Page 303 of Seasons of War
A painting of the tower hung on one wall beside a portrait of the Phaedra, watching him at all times. There was a couch on the far end of the room where Dr. Cooper had sat, and a screen hanging beside it.
Zayne clenched his teeth. This man, this country, this room—they were all inescapable.
He was trapped in every sense of the word with no indication of what had happened to Kira.
“Oh, that’s right,” the Phaedra said. “I know what I’m forgetting. You would appreciate a morphine pump, wouldn’t you?” The Phaedra chuckled and kicked his feet up on the bed, jostling Zayne.
Fire ate through him. It felt like his heart would explode. Black spots spread over his vision. He didn't have enough breath to groan or scream.
“We'll have to think of a way for you to earn your relief. You've been very inconsiderate, doing this to your father right after your mother's death.”
Agony reopened the wounds of his heart. How dare the Phaedra speak about her.
Why did Zayne have to survive? There was no worse punishment than being trapped with him.
“It was sad enough to see her throw her life away. Now you. I suppose we should be happy she isn't here to see this. And what you did to Mellie… It's shocking.” The Phaedra eased his hand into Zayne's, running his thumb along his knuckles. The touch revolted him. “Still, I love you, even now, my son.”
Zayne struggled to tear his hand away, but he didn't have the strength to move.
The Phaedra’s grip tightened.
“I graciously love you even after you betrayed your Phaedra. After you gave your bitch the devotion that belongs to me. I look forward to making her suffer for it.”
“She's…” Zayne wheezed in a breath, struggling to voice his words. “Safe…”
The Phaedra’s face darkened.
He couldn't resist rubbing Kira’s captivity in his face. She’d made it out. Zayne could feel it. Nothing else mattered.
“Safe.” The ruthless chuckle rumbled over Zayne's skin. “I told you I own you. I own you both. You still don't understand, but you will. No matter where she goes, she's in my empire.”
His eyes closed at the peace and relief melting away everything else. All this was worth it, then. The Phaedra didn't have Kira. And Mom could rest well with her free.
Even though Zayne had never been more helpless, a defiant hope kept him from falling apart. The kind of defiant hope that only Kira could have planted within him.
She'd live.
The Phaedra couldn't destroy the woman who seized his skies.
“If I kill her, you'll never get over it.” The Phaedra sat forward, dominating Zayne's view so he only saw him. “But there's so many more fun games we can play.”
Fear coiled his insides.
“I promise you this.” A cruel sneer twisted his lips and darkened his eyes. “You will never be with her. That was never going to happen.” The Phaedra's deep chuckle vibrated in his chest. “You're so short-sighted that you think you'll be satisfied with her freedom. That you can let her go.”
Zayne let the words slide off him. The Phaedra could say whatever he wanted. That didn't change that Kira was safe.
The chuckle returned and built into a full laugh that shook the Phaedra's shoulders. “I bonded you and Kira so tightly in this prison.” His head tilted back with the throaty bellow. “She'll suffer every day of her life without you, and seeing her pain will torture you.”
His nails dug into his sheets. Of course, Zayne knew Kira suffered right now. He knew loss. He knew how badly this would hurt her and for how long. If the Phaedra thought she couldn't live a full life despite that, then he didn't know her. Nothing would break her. “You're… wrong… about her…”
The laughter had started to die, but now it sparked again. “Oh, Zayne. Naive Zayne. If I let her live, it will only be for my pleasure. The pleasure of tormenting her soul for as long as I wish.”
His vision swam with fury and fear and dizziness.
“One day, you'll understand. You'll see what a fool you are right now.” The Phaedra looked gleeful. “For however long I allow you two to live, whether it is one day or ten thousand, I'll spend every second of your sad lives tearing you both apart. You broke our vow. Kira's blood is mine. And I am not in the mood to drain it out so quickly.”
The confidence battered Zayne's weakened heart. What if the Phaedra was right, and there was no escape for Kira?
