Page 17

Wade into my abyss so I may learn how to stay afloat.

Khalani left the Warden’s office in silence. Her feet moved through the tunnels in a weightless daze, like a ghost trapped in an endless loop of denial.

She replayed the conversation with the Warden over and over, struggling to grasp the idea of her visiting Genesis.

The demand was illogical. Unbelievable.

Outlandish fantasies weren’t supposed to escape the boundaries of imagination. But no matter how many times she reinterpreted the tense exchange, the conclusion remained the same.

She would see the sun for the first time.

Khalani thought of nothing else as she let the icy-cold water run over her head in the prison showers and while she sat ramrod straight in the library.

She chewed her nails and stared at the same sentence in Winnie’s book. Winnie kept peeking at her with concern throughout the shift, asking multiple times if she was okay.

“I’m fine,” was the only response she could manage .

But she wasn’t. The anticipation of reaching the elusive domed city was overshadowed by thoughts of the Governor. What were Alexander Huxley’s motives? Why had he singled her out?

Maybe he knew about the lies she told the Master Judge during her sentencing, and Khalani would be executed publicly to set an example. The Governor had done much worse.

Her parents’ once-bright faces—ever-present in her mind—darkened and warped into blank canvases, blood pooling from the corners of their mouths, reminding her of the Governor’s treachery.

Her fear shifted. Conviction set in her mind like a slab of cement.

If the Governor intended to kill her, she’d do everything in her power to take the bastard to hell with her.

After her library shift was over, she rounded her block and found Takeshi waiting outside her cell.

And he looked pissed .

“You’re late,” he bit out in an irate voice, not even bothering to look at her.

“Sorry, misplaced my watch.”

Riling Takeshi before training wasn’t the most intelligent decision she’d ever made, but practicing self-control was the furthest thing from her mind.

“Maybe I should string you up in the pit the rest of the week, so you’ll remember not to waste my time.” His dark gaze swept over her.

“I might just take you up on that offer,” she murmured.

Takeshi’s chiseled face held more aggression than usual, marred by deep lines on his forehead. Something in her expression made him shake his head. His tongue darted out, and he licked his lips. Slowly. As if he were gathering patience with each long stroke.

“Don’t tempt me today,” he hissed, brushing past her shoulder.

Her blood heated, but it wasn’t so much in fear anymore. Her mind was a whirlwind of emotions, and Khalani couldn’t explain what she felt, even if a loaded gun was held to her forehead .

They didn’t talk in the elevator.

Takeshi flexed his jaw, every muscle in his body taut. Khalani cracked her neck on both sides, then popped each finger and her wrists. The tension between them was so thick you’d need something much sharper than a knife to cut through.

She knew better than to ask what was bothering him. Takeshi never opened up about his emotions, much less spoke of his personal life. The less they knew about each other, the better.

Khalani quickly grabbed her training clothes and changed when they entered the training room. Takeshi respectfully faced away, his hands on his hips.

She closed the locker and walked to the bench, grabbing the gloves to protect her palms from the heavy weights. Takeshi had tossed them to her without a word after he noticed her bloody blisters a few sessions back—a kind gesture that surprised her.

“You ready?” Takeshi impatiently asked with his back to her.

“Yeah.” She unwrapped the Velcro on the gloves. “Just give me a sec.”

“You won’t need gloves today.”

Khalani raised her head in confusion as Takeshi moved toward the cage in the center. He unzipped his black vest and threw it to the side. Underneath the vest, Takeshi wore a black tank.

Each dent of tightly packed muscle in his shoulders and veins in his arms was visible. His body was built to draw attention—strong and formidable.

Tenacious.

And she was staring.

“Oh. I, umm.” Khalani cleared her throat and glanced away, tossing the gloves aside. “Am I starting with push-ups in there?”

“No. Come in here, Kanes,” Takeshi commanded, gesturing at her to enter the ring.

