I flinched at the ease in which he said it, like it wasn’t that important. I knew he didn’t mean it that way, but I didn’t much like my shortcomings phrased so bluntly. “I guess they think maybe there’s a hormonal issue, or the stages of sleep are messed up. I’m not sure, but they’re insisting.”
He pressed his lips together, the ones I’d just been kissing, and I was so grateful it was Kenyon and not Shear.
Shear would have never missed the obvious lie.
Still, Kenyon sighed and nodded. “I’m not happy about it, but at least the Guild is taking your health seriously.” He pouted, the action so cute that I leaned in to offer a soft kiss.
“I’ll be back in the morning.”
“Fine,” he muttered, but sat up.
I got ready, packing a bag. It would be the first time I’d slept away from them in so long, I hardly recalled how I’d slept alone before. Sure, they weren’t going to be that far, but it didn’t make me feel any better about it.
Carter, Ingram and Shear were off at a dungeon, so I didn’t have to worry about fooling them. I wondered if Mr. Yorn had done that on purpose, if he’d ensured they wouldn’t be there to discover the truth. I walked the distance to the medical building, the sun still up. Kenyon had offered to walk with me, but I’d told him I could make it on my own.
Still, each step was more challenging than the last, and forcing myself to continue was almost impossible.
Then I thought about Mr. Yorn’s threats. I thought about Shear back at Obsidian, or the others sent to an impossible dungeon, forced into positions there was no way out of. Iwouldn’t even put it past Mr. Yorn to have his own people hurt Carter and the others during a dungeon to ensure he got what he wanted.
It meant no matter how hard this was, how little I wanted to do it, I had no choice.
“Good evening, Miss Moore,” Mr. Yorn said as I stepped into the exam room, appearing exactly as he had each other time, like this was nothing but work for him.
I pulled in a deep breath and stood straight.
No matter what I had to face, no matter what happened, I’d keep my men safe.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Yun
Everything about the medical room put me on edge. It was different from my trauma, so it didn’t set off a panic attack in the same way, but I didn’t care for it.
I felt out of control, forced into something I didn’t want, and lying to Kenyon before I’d left hadn’t made me any more comfortable.
The outfit I wore made it all worse—a cloth hospital gown.
At least it was cloth rather than paper, but it still screamed the same thing—I was at their mercy.
“Do you not care for the outfit?” Mr. Yorn asked, tone almost bored.
“I’m just not sure why it’s needed.”
“I find that quick access to anything that requires testing makes things go easier.”
That made no sense to me, not given the sort of testing I suspected he would need. I frowned, my mouth getting the better of me. “It’s not about that, is it?”
“What else would it be?”
“You’re making it clear that you’re in charge, that there is a power imbalance.”
He paused, looking right at me for a rare moment, like I’d done a trick he hadn’t expected. “You’re smarter than I would have thought, given your records. You’re right—things work best when everyone understands their position in any relationship.In this case, I am in charge. And you?” He paused, staring at me for me to answer.
“I’m not,” I said.
His smile brightened. “That’s right. Usually it takes much longer for a subject to understand that. I can’t do everything here I do at Obsidian because it isn’t set up the same. There, I usually have subjects entirely nude at first, and for some, they remain that way for a very long time. It helps reinforce the power structure.”
“And you just need that reinforced.”
