by LC Morgans
“You’ve had all the time I can allow. Answer yes or no now and live with the consequences of your decision, for I won’t be around to tell you off if it all goes wrong or you change your mind,” he said, and tried to laugh but it came out more like a cough.
“I’ve a mission to complete first. Before I can give my heart to another, I need to mend my own,” Thrayke replied and then sighed. “Remember when we were younger, how we’d make fun of the Thraks who’d gone to Earth and been foolish enough to fall in love?”
“I remember it well,” Kronus replied, scratching his bearded chin. “But then we went and saw them for ourselves, didn’t we?”
“So many faceless soldiers, civilians, and their families. Not a single one of them mattered all that time…”
“Until her.” Kronus seemed to know exactly whom Thrayke was speaking of and ran his thumb over his lips and down over his throat as he remembered her. “We failed her, Thrayke. I never should’ve let her leave and I absolutely shouldn’t have left her behind on that cursed planet. Even if I were well, I don’t think I could bring myself to love Mariah. We’d been betrothed for centuries, and yet I couldn’t even look at her. I sent her away and called off the engagement, and not only because of my sickness.”
“Did you love Kyra? All those times you told me no, I didn’t believe it. What about when you forced her to leave you? And when you encouraged her to hate you? Was it all a show?” Thrayke was shaking. Despite his long friendship with Kronus, he was jealous beyond anything he’d felt before when he nodded.
“Of course I loved her, Thrayke,” was all Kronus responded with, and he buried his head in his hands. “But she’s dead. I’ll join her soon, but you can still move on. You can be happy and have a family of your own to love and nurture. I threw away everything that ever mattered to me, but I know she went straight back into your arms. I know you cared for her in the end in ways I couldn’t.”
“It wasn’t easy,” Thrayke replied with a cold and dead tone. “You broke her heart, Kronus. She’d loved you since the night you pulled her from those thorns but you treated her like a fool for loving you so. You punished her for giving her heart to you.”
“She told you about the thorns?” he asked, lifting his head to stare at Thrayke intently. “When?”
He paused a moment, debating what to do, but rage was bubbling within and Thrayke opened his mouth before he could second-guess his decision to reveal his truth.
“When I stowed her away in my quarters aboard the ship home.” He’d finally come clean, and not for the reasons he’d thought. Not for Kyra’s benefit, but for his own. All of a sudden, Thrayke wanted to hurt Kronus in a way he’d never wanted to hurt another before. He wanted to cause him emotional torment in return for all the pain Kyra had gone through because of his selfish reign. She was an innocent child, and yet that child had grown into an adult infatuated with a god-like being who gave her nothing in return for her loyalty and service. It’d only been Thrayke who’d loved her back, protected her, and held her when she’d cried. He’d stopped her from committing suicide the day they left Earth, and all while Kronus had been locked away in his selfish solitude rather than face the truth of what he was doing—allowing the mass murder of billions of humans in return for the scientific advancements of their own kind.
Kronus burst out laughing, clearly impressed with Thrayke’s cunning deception, but then his face fell when he saw that his friend didn’t share in his elation.
“Surely this is your way of telling me that the reason for saying no to marriage with Leila is because you have the love of your life safely hidden away already?” he asked.
“I wish it were,” Thrayke answered bleakly. He then stood and paced the room, ignoring the heat from the fire as a cold chill swept down his spine.
He remembered it all so clearly and turned back to Kronus, ready to tell him all of it. “I sneaked her aboard and then Kyra spent every day hiding out, reading my books and mending her frenzied mind. She was in a bad place at first, a dark and dismal existence I wasn’t sure she could return from, but somehow, she did. Piece by piece we healed her together, and we loved each other so hard it was clear to both of us that we would never lose it.”
Thrayke wiped a tear from his cheek, the first tear he’d ever let himself shed over losing her that day. “But then, just days before we arrived here, I went to work, as usual. When I returned, my office and bedroom had been ransacked. I didn’t care about the belongings, only whether she was safe, but Kyra was nowhere to be found. I could tell there’d been a struggle, but that’s where the trail ended. I searched everywhere I could before we docked and have been searching nonstop ever since. She wasn’t remanded into custody, nor was she inducted back into the army. She has simply vanished, and even now, I still know nothing.”
“It’s been months, Thrayke! Why didn’t you come to me right away?” Kronus demanded and irrespective of his diminished muscles, he slammed his hand down hard onto the table before him.
“You expressly forbade me from going after her. I knew it was because you loved her enough to let her go, but not to save her, so I had her for myself. I was selfish, too. I wanted Kyra and guessed that involving you would only confuse us all in the long run.” He let out a sob. “I was so wrong.”
“No. You were right. If I’d had her close, I would’ve caved. And if I’d have known she was hiding in your quarters, I wouldn’t have been able to stay away. That’s why I didn’t ask Domo to scan the ship on our return journey. I didn’t want to know how many extra souls we had aboard. I didn’t want to have to punish those who had put their loved ones above our laws, because I envied everyone who had acted when I hadn’t. Everyone who had done right by those they loved when I didn’t.” Thrayke nodded. He’d fretted day and night that the ships scans would activate and reveal his secret stowaway, but had figured it had to be on the blink, not that Kronus hadn’t wanted to know the truth. “Even now, if I saw her again I think I’d tell her how I felt, despite knowing how much you love her, too.”
