“It's important that I deliver an accurate report to the Phaedra. He needs to know exactly how much you mean those words.” The peaceful cadence of his voice added to the chills raking across her flesh. “The problem is that near-death experiences are not exact. You may actually die in the process.”
A cry echoed off the metal tank. She glimpsed the young Zayne's fingers digging into the glass. He'd been all alone, just like she was now.
“If at any point you're no longer willing to die to save the Followers, please let me know. We'll stop the test at once.”
“Y-you… c-can't k-kill…. me…”
“Is it me killing you when you have the choice to escape?”
“Zayne—”
“Zayne isn't here. He's meeting with the Phaedra three hours away.” That awful chuckle lingered in the air. “Do you not understand how expendable you are? If you'll die rather than comply, it's best to find that out before we waste more resources on you.”
Her muscles tore from how violently she shivered and how much she fought to keep her mouth in that bubble of air. Her teeth chattered so badly she hardly understood herself. “What if I… give in… but get brave… a-and ch-change my mind.”
“The testing will show how much you believe your own words. It'll be worse for you if you lie and we must repeat the test. Then I won't be able to leave a pocket of air.”
The moments of silence panged with her heartbeat.
Faint traces of red drifted through the water on the screen while the boy twitched, the stain over his wound growing. He only wanted to save an innocent girl.
That poor boy.
“You must genuinely surrender. I'm not sending you back to waste the Rivens time in the capital if you don't. We'll put you to the test here, and either you'll die or return to the prison prepared to cooperate.”
Never had a greater temptation existed than to lie or even to convince herself that she would give up innocent lives. But if he hooked those monitors to her now and asked her if she'd sacrifice Elijah's life to save herself, then she couldn't give the answer he wanted. At least she had the choice to give in. Had Dr. Cooper offered any escape to Zayne?
If that young boy survived this tank, then she would too.
Suddenly, water drained, and her tears turned to those of relief, until hot water blasted the back of her legs. She heard herself scream before realizing she was doing it. The heat burned over her frozen, numb skin, melting everything it touched. At least, it felt that way.
“Don't worry. It isn't really scalding. It only feels that way because of thermal shock. It won't kill you right away. We can do this several times before you're at risk.”
Heat fried the nerve endings the cold had tortured. How did shock hurt so badly?
This couldn't be real. None of it. Not the prison, not this place, not this torture. There had to be a way to escape. She clawed at the window, breaking her fingernails. The panic dominated all else. Made her crazed.
“Your oxygen, Kira. Please. Be mindful.”
Hot water and hyperventilation tugged on her consciousness. She tried to look at the boy in the tank, but her vision blurred too much to see him.
Kira needed to find control. How could she though? No one had ever prepared her for anything like this. That masked man saved her the only time she came close to such danger. A naive part of her must have thought Zayne would save her, too, even though he threatened her. Would he object if he were here? Or would he be relieved if she died, so he didn't need to deal with her?
As desperately as she fought for courage, the terror kept control of her. When the water drained, and she understood what was coming next, wild desperationripped at her mind. Would she do it? Would she sacrifice her friends and escape? Kira would do anything to get out of here.
She wept bitterly. Not anything.
Not that.
Never that.
Having a choice made it all worse.
The screen went blank, and Dr. Cooper stole that boy away from her. Left him all alone in the past, suffering for doing the right thing. She begged him to turn it back on so she could see if Zayne was okay. So, neither of them would be alone.
The second round of freezing water hurt far more than the first. She couldn't even scream. Couldn't beg or vow to sacrifice the entire empire if it meant escaping. When her will faltered, her breathlessness saved her.
The water surged over her mouth, and she jolted up enough to take in a full breath before it fully engulfed her.
