Chapter 35
Chapter thirty-five
Wynn wrapped her arms around her knees tighter and pressed her forehead into her kneecaps until her brow throbbed with insistent pain.
It didn’t help calm her spinning mind, but it blocked out the white glare of the room.
Any second now, the mental torture session could resume, stealing memories that weren’t anyone else’s to own.
Her arm stung where she’d dug her nails into her skin, but even that wasn’t helping settle her thoughts.
Her skin itched and chafed. Small drops of crimson seeped through the thin, white material of her top. It caught her gaze and held.
A crawling sensation crept over every inch of her skin.
In her mind, she bathed in blood—her demise at the hands of these people.
Expectant dread settled over her shoulders.
She’d tried to find a way out, but couldn’t feel a hatch or door.
She existed in this small space, and there was nothing else.
This was the extent of her world. A white cube and disturbing memories.
What else is there?
She couldn’t remember.
Minutes passed into what felt like hours. Her empty stomach clenched on nothing. Maybe I’ll starve to death. She would prefer that to what they’d already done to her mind.
She remained in her static existence. Waiting. Waiting for when they ended this game and dissected her in the name of science. She pressed her forehead to her knees harder, relishing the pain.
A hissing sound emerged from all around her. Startled, Wynn lifted her head, eyes blinking against the whiteness. She dropped her hands beside her hips, and braced, waiting for the walls to change into another memory.
They shifted, but not in the way she expected. The subtle patterning on the white walls lifted, moving upward above her head. An alternative source of light seeped in from below, then widened as the cube rose.
Wynn rolled to her knees, muscles bunching as she fisted her hands against the padded floor, ready to fight for her life. A terminal emerged on her left, another on her right.
The cube continued upward, and she stood on shaky legs. Blood pumped through her extremities, making her toes tingle. How long had she been in here? She didn’t know, her sense of time suspended like the box above her.
Her breaths shortened as she took in the rest of her surroundings. Defenders, at least twenty of them, crowded the space. Red lights pulsed around the room at regular intervals while she stood on a platform in the center of a science lab. Like a damn experiment. Tension ratcheted up her spine.
The defenders didn’t advance or point their weapons at her. Among them, two medical officers clad in black stood stock-still, their faces expressionless. They all appeared to be waiting for something.
A burning sort of anxiety seeped into her lungs. Wynn turned, then sucked in a breath when her eyes landed on the only other person wearing black. Iax. He held a gun, and his flight-suit outlined the width of his chest and the definition in his muscles.
She hadn’t realized how uncertain she’d been about his survival until this moment.
Without thinking, she jumped, throwing herself at him. He caught her against his chest, arms holding her so tight her feet didn’t touch the deck. This is real. He was solid and whole in her arms. The pliant material of the flight-suit rubbed against her skin.
Her lungs emptied in one long breath laced with profound relief. The buzzing in her head cleared, and the spinning of the room slowed.
“Wynn Lambdin,” he breathed against her hair, the gentle tone calming her. A ragged breath shuddered in and out of his body.
Her throat clogged with relieved tears, and she pushed her face into his neck and inhaled. His scent filled her head, and his heart beat against her chest in a steady rhythm, calming her more. Wynn squeezed her eyes shut, wanting everything to disappear but them.
She pulled back a little and looked up into his glinting eyes. A red tinge colored his cheeks and neck. His expression turned thunderous when his gaze landed on her sleeve.
“You are hurt.” His hands skimmed to her forearm, and his body shook, the vibration settling into her bones.
Wynn glanced down at the dots of blood. “Only a little.” Her tongue darted out to moisten her chapped lips. “I did it to myself.” And there were more pressing concerns than a few scratches. “They stole my memories. Of everything. Of you. I couldn’t stop it.”
His hands paused in their inventory of her body.
“They know who I am.” And she was still processing that truth. That she’d been born in Sector Ten. That she’d been in the presence of Briar Galloway, then sent away with others.
Iax’s eyes glinted from the overhead lights, his body trembling. He nodded once. “I understand.” His arms around her squeezed before he set her on her feet.
She gasped as the coolness of the deck connected with her bare soles. He took her hand in his.
