Autonomy: Book 2 in the Invasion Day series (4 page)

Instead of pleading his case or ordering her around, Kronus grew visibly colder, and Kyra’s confidence shrunk along with her resolve. She stepped back against the wall, but it was no use. He leaned in closer and stopped only when they were nose to nose. He dominated the air around them both, and her chest tightened as she began to panic beneath his icy stare.

“He so much as touches you again and I’ll kill him with my bare hands, is that understood?” Kronus said flatly, and she didn’t doubt it for a second. “He took you for that treatment sneakily, but I let him off because it was for his favorite ‘pet’ in The Tower. If I’d known then that it was you…” he tailed off, and Kyra looked up at him in utter disbelief.

“You’d what? Refuse him? Let Greegis kill me?” Kronus slammed his hand against the wall beside her head, but then cupped her cheek with the same hand in an odd gesture of dominance and gentleness.

“I would’ve made them wait rather than risk your life on an unstable serum. I don’t think you realize how dangerous it was,” he answered gruffly.

“I know full well, and almost died on the gurney,” she informed him, and suddenly felt lost. “You’re making me crazy. I don’t know what you want from me, Kronus. Either let me be part of your life or let me go, you can’t have it both ways.”

“I can’t be what you want me to be, but I can’t bear to think of you with another either. I want you locked in that Tower behind a computer screen until the end of time. I can’t have you, but I’ll die happy knowing no one else can have you either.”

“That’s incredibly selfish, and old-fashioned, don’t you think?” Kyra asked, and he raised an eyebrow in question. “You don’t even know me or want to be with me, yet you’re ready to lock me away because something inside you is drawn to me. I make you feel something for the first time in your life, and instead of enjoying it, you’re fighting that sentiment every step of the way. I thought your race treated women equally, or perhaps it’s only the Thrakorian women you respect?”

“Watch your tongue, Kyra. Don’t forget with whom you’re talking to,” he warned, growing colder again, and she knew for sure she was right about him. Every time she pushed his buttons Kronus retreated emotionally, but she knew she had to say what was on her mind while she still had him there. She couldn’t live her life being controlled and forced into loneliness by a being she’d never see or have in her life, yet who ruled everything about her shackled existence. There had to be a compromise, otherwise Kyra knew she’d never be happy.

“I’ll never forget, don’t you worry,” she said, and placed her hands on his shoulders. “I’ll never forget the man who gave a little girl with nothing to live for a simple kiss on the cheek, and a glimmer of hope. I kept that hope so close to my heart that I spent everyday since with a secret love for the King who many followed because they had to, but I followed because I wanted to. I never believed in true love or that you might have felt something for me in return, but if you truly do—then let me live my life.”

“Thrayke won’t give you a future, Kyra,” he told her, and stepped back to lean against the opposite wall.

“I don’t want a future with him, I just want to keep his friendship. He and I were friends before anything else, and I couldn’t stand it if you took that away from me,” she said, and meant it. If they couldn’t be lovers then she’d have to accept it, but she still wanted his friendship and the connection they’d shared since she arrived at The Tower.

“In a way, that’s worse,” Kronus replied sorrowfully. “I want to know you like that. To understand what makes you tick, make you laugh and bring you gifts I know you’ll love.”

“You’re right, you don’t know me, and you certainly can’t have it both ways. For both our sakes, decide now,” she implored him, and felt incredibly overwhelmed with sadness. Kyra knew she was about to lose everything that made her something different than the other mindless followers of their regime. He wasn’t going to back down, she could see it in his eyes, and knew the answer before he even said the condemning words.

“Get out of that damn dress and go back to The Tower,” Kronus said, and he then stormed off out the door and towards the entryway at the end of the hall. Kyra looked down at herself and quickly realized she was still wearing the tight dress she’d worn out in New Delhi with Gage. It was far from the usual army attire, but she’d had to wear civilian clothing while undercover so hadn’t had a choice. She didn’t care what she was wearing or whether he liked it, and she certainly wasn’t finished with him yet. After kicking off her borrowed boots in a huff, she stormed after Kronus, but he was gone. Kyra let out a surprised humph when she walked through the door and bumped straight into one of the huge Thrakorian Sentinel’s who’d been part of the earlier extraction team.