Her brows lowered, but she swung her legs over the bars, joining him in the circle. Takeshi rolled his neck and slowly stretched his arms behind his back.

Khalani’s gaze was drawn to the V-cut stretching into his pants as his shirt lifted. A raised scar spanned from Takeshi’s right shoulder to his collarbone, highlighting the ridges in his muscles, honed by years of discipline.

She kept staring and quickly glanced away when she caught his gaze. “What are we doing then?”

“I’m going to teach you basic self-defense and combat moves.” Takeshi squared his shoulders.

Her eyes narrowed in disbelief. “Why? You said I was too weak to do any good. ‘The roaches don’t even fear me’ were your exact words, if I recall.”

She killed a couple roaches the night he said that. But their cousins always returned, as if to mock her.

Takeshi turned and held one hand to the black bar. He grabbed his foot from behind, stretching out his quads. Khalani didn’t fail to notice the tight grip he had on the bar, his knuckles turning opaque white.

“I was informed today that Governor Huxley requested you to be one of his servants at the dinner tomorrow.”

The air immediately thickened. She moved toward the bar and re-tied her hair in a ponytail, trying to occupy herself with anything else.

“Not like I have a choice. But hey, at least I get to see Genesis.”

Takeshi swiveled around. “You need to be careful, Kanes.”

“From what?”

“Genesis is a mirage. It’s more beautiful than your dreams could conjure up, but when you get up close, you’ll see it’s just as corrupt as Apollo. Keep your head down, don’t talk, and don’t trust anyone, especially the Governor.” The sharp lines in his forehead deepened.

Khalani nearly expected someone to burst the door down for his comments. Slander against the Governor was punishable by death. That was how oppressive and controlling Apollo’s rule was.

“I don’t get it. You’re the Captain of Braderhelm. Aren’t you on the Governor’s side?” she pressed him .

“I am on Apollo’s side. I serve this city and its people with loyalty. It’s not my place to make my opinions known on the Governor’s or the Council’s decisions. But you and I both know that any move against the Governor, real or perceived, means your death. Don’t do anything stupid up there.”

The weight of his words gripped her. Her senses sharpened to the point where she could almost feel the air molecules brushing against the surface of her skin.

Takeshi’s eyes narrowed as if he were aware of her motives and plans of hostility against the Governor. He saw too much.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She whirled around.

Takeshi was across the circle in a flash. He gripped her arms and turned her to face him. He leaned down, and she had nowhere to look but into his fierce gaze.

“ Don’t lie to me. I know what happened to your parents. I know what they did to you the night they died,” he hissed.

His words bounced off the walls, and her breath froze, as if a cold breeze rushed through the room.

She felt like a bug flipped on its back, waiting to be trampled.

Vulnerable. Defenseless.

How did he know that?

“Is this really necessary, sir?” the mortician asked the guard who dragged eight-year-old Khalani into the eerie room.

Bright-white lights hung over the ceiling. The room was frigid. It wasn’t just the temperature. It was the energy. As if all life had been sucked out of the cold space. Khalani’s attention was fixated on the bodies lying on the silver table.

The bodies had grey plastic bags wrapped over them, but their faces were exposed.

“I suggest you not interfere, doctor, unless you want to join them?” the bulky guard responded, with a rough hand on her collar.

The mortician’s eyes fell on her and were filled with guilt, but he backed away and let the guard pull her closer to the bodies.

Khalani started to shake. Tears ran down her face. Through her blurred vision, she could see their faces. Her lips trembled and her sobs became more pronounced as her chest rose up and down with panicked breaths. Khalani put her head in her hands, a breath away from keening over.

“Open your eyes,” the guard said.

She shook her head and cried harder. Snot was dripping out of her nose.

“Look at them.”

“I-I, c-c-caaan’t,” she sobbed.

Stiff fingers shoved under her face and lifted her chin. “Look at them!” the guard demanded.

