The air felt thick in Emryn’s throat. Zaiden shot up to his feet, saluting his father with shaky hands. He was trying desperately to hide his fear but he couldn’t control the rapid beating in his chest. “Sir,” he addressed.
His father’s hand clamped his shoulder. Zaiden barely suppressed his flinch.
The Supreme Commander’s eyes found Emryn. They followed every slight movement with distain. Likely his silent way of blaming her. Somehow he’d already determined she was the source of his problems.
“This is what’s been keeping you busy?” Emryn could see through the cracks in his mask. Under his calm facade, was raging flame of hatred and frustration and it would need release soon.
The Commander gestured to the hall. “We need to discuss your most recent mission.” Emryn saw Zaiden’s arms snake around his core while he nodded stiffly. They made a move for the exit and something inside her snapped.
Emryn stepped between them, guarding Zaiden with her form. She glared at Abrax’s leader and gently nudged Zaiden back another step.
“Emryn,” Zaiden warned, grabbing her arm as if to move her away but Emryn stood grounded.
“What do you think you’re doing, 636?” The Commander came closer, looking down at her with his taller frame. “I see no one ever taught you manners. Do you want to learn the hard way what happens to those who interfere with my affairs?” His gaze turned menacing when she didn’t move. “Get out of my way.”
“Why? Don’t want an audience when you beat your son?”
A switch flipped and whatever control the Supreme Commander had was out the door. His hands were clutching Emryn’s hood and he pulled her closer. Eventually they discarded the cloth and latched onto her neck . She could already feel the marks forming.
“What did you just say to me?” he seethed.
The cold stare she gave would have made anyone else freeze over, but the fury in the Supreme Commander’s eyes kept him standing. The pressure he had was solid but not strong enough to close off her airways.
Zaiden ripped his father off of her with so much force the man hit the bed. Emryn had never seen him so angry. “What is wrong with you?” he yelled. His father glared then stood so he could look down on his son.
“Get out,” he spoke, too calm for the situation. “I’ll deal with you later.”
Zaiden’s mouth set in a hard line. His eyes shone with worry as they looked at Emryn. Leaving her alone with his father was the last thing he wanted to do.
Emryn forced a smile. “It’s fine, go.”
Zaiden hesitated. He didn’t look at his father as he walked towards the door. It would have been too hard for him. Zaiden paused at the doorway to meet Emryn’s eyes. He set one palm flats against his stomach. A silent warning before he left. If a fight broke out, her stomach would be his first target.
Once Zaiden was gone, Emryn narrowed her eyes at the Supreme Commander.
“You have guts, 636, I’ll give you that.” He started pacing. Running a hand through normally styled hair.
Emryn cut him off before he could continue. “I have a name. You’d be wise to use it.”
The commander froze in place and flashed her a condicending smile. “You think you have a right to talk to me like this? Do you think you have power here, 636.” He got closer. Emryn tried to remain unbothered by their proximity but the closer he got the more she wanted to kill him. “You don’t have any authority Little Experiment.” He jabbed a finger into her chest to try and push her back. “Here you are nothing but a tool.” Another jab. “You’re only alive because I willed it! You have no power—”
Emryn grabbed his arm and switched their positions. Using her ability she held him up against the wall. Suddenly the Supreme Commander wasn’t so vocal about his distain for her.
“I have power you could only dream of.” Emryn applied more pressure, cracking the wall behind him. “Compared to me you will always be weak. What we have here is an agreement, not ownership. I am not one of your soldiers.”
Emryn dropped him and he sank to the floor with heavy breaths.
“You would be wise to remember this.” Emryn stood over him. “Don’t ever address me as 636 again. And if you so much as think of hurting Zaiden again, I’ll kill you. In exchange for your reluctant hospitality, I promise to help you take down Mallax and capture O’Connor. Nothing more nothing less.”
Zaiden’s father stood, forcing Emryn to take a step back. He combed through his now disheveled hair and narrowed his dark eyes. “You’re wanting to make a deal?” he questioned with eary calm.
The room door got pushed open and Simone walked through. “Emmy, I was wondering—” Simone stopped mid sentence when she saw the commander there. She lifted her fingers to her brow and soluted. “Sir, I apologize. I didn’t know you were in here.”