“I didn’t want to tell them,” she added, her voice shaking as much as his body. The person-sized box looked benign hanging from the overhead. “That thing somehow pulled thoughts from my head without my cooperation. I couldn’t stop it.”
“I understand,” he said again after a beat, then turned his head to look at one defender.
Wynn sucked in a sharp breath. It wasn’t a defender after all, but Sawyer. He wore a defender’s uniform like the others, blending in, but she would never forget the man who had strung her up for torture.
A hard knot formed in her throat as she stared at him, his body stiff, his eyes glinting like the others. He’d been so angry when he’d questioned her, but now all she saw was detachment.
It’s not right.
As much as she hated him, every cell protested at seeing him this way.
She shouldn’t care. The man had forced her from her home, destroyed it, and attempted to murder Iax multiple times.
She shouldn’t care he’d been changed. That didn’t stop the crawling sensation from traveling up her spine and over her scalp at the way he stared at her.
Where Iax had nuance to his expression, Sawyer looked completely empty behind his eyes compared to the fire she’d seen on their journey here.
She jumped back when Sawyer lifted his weapon, her shoulders slamming into Iax’s chest. Then Sawyer swiveled, aiming at the terminals surrounding the box. Pop. Pop. Pop.
An involuntary shout escaped her as glass and sparks flew in all directions. Next, Sawyer aimed at the box itself, and she ducked against Iax’s chest as metal and circuitry shattered and fell to the floor. Crash. Hardware fizzled and popped.
A hollow silence rang in the wake of the destruction. Then they were moving, Iax’s hand around her waist, lifting her above the glass and debris that crunched beneath the defenders’ boots. He didn’t set her down until they’d exited the lab.
Iax’s hand tugged her along, his chest pressed against her shoulder. Sawyer remained close on her other side as they hurried down the corridor. Bracketed between them, the men traveled as one, their steps in sync.
They turned a corner, and Wynn peered up at Sawyer. He cast her a quick glance, then focused forward. Nausea swirled in her stomach.
“Where are we going?” she asked, her throat tight and scratchy.
Iax answered. “To the bridge.”
Her feet skidded against the cold deck as fear gripped her heart. “What? Why?” They needed to get off this damn ship as fast as possible.
His hand was under her elbow in the next moment, herding her along. “We will all travel to Sector Ten.”
She stopped, and his chest knocked into her. “No,” she said with a shake of her head. “You can’t take this entire ship.” Scowling at him, she lifted her chin.
He tilted his head, eyes glinting. “I need to guarantee they will not pursue us.”
“Then figure out a different way.” When he continued to stare at her, impassive, she gritted her jaw. “If you take this ship, this warship, then the CORE will surely attack Sector Ten in retaliation. Do you want that?”
The entire group did not move in the wake of her question. The alertness reminded her of a computer system processing data too big for its servers. Wynn sucked in a breath and kept Iax’s gaze, willing him to see the truth in her words.
The CORE government was already on edge with Calypsons and Tellusians alike. A large-scale attack, like absconding with a fully armed and staffed Guardian, would bring war to Sector Ten’s doorstep. The CORE wouldn’t be able to ignore it.
Stars above, they might not already because of what Iax had done.
Iax blinked, then nodded. “You may be right. We will leave instead. And quickly.”
Wynn didn’t have time to bask in her full-body relief, because they were moving again, switching directions to return where they’d come, Iax on her right and Sawyer on her left.
They passed by the open door to the lab, then neared a junction.
The group’s steps slowed, perfectly in time with one another.
She heard a rustling, and turned her head to see a section of defenders at the back of the group spinning around, guns raised. They all stopped, the barrier of defenders around her making it hard to see what was happening.
Weapons fire blasted through the corridor, connecting with some defenders. Their autonomous shielding rippled with the impact, and the group closed tighter around her. Sawyer’s shoulder pressed against hers. The terminals lining the walls and the overhead burst apart from the onslaught.
She gripped Iax’s arm where he blocked her body with his.
“Use your gun or something,” she shouted at him as he stood there unmoving.
“There is no need for my weapon here.”
The commotion from the direction of the weapons fire faltered, and the deafening pops faded. Wynn shifted her position, needing to see, and caught sight of new defenders through the gaps of people. They had joined the fray, sneaking up behind those who had launched the attack.