37. CHAPTER 37
Zayne
The Capital
Kallum, Ciondo
The PXI glowed through the window of his father's car, casting its haze on hardened frowns. Zayne's was only for show, however.
Kira Stiles did it again.
This time, she wrote in so many skies that they awaited the final tally. Over one hundred and counting, as of now.
From the number of drones she built and the uranium she stole over the years, he expected a bigger show than the first time, but nothing like this.
She was incredible.
The Phaedra must have been fuming right now.
When they reached his study in the tower, their father said only one thing. “Stay out of my way in there.”
The brothers nodded. Zayne knew not to interfere, so for Father to mention it implied danger.
Darkness filled the Phaedra's study, but the red glow illuminated shattered glass strewn about the floor. Broken furniture littered the room—a desk flipped on its edge, couch cushions torn, multiple chairs lying in pieces.
His father groaned and walked ahead of them down the hall toward the light.
“Phaedra,” he said.
A throaty roar erupted from the room. Normally, the Phaedra never lost his composure. In the rare times he did, Zayne never saw him destroy a room.
“Whatever you do, stay quiet,” Luke said. “I've seen this once. Even if he asks you a question, lower your head.”
That sounded like genuine concern.
“Get in here.” The Phaedra roared again. “All of you.”
The two brothers walked through the broken glass into the planetarium where the Phaedra stood over a raging red sun.
“Three hundred eighty-one skies.” Spittle flew from his mouth. His eyes looked wild. “Millions of people saw my power undermined.”
The self-control required to lower his head, to hold back his triumphant laughter, impressed even him.
The last time Kira did this, the Phaedra ranted about it for weeks.
Now she screamed her rebellion for all Ciondo to hear.
She destroyed the Phaedra's study through his own hand and buried herself in his mind.
What would she do with her freedom in the territories? That was worth dying for.
Kira was worth dying for.
“From now on, I personally approve any course of study that could be used for PXI,” the Phaedra said.
“Yes, Phaedra.” His father also bowed his head. “We'll create a dedicated program directly under your supervision.”
“Bring me every person in Ciondo who works with drones.”
Zayne's brows rose before he caught it. Every person?
The High General hesitated. “We'll investigate them.”
“We'll exterminate them. This is about the sovereignty of the empire.”
Luke's eyes shifted to Zayne, and then he lowered his head further. For once, Zayne followed the other man's lead. The Phaedra had never acted this way in front of him before. No way his father would kill all the drone operators. The military needed them.
Now their emperor stalked back and forth, seething. “How could this happen?” He ripped a vase off a slim table and threw it at the High General's chest.
His father didn't flinch. Only kept his head lowered when the glass shattered on the floor.
“You let this happen. I should kill you and replace you with one of your sons.” The Phaedra lifted the little table now, heaving it at Zayne and Luke.
They both kept their eyes trained down as it slammed into the wall between them.
“But you,” the Phaedra pointed at Luke. “You're a disappointment.” Now he snarled at Zayne. “And you refuse to behave.”
Tilting his head back, the Phaedra raised his fists and screamed.
“I think that's enough, Xavier.” No one ever spoke the Phaedra's birth name. “Come. Let's make you comfortable.”
The Phaedra breathed heavily. “Fuck you, Brandon. Get this fucking empire in order. Get your children in order.” His voice rose more with each word. “This damage cannot be undone.”
“You're too clever to believe that.” His father looked at peace, but Zayne knew he couldn't be. “Will you really let an anonymous rebel outsmart you? This will play into your hands in the end.”
Never. Kira won this time.
“Don't coddle me,” the Phaedra said.
“Don't throw furniture at my sons.”
The Phaedra's nostrils twitched. “I'll hold you personally responsible for the fallout. These are your skies to protect.” He eyed Zayne and Luke again.
“I'm advancing all aspects of our operation.
It's been a full day, and Becka Rogers hasn't given us the information.
Put that bitch in her place. Bring her to me.
We'll see how quiet she is when she's face-to-face with her kid.”
The room spun. He'd capture Becka and torture Kira until she broke. How long did that give him to get her out of Ciondo?
And how did the Phaedra expect them to infiltrate the United's base, steal Becka from captivity, and successfully escape with her? His brother looked pale.
“Luke will lead the mission,” the Phaedra said. “Zayne will assist on the ground. You leave in two days. Don't bother coming home without her.”
