Page 29

Carve open my mind and witness a sea of you pouring out.

She cracked her fingers individually while she sat in the dark hollow of her cell—again. The echoing snaps and pops filtered through the space like a distorted melody of impending doom. Her gaze was fixed on the chalked lines on the stone wall.

Khalani wished she could’ve met the prisoner who had once inhabited her cell. The person who had the energy to tally their days in Braderhelm Prison.

497. She’d counted many times.

Did they die with their dreams still trapped inside?

She didn’t dare number how many hopes, beliefs, and wishes had perished underground.

How sad a fate, to be born out of pain, only to have the cycle of suffering continue. As if humans pass down the misery inherited from their mothers.

Hard footsteps echoed outside Khalani’s cell.

Her back stiffened. Stress lines bracketed the corners of her mouth as she stood and peeked out her cell. Her hands tightened around the cold bars as Takeshi came into view.

The sharp lines of his cheekbones stood out, and the soft locks of Takeshi’s black, disheveled hair swept over his face. Not in a way that appeared messy or sloppy, but in a way that was effortless and captivating, as if his harsh beauty didn’t require attention but manifested it anyway.

His long legs ate up the walkway as he strode through the halls, completing the cell count for the night. Dressed in all black, with an unrelenting fire in his gaze, he looked like a harbinger of hell, prepared to annihilate his enemies.

“Takeshi,” Khalani whispered when he passed her cell.

He immediately froze. The lines on his forehead deepened as he slowly turned to her. The guarded expression in his sharp gaze made her pulse beat faster. Memories of the kiss they shared speared her mind.

Try as she might, there was no forgetting that.

The way his lips claimed hers. The way his fingers grazed over her body with tenderness, but his inky eyes stared into her own with a promise—a warning—no longer simply the quiet, vigilant force.

When Takeshi surrendered to his desires, he wouldn’t just take.

He’d possess and linger over every square inch, until no doubt remained of who you belonged to.

And she’d been prepared to yield everything to him, all her doubts and fears wrapped in a jar, but he took that glass and smashed it against the wall.

Judging by the intensity in his cool glare, the vulnerable parts of him were scattered across the floors of the prison, too.

“What?”

“Can I talk to you for a second?” Her hands grew clammy against the bars.

He stepped closer, wariness apparent in the rigid set of his frame.

“Do you mind coming in here? No one else listening,” she mouthed those last words.

He hesitated but pulled out the touchpad. After a moment, the bars slid open, and he walked through. Takeshi’s large frame occupied her entire cell, completely dominating the space. He crossed his arms over his chest, muscles taut with caution.

She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as his jet-black eyes pierced hers, nerves tingling through her skin. But she didn’t have time to contemplate the consequences if Takeshi said no to her request—or worse.

Khalani took a steadying breath, straightening her spine and staring back at him with a fierceness that made his eyes narrow.

“We’ve decided to leave Apollo.”

Takeshi didn’t react, but a static tension was present in the air, a harrowing pressure that made her suck air in a little faster.

“We talked to Brock. They’ve been lying to us, Takeshi. About the radiation on the surface. The crops. Everything. But we have a plan to escape to Hermes. There is a secret entrance to the surface not far from Braderhelm. But for us to escape, we need your help… I need your help, Takeshi,” Khalani whispered, her heart fracturing at the distance in his eyes.

His gaze hardened. “You don’t listen to me at all, Kanes. What do you need my help for?”

“You’re the Captain. You know every guard rotation and hallway in Braderhelm. You’re our best chance of survival, because if we stay here, we die. And I have to believe that a small part of you still cares enough to stop that from happening.”

Takeshi’s forehead creased as he pondered her words.

“What makes you think I won’t tell the Warden about your plan? I had a hand in killing those prisoners. You already see me as a cold-blooded murderer.” The ire in his tone thickened with each word, and her lips parted at the harsh bitterness in his expression.

“Maybe I do. Nothing will ever excuse what happened to those prisoners, but a part of me hopes that the person who tried to save his mother, who saved me, is still there. That despite the bad choices you’ve made, you are still capable of doing something good. And I know it’s all over now, but…” Khalani hesitated, a knot lodging itself in her chest. “But I don’t want to lose another person in my life who once cared about me.”