“At ease,” he said, not taking his eyes off Emryn. “We’re done here anyways.”
Simone looked between the two, completely oblivious to how grateful Emryn was that she showed up when she did.
The Supreme Commander addressed Emryn with cold words. “You can have your agreement, Emmy,” he added the last part mockingly. “But the next time you use your ability against me, I’ll put you in a cage.”
Simone flinched. It seemed even someone who’s lived in Abrax their whole life, could be throw off by his hidden temper.
He was already out the door but he turned back toward them. He grinned. “Oh, and one last thing, Emryn.” The way he said it made her dig her nails into her hand. “If you don’t catch O’Connor, our deal is off.”
“It wasn’t a failed mission,” Simone blurted. “We caught a Mallax soldier.” Emryn was taken back. Simone was trying to defend her, but she couldn’t understand why. Simone was taking the commander’s attention off of Emryn, if only momentarily.
He turned to Simone. “You caught the wrong one.” His voice wasn’t loud but it held power. Emryn hid her arms behind her back. They were shaking, and she couldn’t tell if it was from pain or Zaiden’s father. He faced Emryn again. Dead eyes held hers as he said, “You and Major Bales will be in charge of the Mallax soldier tomorrow. Malcolm won’t be able to.”
Once he was gone, Simone rushed to Emryn’s side. “What was that about?” She scanned Emryn’s frozen form. “Are you alright?”
Emryn mustered up a grin but she couldn’t put any feeling behind it. “It’s nothing, I’m fine.” She had been trying to wear a fierce mask the duration of her conversation with Zaiden’s father, she hoped he hadn’t noticed her hands were shaking the whole time.
Simone sighed. “You’re a terrible liar, Emmy.”
Emryn forced a smile. “I know.”
Simone wrapped her strong arms around Emryn. She held her so firmly, Emryn almost felt safe. “Get some sleep. I’ll get you in the morning.” Emryn had used too much of her power in a short duration. She needed sleep.
That night the nightmares returned. Only now it was Seth calling out to her. He was the one crying out for her to answer. But she never did. This time he was kid alone in a cell. Seth held a syringe in his hands. When no one was around he stabbed it into his arm, blood gushing from the seer force, and collapsed. The dream shifted. She saw Zaiden lying limp on the floor, his father standing over him. He was sneering and yelling, too angry to notice his son was already dead.
Emryn woke up in a cold sweat. Her breathing was rapid and her arms were still shaking. There was an ache in her chest, like her heart was bleeding. Could she really go through with it? If she caught Seth, Zaiden would be safe. But what would happen to him? If she got Seth, he would most likely be killed but if she didn’t it would be Zaiden bleeding out instead. Her head was pounding. She didn’t know what to do, who to save.
Simone knocked on the open door. “We have to head down to containment. Malcolm can’t watch her forever.”
Emryn nodded. Following Simone through the halls, it was oddly quiet, not a soul in sight. There weren’t a lot of people awake yet. She could probably hear dust move if she tried hard enough.
The paths they walked were new. Abrax was such a massive and closed off facility, even after months of living here, Emryn hadn’t seen all of it. That added onto her reluctance to explore made Abrax a maze.
They walked through a glass tunnel, white lights hanging overhead. Underneath was another garage Emryn hadn’t seen. It was full of machines and mechanics. There was a lot of buzzing and sparks were flying everywhere. Compared to the quiet halls, the hangar was lively. Emryn stopped to look out the glass barrier, trying to figure out what they were working on so early in the morning.
Simone was at her side in an instant. “They’re called humming birds.”
“They don’t look like birds,” Emryn wondered aloud. The steel mechanisms had two sets of wings and a small circular glass window near the pilot seat. Inside she could see various levels and switches. The bronze color of the metal didn’t match any bird she’d seen.
“Maybe. But they can fly like them.” Simone’s eyes danced across the scene, as if she too was in awe. “That’s why the Supreme Commander didn’t care about blowing up the bridge. We still have a way to reach our Taylen allies if we need to. Would’ve been nice to know about them sooner though.” She mumbled that last part, no doubt recalling the scolding she received in the meeting room not too long ago. If Simons had known they still had a way to Taylen she wouldn’t have argued against the destruction of the bridge.
