The sword pierced the syndroid’s stomach. Zayn pulled back and stabbed again. The light behind the droid’s eye area dimmed, flickered, and then went black.
God. He pushed the sword away. The syndroid fell backward, the sword still lodged in it. He stumbled back a few steps, then spun, looking for Ria.
Her hair had come loose and was a tangled cloud around her face. Her neck was covered in red marks that would bruise if they couldn’t get to a medscope in time. But she was alive. Gloriously alive.
He strode toward her, and she met him halfway. He swept her close, pressing his face into her hair. “Damn, that was close.”
She nodded, her hands clutching his shoulders.
“You’re okay?”
She nodded again, then pulled back. “But you’re hurt.” She probed his shoulder wound. “God, Zayn, you’re still bleeding.”
He watched her tug at his robes until they fell off his body. He wore cargo trousers and a black T-shirt underneath. She ripped some fabric off the robes and balled it up over his wound.
“It’s deep.” She wrapped more fabric around his shoulder and arm to hold it all in place.
“I’ll live. And when we get back to theInfinitas, you can play nurse.” He shot her a hopeful look.
She shook her head, then walked over to pick up the bag he’d tossed at her. She opened it and they both stared at the still intact derringer they’d come for. “How about we get the hell out of here?”
“Best idea you’ve had all day.” He glanced at the main door. “Doesn’t look like we can head back that way.”
“I saw some other smaller doorways marked on the map. Back this way.” She led him over to a side wall. The first door opened soundlessly.
Zayn moved through it, then jerked to a halt.
“What is it?” she demanded, trying to look around him.
But as he stared at the cell and the table and chains in the center, all he could see was his worst nightmare.
“Zayn?”What was wrong with him?
Ria watched as he gripped the doorjamb with fingers that turned white. He stared into the interrogation room like all he saw was horror.
She scanned the empty room, bile rising in her throat. She’d heard the whispers about torture, that the Guild kept master interrogators hidden away. She hadn’t wanted to believe it.
Zayn took a staggering step forward, his face twisted with pain. “This is the place.”
The place?Ria frowned. Then it hit her.
Oh no.
He dropped to his knees, the muscles in his neck straining. “She suffered here. She died here. I killed her, and every time I think that maybe I can move past it, it hits me again.” He slammed his hands against the concrete floor.
Ria circled him and went down on her knees. “I’m here, Zayn. You aren’t alone to deal with this. What happened wasn’t your fault. When are you going to realize that?”
His gaze was on that metal table, his eyes stark. Then he looked at Ria and frowned. “Vik? I’m sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”
Ria felt an uncomfortable roll in her stomach. Words didn’t come, only hurt.
“Shit.” Zayn rubbed his eyes. “Ria. I know you’re Ria.”
“It’s okay.” Except her heart was breaking. Deep down, he would always see another woman when he looked at her.
“No.” He gripped her shoulders. “I see you, Ria. I like your courage, your smarts, your style. I respect the hell out of you for taking on the Guild and fighting for your freedom. Yes, you look like Vik, but you aren’t her. You’re different.”
With a sigh, Ria pressed her forehead against his. He’d just had a bad moment, in the place that had haunted him for years. She couldn’t hold his confusion against him.
