Page 72 of Seasons of War
“And don't apologize for how you handle the men who stole your freedom. Don't forget I'm one of those men.”
Why? Why was he one of those men? Why couldn't she open her mouth to ask?
Kira couldn't speak at all. She curled her hand around the fragile bud in her grasp, wanting to wilt.
“Let's get you back inside. You should rest.” Zayne nodded at the house, but she didn't move.
Instead, she drew the fist protecting her sprout to her heart. “If the Phaedra orders you to hurt me, you will.” Kira couldn't look at him. “You're not my friend.”
An agonizing pause.
Zayne spoke in a quiet, resolute voice. “No, I'm not your friend. I'm your prison guard. And I can't defy the Phaedra. I'll hurt you if he orders me to.”
Kira nodded, stringing all his warnings over the last week together. “A man who cares but follows orders… The Phaedra iscunning.”
“I'm a poison you'll beg to drink.” It sounded even more menacing than the first time, now that she heard fear instead of hate.
Looking at him in the darkness, it terrified her that she was starting to understand what he meant.
“I'll heed your warning,” she said. “But you listen to me, Zayne Riven. Don't make decisions for me. You think because I'm a woman and a civilian, I'm yours to protect. You don't know better than I do about what I need.”
“Okay,” he said, no arguing or justifying. Something glimmered in his eye that she couldn't read. “We have an understanding, then.”
“Yes.” Kira didn't offer him excuses this time, not even in the quiet of her heart. “We do.”
Darkness softened his face, and while she may not have put all the pieces of this man together, she glimpsed the picture he made well enough.
Zayne was a very dangerous man.
CHAPTER 18
Kira
The Capital
Kallum, Ciondo
833 P.C. [Post-Collapse]
The first few days with Adelle wasn't simply a respite from the prison, but like coming home for the first time since losing Mom. No wonder Zayne looked so alarmed to see them embracing that first night. If the Phaedra wanted Kira to bond deeply to Zayne's mom, then resisting that plan felt hopeless.
Adelle was genuinely kind. Openly kind, with no attempt to hide it or excuse it away. She treated Kira like a family guest instead of a prisoner.
How could a woman married to a war criminal, raising the future leaders of this cruel empire, be kind?
It wasn't an act either. If Adelle were a master liar and manipulator, the Phaedra would pack her days full so there'd be no time for lunches and gardening. And Adelle never missed a day in her greenhouse.
This home was an oasis. Adelle was allowed to be herself here. Maybe Kira could be while this lasted.
Her third morning in the home, Kira awoke to the savory aroma of bacon cooking and found the kitchen door wide open, when Zayne said it needed to stay locked.
Adelle's voice called out to her. “Come in.”
“I thought I wasn't supposed to be in here.” She wandered into the doorway.
“The drawers are locked and need my fingerprint to open. It's paranoid to close you off from the kitchen.” Giving a mischievous grin, she lifted both brows. “Just don't tell my husband. We'll keep the door locked when he's home.”
“What about Zayne?”