“So they can really fly?” Emryn asked.
Simone shrugged. “They’re still experimental. It took a long time to find all the parts and no ones been able to fly them yet.” Simone was already down the corridor when Emryn finally tore her eyes away from the machines.
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“Is that why you weren’t told about them?” Emryn asked once she was back at Simone’s side.
Simone clenched her jaw and kept walking. “The higher ups have a lot of secrets they won’t tell us about. They don’t think we need to know anything.”
That peeked Emryn’s interest. What else was Abrax hiding? Emryn wondered how much Zaiden knew as well. He was still the son of the Supreme Commander after all. Even if that meant nothing to the man, it had to have meant something to the others. It wouldn’t look good if people thought his own son couldn’t be trusted.
“Here we are,” Simone said, bringing Emryn out of her daze. Simone pushed a heavy door open after entering a long code into a nearby keypad.
Walking inside, they found Malcolm casually lounging against the wall. His cold stare found Emryn briefly before turning to Simone. “What are you doing here?”
“Finally,” a voice cried out. The Mallax soldier was chained to a concrete wall in one of the massive cages. “I was starting to get bored. Blondie here isn’t very good company. I was starting to think I wouldn’t get to see the famous Emryn.” Kiarra was lying. Emryn could tell but the odd influctuations in her heart beat. “It’s so nice to see you. O’Connor sends his regards.” There was a sadistic smile on her face. She was trying to bait her. Kiarra must’ve known about Emryn’s connection to Seth. He told her about them. Emryn had to bite her tongue to keep herself composed.
“Quiet,” Malcolm ordered, his calm but stern voice echoed through the room. The two starred each other. Kiarra looked confused but complied. Her leath body slumped against the wall, going back to looking bored. There was a strange air between them. It felt tense but weirdly understanding.
“Why are you here?” Malcolm asked, finally looking at them.
“Orders from Adnan.” Zaiden’s father. So that was his name. During the time Emryn had lived here, she never bothered to learn his name until now. “The Supreme Commander needs you in his office for an important meeting. We’re taking over guard duty for you,” Simone informed. That was news to Emryn. She knew they were taking over for him but this was the first she was hearing of a meeting.
Malcolm glanced over at Kiarra, who was too preoccupied playing with her chains to notice. He seemed hesitant to leave. But it wasn’t like he had much say in the matter. When given a direct order, you couldn’t ignor it. He gave Simone a brief nod and headed for the door. Emryn listened to his quiet steps until the door closed shut behind him.
Something about their situation was off. If the meeting was so important, why wasn’t Simone going too? Emryn’s mind wandered to last night. Simone must have been here to guard her as well. A loyal pair of eyes to watch Emryn’s every move. Adnan clearly didn’t trust Emryn as far as he could throw her.
It should have bothered Emryn more but as long as she could keep Zaiden and the others safe, she didn’t care what the Supreme Commander thought.
Emryn slid down the metal wall. Her body was still in a lot of pain. She had been exerting it too much lately. Any further and her body might shut down.
Simone didn’t say anything about the unprofessional conduct Emryn was showcasing or the tired look on her face. Simone wouldn’t bother her when she was exhausted and over worked.
The room was silent. No one talked to each other. The only sounds Emryn picked up were the occasional rattles of Kiarra’s chains. It was painfully boring. Emryn almost wished Kiarra would attempt to escape, if only to give her something to do. How was Malcolm doing this all day? Minutes ticked by like hours.
Her hand started fidgeting with the bracelet around her wrist. It was one of the tasks she used to do while locked up. Emryn used to count how many times he could twirl it around her wrist before Dr. Willow or Harver came to start tests.
Slightly lifting her gaze, Emryn’s eyes met Kiarra’s. She was staring intently at the bracelet. Emryn froze her hands. Did she know? There was no way Seth would have told Kiarra about the bracelets. They were small and insignificant. Nothing warranted him telling Kiarra about them.
Kiarra’s cold stare turned smug. The ends of her lips turned up in a sly grin. “Do you still cling to him?” she whispered, too quiet for anyone else but Emryn to hear. “Do you think he’d still care about a traitor?” Emryn stabbed her nails into her palms. She kept her expression blank as Kiarra smirked at her.
