Zayne seized control of her world in every way possible, so she stared helplessly into his eyes, her knees weak. Weak with shock and raw emotion and the humiliation of wanting him for so long.
Leaning down to level his face with hers, voice cutting and guttural, Zayne issued each word like its own separate command. “You. Will. Not. Die.”
A strangled breath squeezed from her tight lips.
No mercy. None.
His stare sliced through her, and he wasn't apologizing for it.
His order vibrated in her chest. “Say it.”
Kira's lips parted, but she couldn't speak.
Zayne's fingers dug into her arms, and his voice deepened. “Say it, now.”
“I will not die.” Nothing more than a vain gasp that she didn't mean to promise. He found her weakness and battered her spirit with it. There was still no air in her lungs. And Zayne still wasn't satisfied.
“Say it again.”
Hot tears broke from her eyes and trailed down her cheeks. Her jaw tightened until it ached, and then she raked in enough oxygen to say, “I will not die.”
His eyes searched hers several seconds longer, and then he released her, only to plant his hands on either side of her. To lean in even closer, until his chest nearly touched hers. “No, you fucking won't.” A confounding mix of fury and pain warred in his eyes, and for once, he didn't hide any of the emotions fromher. “I'm going to get you out of here.” His fist slammed into the wall, and she flinched—not because she was afraid he'd hit her. He'd never hurt her. But because the pain flaring in his eyes was so strong, it choked her. “You will not die. You promised to stay alive. Nothing has changed.”
He turned sharply and stalked past his mother, who gaped at him. Zayne slammed the door shut so hard the furniture rattled, and a picture tumbled from the wall to the floor.
Kira gasped in her first good breath.
Her body wilted, sliding to the ground.
Hands shaking, she clasped them to her middle, still feeling his burning stare.
All that certainty she felt, all that strength when she told Adelle she'd take her own life, crumbled away to nothing. And it wasn't because Zayne scared her out of it or because she no longer feared what might happen if they failed. It wasn't because of his confidence that he could free her and save the Followers.
No.
It was because Zayne let Kira see all the way into his soul and beneath his rage, his strength, his power. Down to a broken desperation crying out to her. She looked into the eyes of the boy who had once been trapped in Dr. Cooper's icy waters, and she heard his spirit pleading with hers.
Not again.
Not again.
Please, not again.
Kira lifted her fist to her mouth. It was already too hard to say goodbye to this life she wanted so desperately. Why did Zayne have to make it so hard to leave?
Why did he have to let her see that all that was broken inside of him? Right now, when this was the only time she needed him to hide from her.
He couldn't promise to get her out. It might not be possible. For all they knew, the Phaedra was on his way right now to kill the Followers.
Couldn't Zayne have been strong for her and done it himself? Instead, he made it worse by fighting her.
Or was he right?
Was Kira giving up on herself when she would never give up on someone else?
“I can't let them die.” Kira's voice sounded hollow as she lifted her dead gaze to Adelle. “I can't.”
And how could she take the chance her mom wouldn't break when Kira wasn't sure she'd stay strong in the same situation?
