Born of Silence (77 page)

Too weak to move, she listened to his heart beating beneath her ear. “They killed me.”

His arms stiffened around her. “What?” he asked in disbelief.

She groaned as a sudden pain stabbed her body. “Obviously, they brought me back so that they could continue torturing me. I think I was only dead for a few minutes.”

And the machine they’d used to resuscitate her felt like it’d broken every rib in her chest.

But at least she was alive. Pip hadn’t been so fortunate. He’d died under their torture about an hour before she had, and when they’d gone to resuscitate him, his body had caught fire.

Panic seized her at the memory. His death had been both gruesome and excruciating. His screams would haunt her forever.

Don’t think about it…

Gods, how had Darling stood months of this? Every part of her ached more than she would have thought possible. How could anyone be in this much pain and not die?

But at least she hadn’t been raped. Thanks to Safir who’d
reminded them that even though she was an outlaw captured in Resistance headquarters, she was still an aristo. As such, by their own laws, they couldn’t have her raped while in their custody.

How sad that they had to make what should be common decency a law. And sadder still was that such a law made them better than her Resistance brethren who hadn’t been so kind to Darling.

When would the cruelty stop?

Ture winced as he carefully turned her face to survey the latest damage. “You have got to think of your baby, sweetie. Give them something—anything—so that they’ll stop this before it’s too late.”

Tears stung her eyes. She feared that she’d already lost her baby. She’d been spotting earlier, before they’d pulled her out to interrogate her again. But there was nothing she could do now, not unless she told them she was pregnant and that was too big a risk, too. “I can’t.”

“You mean you won’t.”

She wouldn’t argue that. No matter what, she would never hurt Darling. It didn’t matter what they did to her. She would not betray him.

“He’ll come for me soon. I know he will,” she said with as much conviction as she could muster.

“You’re such a fool, Zarya. How can you be so blind after everything you’ve seen? People just aren’t that decent or reliable. They’re not. We all want to believe in the magical hero who flies in at the last minute with his army and saves us from our enemies. But it doesn’t happen in real life. Ever. People hurt you and they disappoint you, and there’s nothing you can do about it. You have to take care of yourself first, and realize that when the rain comes, you’re standing in it all alone.”

She shook her head, then hissed at the pain it caused her.
“You’re wrong, Ture. When someone really loves you, they don’t give up on you. Ever.” And she would never give up on Darling, nor had she stopped looking for Kere—not until she’d found him.

Ture leaned his cheek against her hair in a way that reminded her of how Darling held her. “I used to be like you. And when my life fell apart I saw the ugly truth of people. They don’t care about anyone but themselves. There’s no such thing as friendship. People only hang around when there’s something in it for them.”

She frowned at the bitterness in his tone. “What are you getting from my friendship? Other than beaten to a pulp and starved to illness?”

He brushed at her hair. “When we’re not imprisoned, you make me laugh. And I missed not having a friend. You keep me from being lonely.”

Still, she didn’t believe his argument. “And when I called you, you came to me to do something dangerous. Why?”

“Because I’m stupid and loyal, even when I know other people wouldn’t be that way for me. I learned a long time ago that I never get out of a relationship what I put into it.”

She winced as he struck a bruise on her scalp. “You’re not the only one who’s loyal and decent, Ture. It’s why I won’t betray Darling. He wouldn’t betray me and I know it. When someone really loves you, they find a way to get to you, even in the darkest night, against all odds. Through the worst nightmares, they are there, holding your hand. They’re there to stand with you to the end. I don’t just believe that. I know it.”

Ture scoffed. “When I was a child, I believed that, too. I did. But my hero spit on me and walked out. I hope for your sake that yours doesn’t.”

“He won’t.”

Ture sighed. “But he’s not here now…”

“He’ll come…”

Ture kissed her forehead. “I hope so, honey. Just once in my life, I’d like to be wrong.”

“So what’s our plan?” Hauk asked as Darling adjusted his trajectory settings.

The link crackled before Nykyrian answered. “Keep Darling alive.”

Darling rolled his eyes at Nykyrian’s droll tone. “You two are aware of the fact that I am on this frequency, too, correct?”

“Of course we know, sugar,” Jayne said. “It wouldn’t be any fun to talk about you if you couldn’t hear us. So anyone got some juicy Darling tidbits to share? If we push it, we can probably make his skin match his hair… C’mon, Mari, I know you have to have good dirt.”

“I do, but… I’d rather keep it to myself. You never know when you’re going to need blackmail material.”

Jayne laughed over the link. “You suck.”

Darling ignored them and returned to Hauk’s original question. “The plan is to get the prisoners out and back to Caronese territory before we get killed.”

Syn cleared his throat. “I don’t mean to be the kick in the crotch, but you do know that this would have been easier had you given us enough time to pull specs and actually formulate a plan of attack.”

Probably, but Darling hadn’t been willing to wait. “By then, they could have killed another hostage. Or all of them.”

No one argued that.

So Darling continued. “We have cursory plans of the prison’s layout. Hauk and I will go in to distract the brunt of their forces, while the rest of you pull out my people.”

“Uh, you’re not going to make anything explode, are you?” Hauk asked.

Darling snorted. “One of these days, we’ve got to get you over your fear of explosives.”

Except there wouldn’t be a future for him. Not after this. Darling had no intention of coming back…

This would be his last fight with his friends.

He didn’t want to think about them mourning him. He couldn’t afford that.

Not now. This wasn’t about love or family. It was about vengeance. Making the people who hurt Zarya pay… a life for a life.

Nothing else mattered.