“You didn’t deserve his strength nor his loyalty. He defended you. Told us you wouldn’t hurt him. Even said you’d make a way for us to get home. He trusted you and then you betrayed him.” Emryn remained silent. Kiarra didn’t know what she was talking about. Seth had betrayed her first but she still gave him a way out. She let him go. He should’ve taken advantage of that instead of attacking them. “Now he’ll see you for the freak that you are.”
Simone slammed her fist against the steel wall. The sound echoed through the room, ringing through Emryn’s ears. She was too engrossed in Kiarra’s words she hadn’t noticed Simone lift her fist.
“What are you mumbling about?” Simone demanded.
Kiarra glanced up and smiled sickly. “Nothing you need to worry about, Sweetheart. I was just talking to myself. After all, I make much better company than you two.” Kiarra slouched forward, pulling the chains with her. “But while I’m here I gotta know, how did someone like you become a soldier? You seem too dull and blockheaded to get anything done.”
Simone pulled out her small handgun and pointed it at Kiarra’s forehead. She was angrier than usual. While Simone glared, Emryn watched in fascination. If she had known they were allowed to kill her, Emryn would have beaten Kiarra’s skull in the wall the moment she opened her mouth. She pondered over that thought. Maybe she was too violent.
“Choose your next words carefully,” Simone warned.
Emryn kind of wanted Kiarra to do the opposite. If it meant she’d get shot, Emryn wasn’t going to complain. It might be nice to see the enemy soldier’s blood on the floor.
The door slid open. Malcolm walked through with a heavy step, eyes cast down at the floor. Lifting his head, he took in the scene with scrunched brows.
Simone’s finger rested on the trigger of her gun. She looked deadly. Her stare unwavered.
“Simone,” Malcolm said, warning in his voice.
Simone stopped pointing the gun. “I know,” she said and then smiled like nothing happened. “Can’t kill her yet.”
Malcolm watched Simone as she walked back to Emryn, but he didn’t look at her. Emryn watched him though. Something had changed in him. His usual calm and indifferent demeanor was gone. Malcolm was disturbed. Deeply bothered by whatever the meeting had been about. Emryn would have to ask Zaiden about it because Malcolm didn’t look like talking.
Moving to stand between them and Kiarra’s cage, Malcolm’s back faced them. His eyes remained on Kiarra, who’d suddenly gone quiet.
“You can take your leave now. Meeting’s over.” Malcolm glanced over his shoulder to Simone. “Go find Alex.”
At the mention of his name, Simone’s heart spiked. Judging from the way Malcolm said it, something must’ve happened to Alex.
Simone grabbed Emryn’s shoulder to drag her out of the room. “Come on Emmy.” Simone tried to come off as calm but Emryn could see through it.
Emryn was pulled around Abrax like a doll, Simone leading the way with frantic steps. But Emryn kept thinking about Malcolm’s strange behavior. Something happened in that meeting and she wanted to know what. With a preoccupied mind, Emryn might have fallen without Simone’s iron hold.
“Where is he?” To anyone else Simone sounded annoyed but Emryn caught the worry in her tone.
They maneuvered around the facility until Emryn spotted a shaking figure up against a wall. Hidden by the corner, Alex stayed out of mostly everyone's views but when Emryn froze and Simone looked over, she ran right to him.
Alex watched the floor and didn’t move until Simone had him in a hug. She pulled back slightly to get a better look at his face. Emryn chose that moment to finally walk over to him, but once in his line of sight his eyes turned sad and he looked away.
Simone’s hands went to the sides of his face to force him to look her in the eye. Alex forced a smile as she mumbled sweet nothings to him, asking if he was alright and what he was doing hiding in the corner.
“Everything’s fine,” he lied. “You don’t have to worry about me.” Alex tried to seem more chipper. “You know how those meetings go.” His hand grabbed one of Simone’s that was still on the side of his head and placed a light kiss to her palm. That seemed to calm Simone down a bit but Emryn couldn’t help but notice he wouldn’t look at her. Alex looked at anything and anyone but Emryn.
“We should get going. I have to be back down in the monitor room to take over watch,” he said, successfully diverted the attention onto something else.
Alex started for the hall but Emryn blocked his path, making him finally meet her eyes again. He froze in his spot. “You sure you’re okay?” Emryn asked.