“At least you’re honest,” Thrayke said, and he broke the tension with a small smile that Kronus returned. “Who would’ve thought that after our years of nothing but camaraderie, a woman would ever come between us?” He took a deep breath. “I need your help, Kronus. I have to find her, even if neither of us can keep her. I have to know if she’s alive or dead, happy or kept in slavery. There has to be someone who might know where she went or who took her?”
“There will be, and I promise I’ll find her, even if it’s the last thing I do.”
Chapter Seven
The alarm clock rang and she climbed up out of bed. There was no need for a reminder to be ready for breakfast any more, as Paynton finally knew exactly where she was expected to be and when. All that mattered was her master and his need for routine, and of course the happiness it gave him when she’d served his needs well and provided him with the companionship he required of her. Her mind was empty, devoid of all emotion, desire, hopes, or dreams. The emptiness was bliss and after yet another wonderful night’s sleep, she was eager to start her day.
Greegis had worked night and day lately and she didn’t know why, but he was fretting over his work more than normal. After breakfast, Paynton accompanied him throughout the day, as usual, and stared absentmindedly while her master worked. She didn’t know or care what he was doing, only that he’d asked that she sit and watch, so that was what she did. She wore the dresses he laid out for her and smiled sweetly to herself as she watched him work, or else stared out the window while she daydreamed and passed the hours with nothing other than the view to keep her company. Paynton couldn’t remember where she’d come from or whom she’d been before coming to the facility a year before. She didn’t care to know. All that mattered was that she was being a good girl so the headaches had stopped and her master was pleased with her.
But then one evening, Paynton found herself being stared at intently by the final patient of the day. She stared back at him and fro
wned when a sharp twinge of pain hit inside her head. The man was strapped to his chair, but was evidently completely lucid after being taken out of cryo-sleep to undergo whatever medical marvel her master was doing.
“The biopsy has come back positive for the pre-tumorous cells. Let’s remove this entire section of his brain and watch to see whether the tissue grows back, or else he’ll end up a permanent comatose candidate, which would be a shame, but no immediate loss,” Greegis told his nursing staff, who nodded and began prepping the man for surgery. Paynton sat across from him and she watched as they shaved the mans blond hair, held it steady with his neck and shoulders via a metal frame, and then began applying local anesthetic to the area. All the while, the man continued to stare at her, and he seemed intent on ignoring the others as they tried to get him to talk or interact with them.
“Mr. Bluestone, will you please co-operate, otherwise you’ll undoubtedly end up with severe brain damage? We need you to communicate throughout the procedure so we can be sure we’ve accessed the correct area of the brain tissue,” one of the human nurses implored him. The man remained pointedly silent.
“Please do as you’re told,” one of the doctors added, and yet still the man continued to be quiet, his azure eyes boring into Paynton’s from across the room. They were such a shade of blue she was mesmerized. Blue… Recognition flickered somewhere in the back of her mind, but she chased it away with the second pang of sharp pain that it brought with it. Instead, Paynton focused on the task at hand.
She’d never intervened before, but knew Paladin Greegis needed the man to do as he was told, otherwise he was liable to get angry. It was fundamentally important to all of them that he do as he’d been asked, so she stood and went over to the man’s side. After removing the shackles from his wrists, she took his hands in hers and held them, hoping to show him some warmth in return for his co-operation. Instead, the man pulled his hands away from her grasp and he suddenly began moving them in a strange way. Up and down they flew, while his lips remained silent. But… she understood him. The man was speaking to her using only his hands, and she could somehow decipher their meaning easily. Without any comprehension why, Paynton began signing back, and smiled.
Please do as you’ve been asked. I want you to remain safe and well while my master does his work.
Why are you here? What happened to you? he replied.
I’m here to help, don’t be afraid. Talk to me and all will be well, she responded, and then grinned up at Greegis and the others who were staring at her in surprise. “He must be deaf, but somehow I know how to communicate with him. Proceed and I’ll keep him talking,” she informed them, and while the nurses quickly began working on the patient, Greegis held her in his intimidating gaze for a few seconds longer. She faltered, fearing for a moment that he might be displeased with her, but then he gave her just a slight nod and focused on his task rather than on her, and Paynton slid her gaze back down to the man in front of her.
What have they done to you? he asked, and she frowned. Do you even know me? Do you know my face, or my name?
I know only what I must to serve my master and you should do the same. Greegis is working hard, but he needs your help. I don’t know you personally, however I’m pleased to meet you, she responded in an attempt to force away her wandering mind. Paynton was still shocked by both her understanding of sign language and her use of it in response to the man’s questions, but didn’t put an end to their conversation. She somehow felt at ease with him. Familiar.
You do know me. You and I are friends, or at least we were. You tried to stop me from going with them, don’t you remember? You tried to warn me, but it was too late. Now, I’m nothing but a test subject left on ice, waiting to be thawed and dissected whenever they want to cut me open and mess with my brain. You tried to save me this fate but I ignored your pleas and I’m sorry.
