This didn't shake Mrs. Riven nor did it appear to discourage her. Rather, she lifted her hand in invitation to Kira and took the lead beside her. Together, they passed through the arched walkway into a living room surrounded with ceiling-to-floor windows and too many expensive decorations for her to register. How much did all of this cost? Did anyone sit on the leather couches or use the glass tables? It all looked untouched.
“You should call me Adelle,” she said with another smile. “This is a strange and unorthodox situation. Forget about formalities.”
Behind them, Zayne groaned.
As Kira walked with her, the overwhelming riches of the estate blurred in her vision. She tried to act polite by smiling and nodding at appropriate times, anything to swallow down the sobs welling inside of her, but Adelle slowed to a stop in the middle of a long hallway.
Concern creased the fine lines around Adelle's eyes. “Let's explore the house tomorrow. Okay? You probably want to see your room.”
Kira tried so hard to open her mouth and say they could continue, but if she spoke, she'd cry.
All that compassion filling Adelle's eyes broke through the strength and courage Kira relied upon in the prison. She was drifting back into her body, into feeling it all.
“I know you're terrified,” Adelle whispered. “I can't take that away from you. While you're with me, you're safe. We'll do everything we can to keep you here.”
Hot tears slinked down Kira's cheeks. Adelle opened her arms the same way parents did when their little ones fell, and Kira willed herself to stay away. To stay strong.
But for the first time since the soldiers dragged her from the market, she didn't feel confused or lost. Adelle wanted to comfort her. Kira knew it, and she never questioned herself before her imprisonment.
So, she stepped into the embrace of this woman she didn't know, closing her eyes as Adelle swayed with her lightly. A lifetime separated Kira from the last time she cried in the arms of her own mother. Tonight, she glimpsed all she lost on the day the soldiers separated them forever.
Just because Kira didn't know whether to trust Zayne didn't mean she shouldn't trust herself. She wasn't letting anyone steal that from her.
Opening her eyes, she saw Zayne staring at them with straight lips and haunted eyes, like he saw the future playing out between them. Saw the Phaedra twisting all that care and closeness into a weapon.
There was no resisting it, though. Kira resisted so much already, refusing to save her own life in the tank with Dr. Cooper. The pull of Adelle Riven exceeded her desperation to live that day.
Even though Kira recognized the danger of living in this house and letting Adelle in, this woman didn't seem like a fool. Adelle walked through the fire and grabbed hold of Kira.
Maybe it was always worth holding on to one another, no matter the consequences.
Predictably, Zayne refused dinner. Kira wasn't privy to the conversation between the mother and son since they'd stepped into another room to talk. Interestingly, the tension always stiffening Zayne's shoulders loosened when he returned. The warmth of his mom melted the edges of his ice, at least a bit.
Not enough, though.
Adelle unlocked the door to the kitchen, one of the rooms off-limits to Kira, and left her alone with Zayne.
Kira wished she'd asked him about his mother and not just his father when he spoke to her of the forbidden. He'd deny her the chance to ask again. How such a caring woman raised such a cold son astounded her.
Then again, maybe it didn't. A thrum of pain hummed through this home. It resonated with the ache of her own heart.
The dynamic between Zayne and Adelle solidified Kira's intuition about the tank, though she didn't fully understand why. “I know you didn't order Dr. Cooper to put me in the tank.” Kira didn't look at Zayne, because he usually refused to look at her. “What you said shook me, but you overplayed your hand. I see what you're doing.”
She'd return to her room rather than listen to his excuses or denials.
His voice stopped her. “You're right. I made a mistake.”
He admitted it?
“I'll give you a tour of the grounds before I leave.” Zayne appeared impassive, almost bored. “Do you need a jacket?”
“I don't need a jacket.” Kira choked out the words. “I need to know why you lied to me.”
“Simple miscalculation.”
Rage as shocking as that hot water flushed through her body and heated her face. No way Zayne missed it either because he held her stare, and Kira didn't hide her snarl or furrowed brows.
“I'm incredibly sorry, Ms. Stiles. I didn't mean a word of it.” The least believable apology anyone ever uttered to her.
