“We're not discussing mission details. Tell your mom to save your life and give up the location of the churches.”
Her eyes blared when she didn't say whatever filled her with fire. Kira refused to comply. He definitely needed to return later and reassure her that his friends wouldn't let the Phaedra take over the connection. Reinard was the best out there.
Shaking his head subtly, Zayne placed a hand on the doorframe. “Please follow your orders. I need you not to fight this.”
“Fine.”
A blatant lie.
The fire in her eyes didn't dim. Damn it.
Kira needed to do as instructed and trust her mom not to offer up the innocent for slaughter. Trust Zayne to secure the connection.
The fury of her silent promise stirred the air between them, and he shot back his own message with his look. One he knew she wouldn't miss, because they spoke without words too easily. Far too easily.
Keep quiet.
Stay alive.
CHAPTER 43
Kira
The Capital
Kallum, Ciondo
833 P.C. [Post-Collapse]
Innocent eyes in the portraits of the Riven children faded to empty smiles by the end of the hallway. Did the High General's mother have a hallway of her own with a similar progression from child to man to monster?
Kira met Zayne's dead eyes in the last photo on the wall. He wore a ceremonial uniform, his face looking too young for war. It must have been the day he graduated from the academy.
Staying alive in this empire meant accepting death when it came, because the sacrifice for keeping breath in your lungs was to eventually tarnish your soul for the Phaedra. Either Kira lived to the fullest until her heart stopped, or she destroyed her humanity to survive as a breathing corpse. The choice was never life or death. It was always life until death or slave to the empire's cruelty.
And Kira promised Zayne to stay alive.
She promised herself and all the people who came before her, the ones who fought until their bodies gave out.
If she surrendered to the Phaedra, she was no longer alive. Not in any way that mattered to her.
“Are you nervous?” Adelle's sweet voice.
Turning, she met the eyes of the mother who took her in, so thankful to experience that kind of love. “No.”
“I have a gift for you. My mom gave it to me, and I think your mom would want you to have it.”
Kira followed her up the stairs and continued past the second floor to parts of the house she'd never been to. Down a long hall, Adelle ushered her into a room that felt so different compared to the rest of the house. None of the expensive decor or stiff chairs filled this room. Instead, she saw a plush armchair with a fuzzy blanket, a dresser covered with pictures of her children and grandchildren smiling, and artwork that felt more like Adelle than the paintings anywhere else. One piece featured a violet with more shades of purple and blue than Kira could count, set against a creamy white background.
Simple, masterful, beautiful.
“This is the gift.” Adelle patted the bed. “The only room in the empire where I feel safe talking openly of revolt.”
“Your mom gave this to you.”
“She did. She gave me a safe place to think and speak freely. For my family growing up, it was our church in a hidden basement. For us, it's this room. Luke and Andi may not be on the path yet, but I never give up. And even if Zayne gets lost for a time, he'll never truly lose his way.”
The path cut through time and war and the Collapse of an entire world to every person who ever stood against cruelty—those named in history and those unknown. Followers honored every person who sought justice equally. Kira sat beside Adelle and rested her head against her shoulder, clasping her hand.
