Takara tsked, shaking her head. “First of all, I know no such thing. Only the vague hints you’ve dropped here and there about your supposed past and missions.”
Rynna crossed her arms, a flicker of frustration rising.
“Second, while most of what you’ve shared has been ambiguous at best, one thing is absolutely clear: Kaelith has some kind of attachment to you. And that attachment seems to be mutual, considering you brought him here.”
“Takara—”
“In this situation,AwakenedRynna, I am your Warden, not your friend. And I am responsible for the safety of Ember Reach, not your love life.”
Goddamn. Rynna bit back the complaint forming on her lips. The woman was right. She was being a brat, not the soldier they needed right now. “You really think we need him?”
The Ember Warden pursed her lips thoughtfully. “I don’t know, but it seems likely. And I’m not about to pass up the opportunity to gain some leverage over the old snake.”
“Okay.” Rynna ground her teeth, then nodded.
A twitch of surprise crossed Takara’s face. “Really? No more arguments?”
“No.” Rynna rolled her eyes. “You’re right, and I’m letting my emotions cloud my judgment.”
“Of course I’m right.” The Ember Warden smirked before her usual sharpness eased into something softer. “It must be hard, though, being both so young and so old at the same time.”
“Whatever, Granny,” Rynna quipped, giving the woman’s hand a quick squeeze. “Let’s just get this over with. The faster I get answers, the sooner I can get to the front.”
The dimly lit room smelled of damp earth and iron, and the cold stone walls, lined with faded wooden beams, creaked under every footstep. A single lantern cast long shadows across the floor, illuminating a low, weathered table and coils of thick rope beside it.
Kaelith sat in the corner on the floor, cross-legged with the same loose, flowing garments she’d left him in, draping his form. His wrists, though, were now bound with heavy shackles, the iron links holding his hands tightly together as they rested in his lap. But despite the new bruises marring his face and the deep purple of a fresh black eye, he seemed oddly at peace.
“Looks like someone got to you before me.” Rynna leaned against the door she’d just closed, though a flash of anger at the sight of his injuries twisted in her gut.
“Hmm?” He opened one eye, wincing as the skin split, the fresh cut across his brow beginning to ooze again.
“Why do you want to speak to me, Kaelith?” Rynna huffed, stepping closer and tossing him a grimy towel from the small table in the center of the cell.
I thought we said everything that needed to be said years ago, she shot the thought down the mental link that still bound them.
He’d all but thrown her from his secret lab when she’d found him after the Ascension, ostensibly looking for Taren.
He paused mid-dab.And I thought you wanted me out of your mind.
Out loud, he said, “Things have changed. Whatever you did when you pulled me out...it changed me.” His eyes fixed on the bright red blood soaking into the tissue, before holding it up. “Or at least changed me back...to my original physical form.”
Seeing the bloodied tissue, she remembered her shock the first time Fang Unit had been able to injure him with blades, and the purple ichor Bran’s daggers had drawn.
Some things can’t be shared out loud, she answered his thought, even as her mouth went dry. She knew the taste of that red blood, like fire down her throat, spreading through her veins.
“Your body may be restored, but whatever’s left of your soul is still as foul as it was before I found you.”
Indeed, pet.Some things are better left in the dark.The deep, knowing hum that followed sent a tremor down her spine.
Years of training and experience had honed her mind to resist manipulation, but Kaelith always knew how to slip through her defenses. Then, as if he could sense the verymemories she was trying to suppress, his lips curved into a slow, wicked smile, and he extended his elongated, snake-like tongue, dragging it slowly across his lower lip.
“You can’t undo what you did...to all those children...to your own Reach.”He’s a monster, she reminded herself over and over, even as her chest rose and fell with growing urgency.
He’s your monster, Fenn’s words echoed in her mind.
Fuck!
“I regret...” His voice hesitated, pulling her from the spiral of doubts. “I regret much of what I did after you left.”
