Page 31 of Seasons of War
“Kira Stiles.”
“Your age.”
“Twenty-five.”
“One lie about you.”
After considering, she said, “I love salad.”
He chuckled, glancing at the monitors. “Your mother's name?”
Pain sparked thinking about her. Pain and worry. “Rebecka Stiles.”
“Do you know her by any other name?”
“No.”
“What about Becka Rogers?”
“No.”
A nod while he looked at the monitor. “When was the first time you heard that your mother was working with the United?”
“The day I was taken prisoner.”
Her heart beat hard even though she told the truth. At least now they knew she hadn't been lying when she answered these same questions back in prison.
The interrogation continued with the basics, from questions about the last time Kira had seen her mother—the day soldiers tore them apart—to where she worked.
“You were separated from your mom at a young age. Do you have anyone in Ciondo you consider family?”
Her hands clamped around the armrests. “Yes.”
“Names.”
Nostrils flaring, she shook her head. “I'm not sharing names with you.”
The doctor sat back, both brows raised at her change in tone. “I assure you I don'tplan to hurt them.”
“I'll tell you their names if you put on all this equipment and tell me no one in the empire plans to hurt them.”
A smile crept onto his face. “I have a list of everyone you interact with on a daily basis. I simply want to read your biosignatures while you say the name of the people you love.” He snapped his fingers, and a nurse rushed forward with a folder.
He simply wanted to do that, did he? A simple matter of measuring who she loved and how much, so the Rivens and the Phaedra knew who to hurt.
These people didn't know her. Kira tended to be shy in big groups, and she avoided confrontation because she didn't like hurting feelings. But she wasn't shy about the people she cared for, and she had years of practice fighting through fear to stand against the Phaedra.
“Diamond, Patricia, Elijah,” Dr. Cooper said.
Their faces flooded her mind. Their voices. Hundreds of moments she longed to relive now that she had lost them.
“Your closest friends.” Insatiable curiosity replaced the fake smile. “Would you call them family?”
Tears blurred her eyes. What if they had taken them already? What if they killed her friends? “Yes.”
“Especially Elijah. The workers at the children's home had quite a bit to say about you two.” He chuckled and scratched his chin with his thumb, eyes scanning a report. “Apparently, you had a favorite closet your last year at the school. It's the only time you got in trouble.” Another chuckle.
Heat flushed her cheeks. They'd been scared teens on the brink of adulthood with nothing but each other. Dr. Cooper making light of the solace they found in one another filled her with bitterness. “We aren't together anymore. You don't need to involve him.”
