“I prefer not to know.” The Phaedra sat back. “You’ll have to ask him. This is a family matter now. It’s not my place. I can never make this situation right. The least I can do is allow your father his justice.”
Zayne saw the High General's justice once, in the form of dozens of slaughtered militia members. In the form of Imani and Ashantae on the run for life. The Phaedra tried to distract and manipulate him. That wouldn't work. Not today.
“You still killed my mom.” Zayne’s voice turned steely.
There might have been a flicker of fear in the Phaedra's eyes. It was a flicker of something Zayne had never seen. Something dark, fleeting, and human.
Silence stretched on, the agony of all the sacrifices rolling over Zayne, one impossible grief after the next, one guilt after the next, until Mom's whisper filled his ears. As if she stood right beside him.
“Don't let them kill ourgirl.”
The Phaedra never stopped staring into his eyes. “I killed your mom.”
Hearing it sawed at his remaining threads of control. “Now you owe me,” Zayne said. “A life for a life. Mom was ours, and you took her.”
He couldn't remember a time he had ever talked to the Phaedra where it felt like the man couldn't read his mind. Not until now. That flicker Zayne just saw shifted into curiosity. The dangerous curiosity of a thrill-seeker who wanted to know how close he might get to the beast that wanted to kill him without losing a hand.
The Phaedra didn't argue but merely watched with an insatiable gleam in his eyes.
“You'll give me Kira's life in honor of my mother,” Zayne said. “Whatever happens, and I mean whatever, she isn't yours to kill. Not directly or indirectly.” He stood. Stepped closer until he looked down on the Phaedra. And the man recognized the danger in front of him, a danger he had never experienced in person. “Understand?”
A slow smile curled the Phaedra's lips. His body looked too at ease sitting there, but his eyes spoke the truth. Death recognized death. “I told you to be careful with her.”
“I'll do what you want. Kira is yours, so long as she's alive.” She'd never be his, but Zayne had to buy her time.
“You don't know, do you?” The Phaedra chuckled. “Deals have already been made over your mother. I need more.”
What? He breathed harder.
“I never knew she was a traitor,” the Phaedra said. “But I knew she wasn't mine, and after her rebellious spirit infected you, I decided to stop the bleeding.”
His parents never said anything to him about this.
“You sinned because your mother passed rebellion onto you. It's your father who saved you both. He paid the price for your lives. Now he's mine forever.” His long form rose from the couch, and he slid his hand into Zayne's hair, close enough to smell lingering sweet smoke. “Do you know the power of owning a man willing to destroy their own emperor?” His eyes deepened. “That's why I want you. Your brother will serve me no matter what I do. He's weak. I want someone strong enough to fight me. That is someone powerful enough to serve at my side.” Nails ran along his scalp. “Once they're conquered, of course.”
The Phaedra's oppressive presence battered him while he was wounded and bleeding out. Zayne could do nothing but listen, too shocked to fully take in what he said.
Then the Phaedra's voice turned gentle. “You want me to spare Kira?”
The fresh grief of losing his mother destroyed his ability to defend himself. “Yes.”
The nails dug into the back of his head, cutting into his skin. Phlegm rattled with the Phaedra's throaty roar. “Then I own you.”
Still clawing into Zayne's skull, the Phaedra lifted his other hand and softly trailed his cheekbone, touch sliding down the side of his face, along his jaw. His thumb found a swollen knot from his father's punch, rubbing the tender flesh. Pain dug into his face.
“Ask me to give her to you,” the Phaedra said. “I won't kill her if you do.”
He gripped Zayne's short hair and took his time pulling his head back until his neck strained. As much as he wanted to fight the emperor, he knew he'd lost as much ground as he'd gained. Zayne leveraged his grief, but the Phaedra wouldn't give Kira up for free. So, he closed his eyes, ignoring the hot breath against the side of his face.
“Ask me.” The whisper slithered into his ear.
“Will you let Kira live?”
The grip on his hair tightened. Zayne couldn't track the Phaedra's eyes with his head ripped back, but he felt his scrutiny burning into his skin. “Is that really the best way to ask your Phaedra for your bitch's life?” Another jerk on his hair. “Please, Phaedra, give her to me. Please, let me have her. Please. I beg you.”
Zayne's nostrils flared, jaw clenching. Every word hurt. “Please, Phaedra.”
The emperor melted his lips over Zayne's swollen jaw, speaking against his skin. “Yes?”
