother if you don't stop.”
Her eyes closed, and she turned her face away, still not begging him to stop or promising to do whatever he wanted.
The Phaedra made a mistake with her. She was never coming to their side.
She'd never be controlled as an unwitting asset, either.
There was something wrong with this woman.
She fought a war she'd never win, one that only hurt her and the people she loved.
Luke doubted he'd sway her, but this was the only thing no one had tried yet. And it was because his family didn't relish hurting an innocent woman. They needed to be stronger than this.
Kira peeked her eyes open when he hadn't moved yet. He imagined his brother standing here and how he'd feel looking at her. Zayne was never going to resist someone like her.
The Phaedra made a terrible mistake.
Clenching his teeth, Luke reared back and smacked the back of his hand against her face.
The hit knocked her against the wall and dropped her to the floor.
Shock filled him that he actually did it.
He'd killed plenty of civilians, but always by pulling the trigger and walking away. He didn't strike them.
Kira lay limp on the ground, her hair covering her face. Did he hit her too hard?
Luke grabbed her arm and ripped her up, her head bobbing.
Strings of blood ran from her mouth. Her eyes fluttered open, and she moaned quietly. The side of her face already swelled. The hit busted her lip open and likely forced her teeth to cut deep into her cheeks.
He needed to finish the job, not prolong this unsavory process. The Phaedra allowed Luke this one chance to correct Kira's course. If it didn't work, he feared what came next.
Zayne needed Luke to save him from himself. His daughters and siblings needed him to wear his wings so no one else in this family ever had to.
So, Luke withdrew the syringe from his pocket. “A pure dose of PXI. It'll help you recover and teach you pain you didn't know existed.”
Her eyes struggled to stay open.
Luke only used a pure dose of PXI once out of desperation in the field.
Who knew how many times his crazy brother shot it into his body.
Now Kira would know how it felt. She'd know what awaited her friends when the Phaedra tortured them to death, and what awaited Zayne if she kept trying to break his willpower. She'd know real pain.
“The Phaedra has given your mom four days to bring us three more locations. If she doesn't, then he'll hurt your friends. And he'll hurt you.”
Terror widened her eyes.
“He'll make you all beg for death. Before that happens, record a video for your mom showing your desperation. Beg her to find a way to save you. We'll make sure it gets delivered.”
“Don't…” Kira cried out when she tried to talk, clenching her eyes shut. “Hurt them…”
“That's up to you and your mom.” Her video may do nothing, but the way she acted around his brother made a difference. He was under constant assault by her idealism.
Luke straightened her arm. She pushed at him, but he inserted the needle anyway and injected her.
Her body shot rigid before he even finished pushing the medication. A horrible scream pried from her lips.
Kira collapsed onto the ground, writhing, the muscles in her body contracting so hard that he could see the spasms.
Horror filled him at what he'd done, but this was best for her and Zayne. So, he forced himself to watch and witness the suffering he caused.
After a full minute of shrieking, her cries wilted and her body slackened. Her hands twitched. Kira whimpered constantly, struggling for breath.
Luke pushed her hair out of her face and turned her to be able to see him. “That's pain. That's what you'll be doing to your friends and yourself.” His nostrils flared. “That's what you'll do to Zayne if you don't stop.”
Unable to stand watching any longer, he placed water beside her, and then he left. His daughters' cries now mixed with Kira's and the sounds beat away at him as he walked down the hall.
Did Mom cry out before she died?
Zayne would find Kira this evening. Luke needed to prepare himself for that fight, to stay on guard for whatever he might do.
Those two didn't understand, but Luke just showed them kindness, giving them a taste of the hell that awaited them if they didn't relent.