None of them spoke much as they flew in under the League sensors, courtesy of Nykyrian’s knowledge of their security procedures and equipment, Syn’s hacking abilities—along with the fact that he, Jayne, Ryn, and Nero were four of the very few who’d escaped League prisons and lived, and the updates that Saf had sent to them. Darling had no idea why Maris’s little brother was sticking his neck out for them, but he was grateful that whatever madness had infected Kyr hadn’t traveled down to Safir.

Yet.

Once they were safely through the barrier, they docked in an area where the League patrols wouldn’t be able to see or sense them. Something that was helped by the fact that there was only seven of them flying in first. They would take down the scanner system and alarms so that the prison wouldn’t be able to call for help.

At least not until the Sentella had enough firepower and backup to make the League High Command think twice about attacking them.

The beauty about most League prisons, and this one in particular, was that they were outposts far removed from the bulk of the League’s army or any largely populated planet. The thought being that if the inmates became too frisky and took control of it,
the League could detonate whatever rock the prison was on and take out every prisoner. Yes, they’d lose a few staffers, too, but the League wasn’t really worried about collateral damage of their own people since their prisons were staffed with their more problematic soldiers and older assassins who weren’t mentally sound enough to be trusted with regular assignments and normal sentient populations.

The drawback for them on this mission was that the staffers were much crazier and more bloodthirsty than the inmates.

The League also kept their prisons remotely located to discourage escaping. If, by some miracle, a prisoner did make it out, in theory their sentries would be able to catch up to them before the escapees could disappear into a populated zone.

Caillen tucked his hands into his pockets as he joined Darling by his ship. “You know, this is a much nicer prison than mine was.”

Darling shook his head at Caillen. “Yours wasn’t a League prison.”

“True. If I ever get locked up again, I’m going to put in a transfer request. Send my butt here.”

“Yeah, it’s official, Cai,” Syn said as he joined them. “You’re insane. Trust me, you’d much rather be in your baby jail than this place.”

Ryn nodded in agreement. “I definitely concur. I don’t ever want to be in a League prison again. Bad flashbacks attacking with a strobe like effect. I’m getting hives just from seeing the security grid.”

Darling tried not to think about the fact that he was the reason Ryn had those nightmares.

Life was all about coming to terms with the mistakes made. Learning to live with them even when they cut soul deep.

Syn tsked at Ryn. “Be grateful they let you out. Me, Nero, and
Jayne had to find our own door. Believe me, I’d much rather be breaking in than breaking out.”

“Oh yeah,” Caillen laughed. “They find out you guys are here and they’re liable to keep you. On second thought… What the hell are you doing here, Syn? You get locked up and I have to face the sister-beast. You know, she don’t hit like no girl and since I’m her baby brother, she has no compunctions against beating my ass. And I know
you
know this, she strikes below the belt when she fights. I’d like to have a son someday and for once at least match if not outnumber the estrogen army in my home.”

Syn arched a brow at his tirade. “Are you finished? Or do I need to sedate you?”

“I’m temporarily finished. However, if you get taken, kill me. I don’t want to face Shahara.”

Darling would take Caillen to task, but he well understood those sentiments. Shahara could be a hellcat when something set her off. He definitely didn’t envy her brother those fights.

Nykyrian, Maris, and Hauk joined them and rounded out their number.

Even though Nero was still in agony with his migraine, he, Chayden, Drake, Fain, Jayne, and the others were on standby to come in and transport their people home as soon they brought down the prison’s network.

Like the rest of his group, Darling didn’t remove his helmet and he kept the voice distortion on as they quickly prepped for their assigned roles. Only a very small handful were privy to their identities. The rest of the Tavali and Sentella with them knew that Darling fought with them and made weapons for them, but none of them needed to know he was really Kere.

Not until he was dead.

Syn was the only one of them who’d never hidden his real
identity. The son of one of the most notorious serial killers and outlaws in history, he didn’t care who knew his name or face. Not until he’d married Shahara and had a family to protect.

While Syn worked on hacking the prison’s relays and feed, they checked in with their waiting ships to make sure they were ready to land as soon as the shields were down.

“So Nero,” Hauk said into his link. “We’re going to get out of this, right?”

“Not psychic. I can tell you what is, but not the outcome. Why can’t you people get that through your heads?”

“Not people, human. I’m Andarion. Why can’t you human’s get that through
your
heads?”

Darling cleared his throat to get their attention. “Once Syn has their transmitters down, I’m going in, explosives blaring. I’ll have them diving for cover. Let me know when you have the prisoners safe and I’ll protect your exit.”

Nyk inclined his head to him. “You got it.”

Hauk grabbed extra blasters and tucked them into his holster, within easy reach. “I’m ready to cover you. Just don’t lob one of your toys at me by mistake.”

Darling clapped him on the back. “Don’t worry, Dancer. By the time you see it coming, it’ll be too late.”

“Great… just great. Love your sense of humor.” Hauk glanced at Nykyrian over his shoulder. “Why didn’t one of us train him on how to use blasters?”

“He liked explosives better,” Syn muttered as he typed furiously.

Maris grabbed an extra rifle. “I’ll pull the back.”

Darling shook his head. “I want you to stay behind. Hauk and I are a team. We’ve done this thousands of times.”

“And I know every thought you have three seconds before you do. An extra gunner won’t hurt.”

He would argue, but he knew better. Maris always won their fights.

“All right,” Syn said. “Feed is down. Sentella and Tavali, land the ships and Kere… it’s your show now. Run it.”

“Thanks.” Darling gave a nod to Maris and Hauk. “Let’s paint some walls with entrails.”

But before Darling could leave, Nykyrian pulled him into a man hug. “May the gods walk beside you every step of the journey, little brother.”