His hands were working so fast she was struggling to keep up, but his unspoken words were sinking in. Paynton shook away the pain creeping in around the backs of her eyes whenever she even contemplated his accusations being true, but couldn’t fight it any longer. Did she know him? If so, from where? He said she’d tried to warn him, but she had no memory of how or why she would possibly do such a thing. She shook her head.
I’m Paynton. I live here with Paladin Greegis. That’s all I know. I have no past from before that. I don’t know you, she signed in response, growing tired.
Your name is Kyra Millan, he quickly replied. My name is Blue, and we’re friends. He’s done something to you, something bad, and I can only hope you’ll find yourself again before it’s too late. His hands fell into his lap just as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his body began to convulse. Paynton fell back onto the cold floor in her bid to move away from him and could do nothing but stare as Blue jerked with some kind of seizure and eventually lost consciousness.
After an agonizing few minutes, the team of doctors saved his life and had him awake again, but this time Greegis seemed intent on keeping her away. He enlisted another of his slaves to hold his attention while he worked, but it was already too late.
Despite the pain, Paynton was thinking as hard as she could about the strange sensations battling it out in her gut. She was both hot and cold at the same time, somehow sure of herself and convinced she was wrong all at once, and the whole thing was so confusing she thought she might pass out from the nauseating anxiety and the pain. Greegis dismissed her, ordering that she return to her room, and Paynton was glad for the peace and quiet, hoping it would dull her anguished senses. It didn’t.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to interact with the patients,” he told her over dinner later that night, and while she nodded in agreement, it was still incredibly apparent to her usually so clear mind that something wasn’t right.
She welcomed sleep that night and there was part of her that hoped her uncertainties would be gone by morning. Things were so much simpler when she didn’t have to think for herself.
***
The routine the next morning was much the same as any other, except that when she awoke, the worry nestled in her gut from the day before was still there. Paynton went to breakfast as usual, where she accepted whatever food Greegis offered her, but she was still distracted and couldn’t focus properly. When she’d taken her last bite, she looked up and stared over the table at the nurse sitting opposite. She knew her face somehow. Just like with Blue, she knew the person across from her and the spark of recognition made her head throb again. Paynton couldn’t be sure where she knew the nurse from, but she definitely remembered her, and the woman seemed to be staring at her with the same recollection.
“Would you like a drink?” the nurse asked. Paynton nodded. She accepted the glass of juice and sipped on it, deep in thought. There was definitely a connection between them, and yet she had no idea where from. She was still trying to figure it out when Greegis snapped his fingers in front of her face to pull her out of her reverie. Paynton turned to him and trembled under his menacing stare.
“Do you remember this nurse?” he asked, leaning in closer so that the others sat further up the table might not overhear them. She shook her head, desperate not to upset him by acting out against the treatment he’d once made clear was still working to alter her brain functions. Greegis had lessened the effects of the cuff that morning and had told her again about what he’d done with the nano-bots, but she wondered if he’d dulled the strength a little too much. She wasn’t as cloudy as she’d been previously, not by a vast amount. All of a sudden, Paynton wanted to throw something, to scream and shout, and beg for the doctors and nurses around them to help, but her deceitful body continued to refuse her. She instead sat perfectly still. “Do you remember how Lasiandra here gave you the serum back on Earth? How she cared for you and saved your life? Do you remember?”
“Lasiandra?” Paynton asked him, and while she suddenly did remember the treatment she’d been given once upon a time ago, she also remembered
something else. An image flooded to the forefront of her mind, bursting through the barriers of pain and confusion.
Her name wasn’t Paynton, it was Kyra. In the memory, she had dark hair and was looking into a mirror, wearing a borrowed white dress. Next, a man she loved was standing close by and he smiled as he took her in. His name was Silas, she remembered him now, and a wave of nausea hit her hard. “McDermott…” she whimpered, and began to tremble. “Lasiandra McDermott. You’re Silas’s sister.” Greegis’s eyes widened.
“How do you know that name?” he demanded, but it was too late. Memories came flooding back, as though her body had decided once and for all to fight against the waves of numbness Greegis was still trying to force upon her. She fell back off her chair while pain wracked her body, along with the barrage of memory after memory as they returned.
She suddenly remembered Kronus, her friends Samia and Brona. Blue’s smiling face at the bar and Sentinel Gron’s scowling look that was still somehow the closest thing he had to a smile. Recollection of them, their faces, and what they meant to her came back without any respite, and the last to come back made her wail with torturous agony. Thrayke’s face and voice were resonating in her head. She remembered kissing him, holding him close, and loving him with everything she had. Kyra yearned to see and touch him again, and could hardly breathe she was sobbing so hard. The lack of oxygen eventually forced her into black nothingness, and if she were honest, it was actually a relief to feel numb again.
Chapter Eight
“I’m looking for someone very… shall we say, special,” Kronus said, taking his seat opposite his Chief of Defense, Rasmos. His right-hand-man smiled and nodded, rubbing his hands together gleefully.
“Your highness, I thought you’d never ask,” he replied with a wink. “After all, you remained true to your betrothed all those years.”