25. CHAPTER 25 #3
No wonder Kira felt so much trust and kinship with Adelle.
She was like her mother. Growing up, Kira never knew how to contact the Followers, even if she wanted to.
By the time she joined the newspaper, she didn't need them beyond looking for her mom.
When she never found any leads, Kira didn't pursue further.
Perhaps, one day, she may be interested in revisiting it as an adult.
At the same time, Kira didn't believe the myths surrounding the Old World.
Thousands of years from now, Ciondo may be the legend people create to explain.
The world had always been full of people who loved and hated, lived and died, gave life and took it.
While Kira followed that thread of justice weaving through the history of mankind, of all living beings, she didn't need to attribute it to any faith.
But she respected that her mother and Adelle did. Whatever being a Follower meant to them, they both stood against the evil of the Phaedra, and Kira understood that cost.
“Do you know my mother?” Kira asked, hope warming her.
“No. I keep a low profile given who I am.”
Disappointment stung that she couldn't ask anything about her mom. “Zayne isn't one, right?”
Adelle chuckled. “No, no.” Another laugh. “Oh, certainly not.”
Did that mean that Zayne didn't agree with the religious aspects or that he was loyal? When Adelle didn't explain further, Kira didn't press, afraid of placing her in a position where she shared anything she didn't feel safe talking about.
“I'm sure you're wondering about Brandon.
My husband doesn't know the details. He told me once what he can tolerate, and we haven't discussed it since.” Adelle leaned against the railing surrounding the pond.
“After thirty-two years of marriage, we know each other very well, even if there's many things we can't know about each other.”
That man who brutalized the empire with his ruthless war and inhumane strikes against civilians and children tolerated his wife's rebellion?
“You really do live in a complicated house,” Kira said.
Now they both chuckled. And though Kira didn't know what any of these people believed, she felt certain of one thing.
Adelle and Kira were kindred spirits.
They did need to meet.
In an empire, in a house, where Kira knew better than to trust others, she entirely trusted Adelle, and she refused to question her spirit.
“I don't want to hurt you.” Kira now faced Adelle, voice resolute.
“Sweet child.” Loving hands took her face, and it didn't matter how short a time they had known each other.
Adelle welcomed Kira into her home and heart without reservation.
“I've fought this war since long before you were born. My husband is the High General.” Strength undergirded her gentleness.
“I may have no such title or recognition, but I'm stronger than him and my children.
They needed me to be. So, you won't worry about me. This is my war.”
The touch along her cheeks eased deep into her heart. “I don't understand any of it.” Her jaw clenched, so much fear alive in her at all times. “But I trust you. I trust what you do.”
Adelle tucked her hair behind both ears. “Good. Your job is to stay alive and resist the Phaedra. That's more than any person can handle. I won't have you taking on my job as well. I'll look after myself.”
“Okay.” Tears pricked her eyes. The powerful, life-giving spirit of Adelle softened Kira to all she carried on her own for so many years, especially here in captivity. “I'm so scared.”
“I won't let you go.” The mother drew her into a warm hug, holding tight. “We'll endure this together.”
“The Phaedra won't let me stay with you forever.”
“We're taking this one day at a time. I can do more than the Phaedra or Brandon allows me.” Her whisper fell against Kira's ear while she held her. “And so can my son. Don't lose heart.”
Squeezing her eyes shut, Kira clung to Adelle, uncertain of what all this meant for her, but at peace with not knowing.
After so many years of longing for her mother, Adelle's love and embrace poured into the deepest reaches of her soul with the deep kind of healing that hurt and felt amazing at the same time.
The Phaedra understood Kira's need when he sent her into Adelle Riven's home.
He understood how perfectly a conflicted man like Zayne Riven might infiltrate her trust. And he believed that together the Riven family would destroy Kira.
That Adelle's love and Zayne's resistance to hurting her would poison her, just like Zayne first warned her.
So, it might seem wise to run.
“We're stronger than the Phaedra,” Kira said, resting in the moment of peace. “The thread we're woven into survived the Collapse, and it'll survive him. Good can survive any amount of suffering and evil.”
Those ideas came from the Followers, but Kira made them her own. She buried them in her heart.
What the Phaedra planned for her ruin, Kira would use as her strength.
She was not running like Zayne wanted her to.
Because as his mother said, he got scared too. And Kira did not accept Adelle's love and friendship in fear, but in power.