“The Besieger would like a word,” he told her, and then quickly ushered her into one of the other interrogation rooms. Kyra sighed angrily, but knew she had no other choice than to comply. After a deep breath, she followed his lead, and tried not to look around at the others in case it was obvious just how broken she felt inside. Kyra was unsure where Kronus had gotten to, and she kept telling herself she didn’t really care. It was no use, but she still had to try. The soldier closed the door behind her, and Kyra hovered, unsure how best to proceed.

“General Millan, please have a seat,” Thrayke said in the same authoritative tone she’d grown used to while in work, and she expected to find someone else in the room with them, but quickly realized they were alone. She did as he asked, and stared across the desk at the man she’d shared many intimate moments with, and yet who now regarded her like nothing more than another of his Gentry officers. “You and General Gage are on probation until further notice. The King doesn’t wish to pursue a court martial, but any more insolence may result in future punishment. A hovercraft will be here shortly to take you both back to The Tower. You’re dismissed.”

If she’d felt broken after Kronus’ words, she was utterly in pieces under Thrayke’s cold, hard scrutiny, and wondered how or if she would ever come back from the two life-changing conversations she’d just had with both powerful men in only one day.

Kyra suddenly wanted nothing more than to be alone. She needed to grieve the loss of her connections to the men she’d put her trust in, and whom had both seemingly tossed her aside so easily. Tears pricked at her eyes without warning and she wanted to fall to pieces, but instead she forced her head to take control of her body, rather than her heart. Thrayke’s iciness broke her heart, but the strength she somehow always managed to summon in times of need rose up within. Just like when she and Silas had ended, she forced her tears away, held her head high, and climbed out of her seat without a single word to the man sitting opposite.

Chapter Four

Kyra thundered out of the small room and walked right into Tarquin. He was the last person she wanted to see while she was fighting back tears because she knew he’d see through her façade, but it seemed she couldn’t avoid his questioning gaze. He grabbed her by the shoulders, holding her still.

“What’s going on?” he asked, but she couldn’t say a word. Kyra ran straight for the ladies’ bathroom, where she locked herself inside and flung her dress off and onto the floor in a huff. She had no clue what on Earth was going on, which was the only part of this entire situation she
was
sure about. After turning on the shower and climbing in, Kyra let it run as hot as she could, and was grateful for the cascading water and billowing steam that hid the tears that forcibly returned. Before she could calm down or begin to reason with herself about what’d just gone on, the all-consuming sobs she’d fought hard against showing finally came bursting out of her, and she had to grip the bar on the wall to stop from falling to her feet.

Kyra tried to take stock of her life, and to figure out exactly where she could go from here. King Kronus had finally found her again, but had refused to let anything between them flourish, no matter how much they both seemed to feel a connection to one another. She’d settle for friendship with him, but wasn’t even offered so much as a snippet of a relationship. He’d told her twice now to leave him alone, and so she vowed she’d do just that. He might be her leader and King, but Kyra was determined not to let him rule her heart or her soul any more. Her entire life, she’d held onto this dream that they had shared something special on that rooftop. Something different to anything she’d known before or after Invasion Day. Kronus had been more than just a crush or a memory held so dear it’d warped into something more. They’d affected one another profoundly, and he couldn’t deny that even if he had denied his feelings or desire for her.

And then there was Thrayke. He had been a friend and mentor. He’d protected her and listened to her hopes, dreams, fears, and secrets during their time together, but now he was like a stranger, too. He would never defy his King, and so Kyra knew they could never be anything more than colleagues ever again. She was alone, again, and felt so empty in the knowledge that she was heading back to The Tower to live a boring, lonely life. And all at the command of a King who refused to acknowledge her so Kyra hated that she would never again be allowed to enjoy the company of the enigmatic Besieger.

Her tears ran and ran, refusing to be quashed any longer, and she cursed herself for foolishly letting the two powerful Thrakorian men affect her so incredibly. A quiet, polite cough then alerted her to the presence of someone else in the bathroom, and Kyra poked her head around the curtain to see who it was. Tarquin was stood there, holding a fresh set of combats for her to put on after her shower. His face dropped when he saw her expression, and he shuffled his feet awkwardly.

“I thought I’d locked the door,” she moaned, and then pulled her head back under the water to avoid his pitiful gaze.

“You had,” he answered over the roar of the shower. At least she hadn’t imagined that. Kyra couldn’t deny though, she was glad he’d brought her a change of clothes, and realized she hadn’t thought that far ahead when she’d stormed in there. She listened out for the door closing shut behind him, yet he seemed intent on not leaving her alone, and his voice carried across the jets to her again. “There’s been a development. You’re needed in the control room.”

