Page 240 of Seasons of War
Caspador may not have joined the rebellion, but it wasn't loyal. That didn't matter, though. Zayne just wanted a way to get Kira out.
“You get me and everything I know,” he said. “There's nothing else to discuss. I need to move the prisoner now, not in a few weeks once you've mapped out your twenty-year strategy.”
“You're very valuable, but this is a major ask.”
Zayne didn't have time for this. She made her decision, or she wouldn't have met with him. “I planned to kill whoever ordered Kira dead. Take this opportunity to save your life.”
“You do not want to threaten me,” Roul said.
“Trust me, I very much do.”
“This isn't the right way to begin a partnership.”
“And whose fault is that? Save Kira, and I'll forgive you.”
She guffawed. “You'll forgive me? You're the Phaedra's slave. His dog. That's all the Rivens are. If you want me to sanction the most aggressive military action the United has ever taken against the Phaedra, then you're my dog now.”
Zayne sneered. “You think you need to explain the business to me? This is my life. All I've ever known. I understand I'm replacing one master with another.” He glowered at her. “So do you want the son of the High General as your dog or not?”
The corner of her lip twitched. “I'll never trust you. You're a very disobedient dog.”
“And whose disobedient dog would you like for me to be?”
Her lips fell. “Mine.”
“Then give me those jets and get Kira out of Ciondo.”
Steady eyes watched him. “You're doing this for a woman. What a vulnerable position you've placed yourself in.”
“We're all in vulnerable positions these days. You're bleeding out. You need me.”
“Yes, we do. You'll be our best asset.”
“So stop wasting my time. Enough talking.”
She sat forward. “I must approve every detail of this operation. We can't have our most valuable resource get captured or killed.”
“Then I need anything I ask for.”
“Take it. If you're ours when this is through, take whatever you need to make it to us. The Phaedra will regret invading Caspador.”
Just as she would regret attacking Kira and trying to make Zayne her dog.
He'd play the game and maul her when this was through.
Kira's freedom was his war now. His sole priority. He'd do anything that improved her chances and didn't care about or consider what happened once he accomplished this mission. If Zayne lived to see the consequences of blowing up his life, he'd deal with it then.
General Roul wanted a dog in exchange for a jet, so she'd have one. For now.
Fighting the Phaedra required sacrificing everything without holding back. Until the day Kira awoke free from his clutches, there was no right or wrong, should or shouldn't, want or not. There were only calculations. Only a single question.
Did this improve Kira's odds of freedom?
And if the answer was yes, then the consequences be damned.
CHAPTER 56
Miya
