She blinked slowly, but the way her gaze darted around said she couldn’t quite follow. “I was at Medical…” Her voice trailed off, eyes widening, understanding filling them.
For a moment, I hated being the one to force her to recall, wanted to remove that all from her mind. The girl had suffered too much already—she didn’t need whatever this was.
She bolted upright, stumbling away from me and blindly toward the bathroom. Her gait was unsteady and she tripped more than once, but the narrow space of the trailer meantshe furniture-surfed using the kitchen counter. She found the bathroom and hunched over the toilet when I followed.
She dry heaved, nothing coming up, so I reached out and held her hair back. By the time she sat on her heels, sweat covered her face, her skin was flushed and her eyes glassy from both the drugs and the exertion.
I helped her rinse her mouth, then escorted her back to the couch, this time giving her room.
“You can’t tell them.”
Thatsurprised me. I’d known those fucking espers of hers had something to do with this, but it seemed they truly didn’t know anything.
“Why not? And can you tell me whatthisis, exactly?”
I watched in real time those guards of hers slam shut. I’d witnessed it countless times before, but this time it occur so clearly, in slow motion, since whatever drugs they’d given her slowed her reactions. Where that would have normally been the end of the conversation, it seemed the drugs also loosened the grip she had upon her tongue, because she spoke softly afterward. “Mr. Yorn…”
“I told you to stay away from anything to do with Obsidian.” Just the name of the man who ran that place chilled me, made me want to lock the door and gather her closer. I’d heard whispers about him, and none had been good.
“He said he’d kill them if I didn’t agree.”
And just like that, I hatedthemall the more. They might not have done this to her, but they were still the cause. Before she’d fallen for men who didn’t deserve her, she’d have had nothing to use against her. Now she had a weakness, and they’d given that to Yorn.
It took me back to my conversation with Ingram, to telling him that she would end up destroying herself for those she cared about, that they would ruin her, and here was the proof.
And as much as I hated to admit it, I knew this wasn’t something I could deal with on my own. I forced myself to speak, no matter how little I liked the option. “If you told them, they might be able to help.”
Would they, though? Sure, they’d threaten me, but would they stand up to the power of Obsidian for her? I wasn’t sure, but I knew I didn’t want to seethisagain.
She shook her head, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “He’ll get them killed if I do. It’s fine. I just have to do some testing, and he’ll lose interest, and it’ll be fine. Promise me, Kaidan, for everything we’ve done together, for our friendship, swear to me you won’t tell them.”
I sighed, but it wasn’t her plea that got me to answer. It was the desperation in her voice. “Okay,” I agreed.
This testing might just kill her, but I knew that losing those men was something she could never make it back from.
Chapter Thirty
Kenyon
Something was off about Yun but I couldn’t place it. Her vitals were elevated, but not dangerously so. I’d say it appeared more like a bad night of sleep, like anxiety and discomfort had caused her adrenaline to spike.
Of course, if she had to sleep elsewhere, that could explain it…
Or maybe I was so desperate for a sign that we mattered to her that I allowed myself to think that her separation from us would cause her stress like this. I didn’t like the idea of her bothered by anything, but if she was going to be bothered, it’d be nice to think it was due to her at least liking and missing us.
She hadn’t said a word about the headache she had, about the way she yawned. She’d said the sleep test had gone fine, that they hadn’t told her anything.
That didn’t shock me, though. I could monitor her well enough to know nothing serious was happening with her body. I understood their desire to test themselves, but that didn’t mean I expected anything to come of it—except perhaps that they would prescribe her medication.
I could heal others, but the government didn’t see me as well trained enough to let me prescribe anything, which left Yun at the mercy of the civilian doctors.
Even as she rubbed her eyes like that would wipe away the headache, she said nothing, didn’t ask me for help, didn’t admit she struggled.
It was one of the both admirable and frustrating things about the woman.
We walked the perimeter of the base, along with Carter. She hadn’t needed to come, but she’d seemed unwilling to be alone, asking to join.
I hadn’t really needed to come, either, but boredom got people to do some crazy things.