“I’m off the case, Tarq. I’m only good for sitting behind my desk like a good little geek I’m expected to be. Apparently field-work isn’t for sweet little naïve girls like me,” she snapped, and turned off the water with a huff. Kyra dried off and wrapped the towel around herself, and opened the curtain to find him still standing there waiting patiently.

“I think anyone who’s ever met you knows you’re worth far more than that,” he replied with a sly smile, and his cocky expression took her right back to life worlds away from where they were now. She hadn’t seen Tarquin in years, and felt like a completely different person to the girl she’d been back when she and his brother Silas had started dating. Back then, she was just a Corporal at the end of her primary training. His mother had looked down at her like a scummy little foster-kid who was so obviously trying to get her hands on her families’ fortune and status, but now Kyra outranked them all, and she hoped Freya McDermott knew all about the success she’d achieved after ditching her precious son. “Stop letting other people define who you are, or what you’re worth. I don’t know what’s gone on, but I do know you’re better than this. You’re not the girl who goes crying to the bathroom while men walk all over her. You’re the girl who punches the man holding her back in the face and walks away with her head held high.” His words startled her, but they did the trick, and he had her grinning from ear to ear within seconds.

“Oh, so you know about that?” she asked with a laugh she hadn’t thought she’d be able to share so soon after being so upset, but Tarq’s words were already making her feel ten times better. They’d hardly gotten to know one another while on vacation in Hawaii, but had developed a quick and easy playfulness back then that still seemed there, despite her having moved on from her relationship with Silas a long time ago. After he’d purposely tried to hold her back from completing secondary training in the top-five, thus losing her recommendation to go for Elite training, she’d done exactly as Tarq had just said. Silas was so desperate not to let her go that he’d hurt her both mentally and physically, and she’d responded with a punch to the face before walking away and never having seen him again.

“Absolutely. He came clean after that Gron guy sent him to work at a training camp in the middle of nowhere. He lasted two weeks before calling our parents and begging them to do something. Father managed to get him reinstated at Fort Angel, but under one condition—he became Sentinel Gron’s personal lackey.” Tarquin laughed at his brother’s foolishness, but seemed impressed at the same time, and Kyra wondered if perhaps the strong hand had been exactly what Silas had needed. Lieutenant Psy had given him many chances to change, yet he’d always seemed to resort back to his selfish ways, but evidently not under a Thrakorian’s tutelage. “Gron’s a beast, and has really put Silas through his paces, but he needs it.”

“He sure does,” she agreed, and then had to smile thinking of her old trainer. “Gron kicked my ass on more than one occasion, but I needed it every time. I needed this, too. Thank you,” she added, and he bowed slightly. He might not have known what’d upset her, but she appreciated how he wasn’t bothered about prying into her personal affairs. Tarquin only seemed to care that she was okay, and now that he was satisfied, he turned around so Kyra could get dressed and ready to head back into the fray.

“Anytime, midget. Anytime,” he replied, and laughed when she shoved him on the shoulder. “You ready?” he asked without looking back. She checked her appearance in the mirror, and was grateful for the wondrous serum and its rejuvenating benefits. Kyra hardly even looked puffy or red-eyed. In fact, she looked downright bright and bubbly, even if she didn’t feel it.

She hummed in affirmation, and then followed her kind friend back out into the thankfully far less occupied hall. They walked in silence, and Kyra was grateful for a few minutes in which to try and clear her head. She didn’t know what’d happened in the thirty minutes or so she’d been in the bathroom, but if whatever development was potentially about to halt her and Gage’s return to The Tower, she knew it had to be important.

Tarquin led her through another maze of corridors and walkways, before finally opening a door to a computer control room. Numerous consoles were set up to monitor both the site they were at and the local community, and Kyra was shocked to find one of the screens filled with a face she’d come to know well over the past few days. Tanner, the barman from New Delhi, was taking quietly into a handset with one of the Thrakorian soldiers, but the sound of his voice was being pumped into speakers all around the room so that the others could hear what he had to say.

Kyra spotted Thrayke over by the wall, and was surprised to see King Kronus standing beside him, along with his personal guard, the Master Protector. They were each watching the screen and listening intently, and were like huge statues against the dark brick. Kronus was taller, but Thrayke was bulkier, and together the duo reminded Kyra of the gods of old that were always depicted as powerful warriors. Each had their own strengths and weaknesses, and yet they exuded a clear and concise message that they were two men not to be messed with—ever. Kyra felt drawn to them both in many ways and despite them having said they felt the same in return, they each wanted nothing to do with her.
Aren’t I lucky?
she thought as she crept inside.