The furrow between Takeshi’s brows grew deeper, and a strange emotion flickered in the black depths of his eyes.

Out of all the threats and adversaries he’d faced, he stared at her like she was the most dangerous.

“You’ve already forgotten one of the first lessons I taught you.” Takeshi slowly inched forward.

Her brows drew low. “And what’s that?”

“Not wasting your time hoping for things down here.”

“Is that your answer then?” Her glare matched the intensity of his.

“Depends.”

“On. What?”

“Escaping Braderhelm won’t be easy, even with my help. And that will seem like a cakewalk compared to traveling the surface. Dying is the most likely outcome, quicker if Brock is lying about the radiation.”

“He’s not.”

“Even so, the risk is there.” His head lowered. “Are you prepared to face those dangers and come out alive? Or are you merely searching for a better way to die?” Takeshi was so close she could almost taste the warm, earthy scent coming off his skin.

Khalani’s eyes narrowed as the question sliced through her, taking her back to that fateful afternoon in the pit all those months ago, the first time Takeshi asked if she wanted to die. He saw the truth, even then. Surrendering to the unfairness of life by escaping in death.

Thoughts as dark and cruel as the number on her wrist.

But she resisted. She remained . And Khalani finally realized there were things worth bleeding for.

“You’re right, Takeshi. I didn’t listen to you. I should’ve. Not hoping would’ve made my life a hell of a lot easier and less fucking disappointing. But in this one thing, I finally beat you.”

Khalani lifted her head, meeting his sharp gaze. “I may not be able to knock you out or shut off my emotions, but if you ask me, it takes greater strength to maintain hope when everything is crumbling around you. I haven’t given up yet, and don’t intend to start now. So, what will it be? Will you help us, or am I wasting my breath?”

His expression shifted. “And if I said no, what then?”

“I’ll find another way to escape. And not even you could stop me.” She lifted her chin, daring him to contradict her.

The corner of Takeshi’s lip lifted, and a hint of depravity flashed in his hooded eyes.

“I’m nearly intrigued enough to let you try.” The silence lengthened. “Fortunately for you, it won’t be necessary. I’ll help.”

She let out a deep breath, cold relief spreading through her, despite the uncertainty of trusting Takeshi. “Tha—”

“Don’t.” His intense voice whipped against her. “I don’t want to hear it from you. Not when you’re wrong.”

“About what?”

“For your own survival, Kanes, don’t make the mistake of searching for the ‘good’ in me. You’ll only end up disappointed.”

He turned away as her face transformed into disbelief.

“Then why’d you change your mind?” she asked, unable to keep her mouth shut.

Takeshi stopped, the large muscles of his back facing her.

“I have my reasons. Maybe someday I’ll tell you. Maybe I won’t.”

He walked away without a backward glance.

A torrent of emotions flooded her body, bitter and sharp enough she could almost taste them.

“Am I just another game to you?” The pained question flew from her tongue before she could snatch it back. Takeshi paused, and Khalani held still, not wanting to hear the answer but dying to all the same.

“Everyone’s a player, Kanes. I’ve punished. I’ve killed. But I never once played with your life.” He turned his head and their eyes locked. “Can you say the same?”

She pursed her lips in response .

“What I thought.” He stared brazenly. “I’ll get you to the surface. Alive. Try to get yourself killed, and you won’t like my reaction.”

“I’ve already seen you angry at me.”

“No, you haven’t. You wouldn’t dare be in this cell alone with me if you had.”

Takeshi’s lethal tone and the way his eyes glinted made her muscles coil instinctually. Takeshi inclined his head and opened the bars, leaving her alone with a soft bang of closure.

She stared at the spot he’d just stood, their conversation replaying in her mind over and over. If their plan worked, she wouldn’t be able to rest or relax, not with Takeshi around. He might turn into an even bigger threat in the future.

She rubbed her hands over her legs as an unfamiliar and terrifying emotion seeped into her.

Would she be able to take the necessary actions and kill Takeshi if it came to that?

Khalani cursed in the confines of her cell.

Yes. Yes, she would. She would have no other choice. Because if she started caring for the enemy more than herself, she already lost.