He couldn't break Kira out in two days. There were too many gaps in their escape route.
“Making contact with her is far simpler than breaking her out of the base,” Father said. “My boys will go to her in person and show her the video of Kira in the tank. Tell her it's happening in real time.”
That was a devastatingly good plan. Zayne's heart raced.
The Phaedra grumbled, but he didn't refuse. He was too smart to choose the riskier operation, no matter his rage.
“We can discuss the details later,” their emperor said.
A sigh from the High General. “Can we get your medicinal tea now, my Phaedra?”
But the emperor stared at Zayne and Luke for several seconds longer while they kept their heads bowed.
Finally, he left, and Zayne sucked in a breath.
“Shit.” Luke gripped the back of his neck with both hands.
Zayne hardened himself against the rising tide of panic. It wasn't possible to get Kira out in the next two days, so he needed to sabotage this mission. Great.
“What a mess,” Luke said.
He didn't know the half of it.
His brother's eyes looked so sad. What the Phaedra said must have cut to his core.
“He didn't mean it,” Zayne said. “He's just angry and scared.”
“Of course he meant it. I am a disappointment. And you never behave.” Luke met his eyes. “I don't want your pity, brother.”
Mom toyed with her necklace while sitting on the armchair in her bedroom. “How does this change things?”
Apart from Zayne's tree and the woods outside, this room was the only other place he felt comfortable talking in the capital. Father knew enough to protect Mom from surveillance here.
“It moves up the timeline,” Zayne said. “We need to do this now, not in a week.”
“We can't. We have no idea how to get her through the mountains.”
“I'll keep Luke from getting the information from Becka, but the Phaedra will be furious after another failure. He might hurt Kira. I'll give your elder whatever he wants. Anything.”
Mom clasped her necklace. “I will, but he really doesn't know a way through.”
“You can't trust what he says. He opened his doors to the United and turned innocent civilians into soldiers and spies. We'll press him.”
“I will, but I believe him. What he did with the United is wrong. He did it to help people, though. Sending the kids to the front lines changed everything.”
“Then his judgment isn't to be trusted.” That fast-track order had such far-reaching consequences. “Why did Dad agree to sending kids out to war?”
She moved to sit beside Zayne on the edge of the bed. “There's always a reason to capitulate. The Phaedra gave him a choice. The fast-track program or a fifty percent increase in sensitive targets.”
Schools. Hospitals. Apartment buildings. What would Zayne do in that position? If he took his father's place, he'd face the same problems. “He's not helpless. If he cared enough, he'd find another way.”
Mom nodded. “You're right. The man I married is gone. He disappeared one imperceptible piece at a time. One lesser evil and compromise at a time. One day he had vowed to do better than his father, and here we are thirty years later.”
That stung like an indictment against him. “You think I'll fail.”
“No.” She squeezed his shoulder. “I know you won't. You may get lost along the way, but you'll always make it home.”
Zayne wasn't sure anymore. The dilemmas and compromises would become worse as High General, not easier. “What if I can't get her out, Mom?” He'd banished that question from his mind for weeks. “She told me to choose the Followers over her. I can't.”
Mom slid her hand over his face and stroked his cheek with her thumb. “I'm not scared you won't get her out.” Her eyes glistened. “I'm scared you'll die doing it.”
As badly as he wanted to reassure her, he couldn't promise that.
Pain churned in her stare. “Go with her.”
His heart slowed. “What?”
“Leave all this behind,” Mom said. “Be free.”
Zayne drew back, and her hand fell. “And what? Throw rocks at the Phaedra?”
“Anything as long as you're not trapped here anymore.”
“I'd spend my life on the run, accomplishing nothing. What good am I then?” He couldn't sit here listening to this. Stalking to the other side of the room, he glanced back. “You just want me to be happy.”
“Yes,” Mom cried. “Be happy, baby.” A smile mixed in with the tears contorting her face. “Abandon your father's legacy of compromise and war.”
“What's come over you?” He wanted to punch his fist through the wall. The surge of emotion swept him away swiftly. “We've talked about this forever. I'll take Father's place and do what he should have done.”
“You're dying.” She covered her lips. “Last night I saw life in your eyes for the first time in so long.
We were wrong. This isn't how you fight the Phaedra.
There's only death here. Either you become your father, or you die resisting.
And I know you, sweet boy. You'll never become Brandon.
You'll just be dead. You can't fight the Phaedra if you're gone.”