“What’s going on?” Kyra whispered to Gage when she reached him, in an attempt to force her thoughts away from the two behemoths in the back of the room. She’d sought out and joined the only person she wanted to go to in the small crowd, and was genuinely glad to have found him there.

“Tanner’s an undercover soldier. It turns out he’s been working on a similar theory as us for a while now, but hasn’t managed to get in with the rebels before this round of gatherings. He’s made contact to discuss what went down with us last night,” he whispered back, and Kyra nodded in understanding. She was pleased to find they’d had a friend there all along, but now had to assume their cover must have been blown and their progress lost.

“Talk among the locals is rampant, and they know the two newlyweds were carted off by soldiers, but they don’t know why. Rumors are rife about it being either rebel activity, an illegal marriage, that they were on the run, or even that Kiki is a slave who ran away from her master to be with Timmy,” Tanner’s hushed voice echoed all around them, and suddenly all eyes turned to her and Gage. “This story has created a real buzz, and I’m sure it’ll be a topic of conversation at the gathering tonight. It’s a shame they can’t be here, as I’m sure Tuka and the others would’ve accepted them after all of this.” She’d heard that name, Tuka, and knew he was the head rebel recruiter for that area. He was their original target, but since being carted off, their objectives had been forcefully changed. If only there was another way.

“Why can’t we be there?” Kyra blurted out before she could stop herself. “We’ll say the police had nothing on us and we passed the Inquisitor’s interrogation, as technically we still hadn’t done anything wrong. Rebellious thoughts don’t necessarily mean treason,” she asked the group, and her gaze met Thrayke’s. He was the only person she’d ever confided her doubts about the Thrakorian regime in, and he’d promised to keep them to himself for her protection, because fundamentally they’d seemed true. Kyra was glad to have had the opportunity to remind him of that promise, even if it was in front of a room full of soldiers. “The pair of us can head back to New Delhi, albeit a little worse for wear, and we’ll go to the gathering with one heck of a story to tell about how badly were treated and how much more determined we are to join the rebels because of it.”

“Absolutely not,” both Kronus and Thrayke answered in unison, and everyone turned to look at them in surprise. Tanner waited patiently from behind his device, and Kyra wondered if he knew who’d just spoken or not. He still seemed his usual calm self, whereas everyone in the room was visibly uncomfortable around the King after his so uncharacteristic outburst.

“It’s the most logical approach, sir,” she replied with a sneer. “Gage and I can go in, attend the meeting, work with Tanner to gather intel, and he can then feed it directly back here. We’ll go only as far as we need to before coming back, and it’ll give us an inside view of their regime in a way we’ve never managed before.”

“She’s right,” Tanner added, and she liked him all the more for it. “They can say they were held for questioning and nothing further.”

“A word outside please, General,” Thrayke then said, and he walked over to the doorway, which he held open for her. Kyra had to resist the urge to roll her eyes, but followed, and was surprised to find Kronus tailing behind her as well. The three of them stood in the hallway together, and she peered up at them both in anticipation for her telling off. It didn’t take long before they each started yelling at her for even daring to suggest going back undercover, and she stared back and forth between them both in a daze. Their words were pouring over her, but she didn’t care to listen to either of their demands and orders. It was their faces she was watching, noticing as their cheeks were getting redder and redder as they bellowed. Both were going on and on, and she suddenly began laughing.

“An hour ago you both walked away from me. You each told me to stay out of your lives, and now you suddenly care? How dare you!” she cried, filling the stunned silence. “This is the logical approach to gaining intel and a pathway directly into the rebel hold. There’s no reason for me not to go, so unless you’re planning on locking me up…”

“If that’s what it takes, I will,” Kronus interjected, but Kyra shook her head. It was all suddenly so abundantly clear to her, and so she used every tool she had to try and get her own way. Her relationships with them both were lost anyway, so she figured she might as well go out with a bang.

“But then you’d have to explain why, and something tells me neither of you want your dirty laundry being aired in public. If I’m to be the secret you’re both so ashamed of being found out, then I’m going to do as I please, and you aren’t going to stop me,” she called his bluff, and it worked.