Her eyes opened, and her knees nearly buckled under her. Her brain could barely comprehend what she was seeing. It was her mother and father.

Their faces held no warmth or life. They were pale. So pale that their skin was almost translucent. Her father’s eyes were closed, but her mother’s were half-open, staring unseeing into the distance, her lips slightly agape.

No. No. No.

Her mouth hung open, but her parents didn’t rise from the table to hug her and tell her it was only a nightmare. They lay there stiff and silent. Dead.

Her wails filled the room, and she heard the mortician leave as if he couldn’t bear the sight any longer.

“Study them well.” The guard wrapped his hand around the nape of her neck. “Your parents were traitors. And these are the consequences of betraying Apollo. They got what they deserved. If you follow in their footsteps, this is what will happen to you. Do you understand?” the guard yelled, shaking her.

Khalani’s whole body trembled, and she shook her head. She became hysterical and tried to lunge forward so she could hug them and lay down next to their bodies.

So she could die too.

But the guard picked her up and pulled her away.

“Noooo!!” she screamed, kicking the air, reaching for her lifeless parents. He ignored her cries and carried her further and further away.

“Mommy!!!” she wailed .

Khalani quickly blinked the memory away, trying to prevent any tears from forming. She shook her head at him.

“Don’t…just don’t. It’s not a problem for me anymore, Takeshi.” The lie spilled off her tongue, ready to be forgotten.

She tried to pull away, but he wasn’t having it.

“Stop it, Kanes,” he snapped. “Stop lying .”

She lifted her gaze to the heavens, praying for one of the painted angels on the ceiling to fly down and take her away. The moment was so absurd that she started laughing and held her hands up at her side.

“What difference does it make? You said it yourself. There is no room for weakness in Braderhelm.” She leveled him with a vicious glare. “Why should I open myself up to you? You hate me. Is this your way of getting my guard down, only to kick me to the ground? Are you trying to expose me to be as weak as you think I am?!” By the end, she was screaming, and her words echoed across the murals.

The more her defenses weakened around Takeshi, the harder she clung to any semblance of security against him. He was too smart and read right through her.

Around him, she felt cracked down the middle, exposed to the world.

Her pulse quickened as he leaned closer until only a couple inches separated them. “I want a lot of things, Kanes. But you thinking that you’re weak isn’t one of them. I push you so hard because I know you can handle it.”

“And what do you want?” she dared to ask.

He hesitated, gazing down at her with uncertainty. Khalani held her breath, waiting for him to cut her deep. She wanted to hear the answer so bad that she almost wished he wouldn’t speak. She was revealing too much. Opening her soul to a bigger world of hurt.

But time couldn’t flow backward. The present was all that remained.

Without thinking, she leaned closer to him, surrendering to Takeshi’s magnetism. He paused, exhaling deeply, and met her vulnerable gaze. She didn’t know what he recognized in her expression, but in the next second he pulled back.

The moment disappeared. Like it never existed in the first place .

“I want us to continue your training. You’re too feeble right now to defeat anyone.” His tone hardened to steel, and Takeshi marched toward the opposite end of the enclosed arena.

Khalani stood in silent shock. She didn’t understand what was happening. Didn’t know why a surge of disappointment ran through her.

He was the Captain of Braderhelm.

Her sworn enemy.

And her heart was racing like she’d just run a marathon. She wanted the confusing emotions to stop. Wanted to feel normal.

Takeshi swallowed and cleared his throat. Even he seemed on edge as he didn’t quite make eye contact with her either.

Good.

He shouldn’t have said those things. He shouldn’t be nice.

She was just fine with them hating each other.

“Are you ready to fight?” He turned to her, clenching his fists at his sides.

Oh, yeah. She’d never been more ready to beat a man up.

Anger surged behind her like a fiery cape. Unable to trust her voice, she raised her fists and nodded.

Beware the woman scorned. She was more dangerous than any nuclear bomb.