He clutched Simone’s hand. Alex slowly nodded his head, looking down to avoid her eyes again. Emryn’s jaw clenched. Why was he back to being afraid of her? She thought they had already moved past this. Emryn thought about interrogating him further but she had a feeling Simone wouldn’t like that.
Zaiden. She needed Zaiden.
Emryn stepped out of their way. She watched the couple go but didn’t miss the concerned looks Simone kept giving Alex. Emryn recalled the way Malcolm had acted once he came back. What had Adnan done to them? Emryn fumed. Even though her body was still weak, the implants surely expired by now, she inched to use her power. Maybe she should just kill him.
She shook that thought away. Zaiden probably wouldn’t like that. Plus she’d lose any place she had at Abrax.
Wandering through the halls again, Emryn searched for Zaiden. People gave her curious looks when she pushed through them but she didn’t care all that much. The only thing that mattered right then was finding Zaiden and figuring out what happened in that meeting.
Emryn eventually made it to the hall near their rooms. She wanted to see if she could find him there, but the hallway was filled with voices. Braun and Maki were chasing each other, laughing hysterically when Braun ran into a wall. The two kids were bright eyed and loud. Emryn couldn’t hear inside Zaiden’s room very well.
“Braun,” she gently called out and the boy froze. “Is Zaiden in here?” she asked, pointing towards the door.
Braun eagerly nodded his head before Maki tackled him to the floor. An interesting pair.
Emryn pushed the door open to find Zaiden sitting at the edge of the bed, starting at his hands. Tired and overworked, Zaiden was too engrossed in his mind to notice Emryn enter.
“Zaiden,” Emryn whispered, walking over to him. Her voice started him and he stiffly launched to his feet. As soon as he saw her though, Zaiden visually relaxed. His shoulders sagged and his face softened.
“When did you get here?” he asked, standing up.
Emryn walked over, ignoring his question, and placed her hands onto his sides. Zaiden stood there confused but she kept her eyes searching. Gently running the palms of her hands over his abdomen she didn’t relax until she knew for certain there were no fresh bruises. Emryn signed in relief, plopping her head into his shoulder and wrapping her arms around him.
“He didn’t hurt you,” she whispered. Adnan had kept his side of the deal so far.
Zaiden returned her embrace, his hand tangling in her red hair while he held her. “No,” he whispered back. “He didn’t.” Zaiden pushed back slightly to get a better look at her. His fingers gently wiped away stray tears Emryn hadn’t noticed she shed. “Are you okay?”
She thought about lying. It would’ve eased his worry a little, but she once told him not to lie to her it was only fair she kept the same citrusy. “No,” she said. “I need you to tell me what happened. I can’t stop thinking about it. Why did Malcolm and Alex react like that after coming out of the meeting with your father? What did he say to them? Why won’t they even look at me anymore?”
Zaiden pulled her back into his shoulder, whispering reassurances. “They're just worried. They don’t know how to process what was given to them. You don’t need to worry about them.”
Emryn pulled back, her hands still gripping the fabric of his shirt. “What did he say to them?” She desperately tried to search Zaiden’s eyes for answers. He swallowed roughly and averted his gaze.
“My father doesn’t trust you. That meeting was about implementing a plan to contain you if you step out of line. That’s why Malcolm and Alex are acting the way they are. Because they care about you.” His hands slid up to her chin, then his forehead rested against hers. “I care about you,” he said, then a tear streamed down his cheek. “I can’t tell you exactly what happened in there. My father, he…” Zaiden shut his eyes , then took a deep breath. “I won’t let my father or anyone else hurt you.” Zaiden cupped her jaw, fingers faintly touching her hair. He finally looked at her again. “Emryn, I promise I’ll protect you. From all of it.”
Emryn looked down, grabbing the hand that rested against her jaw. “I’m supposed to protect you,” she said, glancing up.
Zaiden smiled. Sad and broken. “We’ll protect each other.” Then his lips met hers in a gentle kiss. Emryn’s heart was beating frantically. She wanted this— him. She had finally found a home and she wasn’t willing to give it up. Zaiden lips were soft. They were comforting. They were safe. She didn’t care about knowing the exact details of the meeting. She trusted Zaiden.
With her whole heart.