Blaze of Secrets (Asylums for Magical Threats) (22 page)

Millie tried to protest, but again, she couldn’t get her voice to work. Then she tried to think of a way to circumvent the order, but her mind blanked. She tried again, but failed. It took her a second to realize what had happened to her.

Shit.
They’d dosed her with rowanberry juice.

Rowanberry juice was illegal amongst the
Feiru
, but that didn’t prevent some from using it. The juice would compel a
Feiru
to listen to your every order and instruction for about a day. More than one dose every two weeks would kill you.

The man walked toward her and Millie kept her face as expressionless as possible. This was a major

obstacle, but she wasn’t giving up yet. Even if Jaxton answered this man’s demands and came to rescue her, she’d find a way to get everyone out of this situation alive.

Kiarra sat atop a metal examination table, dressed in a hospital gown, and swung her legs back and

forth, trying not to smile. Ty would walk through the door any minute, and Kiarra could hardly wait for
him to shut the door and kiss her. If he had enough time, maybe he’d make love to her again too. Even
after a year, just thinking about his naked body over hers made her blush.

He’d made progress on his special formula, which was good news on so many levels. Maybe one day

soon she would no longer be a prisoner, and she could spend the rest of her life with Ty. She could always
make him laugh, and he’d taught her so much. Ty had also protected her, ensuring Kiarra received better
treatment than the other AMT prisoners.

Kiarra was only eighteen, but some of the other eighteen-year-olds had already lost their sanity. Some
adjusted easily to life inside the AMT compound, while others fell into despair. Kiarra understood how
easy it was to do that, especially since she’d been in a dark place herself until Ty had entered her life a
year ago.

She wished she could do more to help the other inmates who didn’t have someone as wonderful as Ty

for their researcher, but at the end of the day, she knew there was nothing she could do to ease their pain.

Ty’s work would eventually make all of their lives better; without elemental magic, all of the first-borns
could go home to their families and start over.

The door opened and Kiarra stopped swinging her legs when she saw two of her least favorite guards

standing in the doorway. She knew better than to ask them why they were here and waited to see what they
would do. Maybe something had come up and Ty had rescheduled their session. It wouldn’t be the first
time he’d had to do that.

But as the two guards stepped aside and the head warden walked into the room, Kiarra sat up straight
and wondered why the head warden was here. The only reason he came to see an inmate was if they’d

broken at least half a dozen rules—or a major one—and he would issue their punishment.

Since Kiarra hadn’t caused any real trouble since she was fourteen, when she’d learned that the

punishments here were harsh and painful, his sudden appearance made her uneasy.

The head warden reached her side, gripped her arm, and yanked her to her feet. He looked her in the

eye, a sneer on his face, and said, “You have been charged and found guilty of seducing and seeking to
manipulate an AMT employee for personal gain. The guards will mete out your punishment immediately.”

Kiarra’s heart stopped and she tried not to panic. There had to be some mistake.

She glanced at the door. Ty would come and clear up this misunderstanding. He would tell them the

truth and save her from an unwarranted punishment. Ty had never failed her before, and she didn’t doubt
him now.

The head warden noticed her glances toward the door and gave a cruel laugh. “Dr. Adams was not

only your accuser, but he provided evidence. He won’t be coming to intervene on your behalf.”

Fear gripped her belly. “No!” she shouted, and tried to squirm free of the head warden’s grip. Ty
would never betray her like that. He’d said he loved her. They’d made plans together.

There was no way Ty would abandon her.

They would throw her into solitary confinement for speaking out, but Kiarra couldn’t keep quiet. The
head warden’s accusation was wrong and she had to make him see that. “This is some kind of

misunderstanding. Talk to Dr. Adams again and he’ll clear it all up.”

The head warden said nothing, but started to drag her over to the outstretched hands of the two

guards waiting at the door. She continued to struggle and hoped that Ty would find her in time. A charge
of seduction was one of the highest offenses inside the AMT.

If no one intervened, they were going to whip her.

When the two guards took her upper arms in steel-like grips, she started to panic and tried her hardest
to squirm free. But no matter how much she twisted or bucked, she was no match for the heavily muscled
guards. They pulled her along as if she weighed no more than a feather, and as the seconds ticked by and
Ty remained absent, tears started to stream down her cheeks. Why would he do this? Was there someone
else? Had he just been using her all this time?

Didn’t the head warden know about her role in developing Ty’s precious formula?

The guards finally hauled her into an adjacent room and she let out a sob when she saw the

instruments hanging on the wall. She pulled back with all of her weight, but they lifted her with barely a
second of hesitation before they yanked her the final few feet to the metal table in the middle of the room.

She was no match for the guards’ strength as they tossed her face down on the table and forced her hands
into metal bands on either end. Even after the bands clicked closed, she wiggled and tried to pull her
hands free until her wrists were slick with blood.

She stilled when she heard one of the guards take something from the wall and slap it against his

palm. Reality set in as she realized that Ty wasn’t coming to save her. There was no way out.

They were truly going to whip her.

With her heart pounding in her chest, Kiarra closed her eyes, turned her head, and laid her cheek on
the cool surface of the metal table. Maybe this would be it. Maybe the guards would kill her and end the
pain in her heart.

First her parents, and now Ty. Everyone tossed her away when it was convenient. No one ever fought to
protect her.

She was unwanted.

The guards ripped the back of her hospital gown and made taunting remarks, but she didn’t hear them

over the frantic beat of her heart. She just hoped that they’d end it quickly. She’d already suffered more in
five years than most people did in a lifetime.

The first lash hit her back and Kiarra screamed at the burning pain. The guard hit her again, and

again, never lashing at a predictable beat, which made the torture worse than anything she’d ever

imagined.

Her body finally numbed, but she couldn’t stop her tears. And as blood trickled down her sides to the
table, pooling around her just like her tears, Kiarra wanted nothing more than to die.

Kiarra bolted upright in bed, choking back the remnants of a scream. She looked around the unfamiliar

room, but when she saw Jaxton leaning over her, Kiarra closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

It’d only been a dream.

She couldn’t remember the last time she’d dreamed of her first whipping.

“Bloody hell, Kiarra, what were you screaming about?”

She looked up and saw Jaxton’s scowl. If not for the concern in his eyes, she would’ve thought he’d

forgotten about last night.

Last night. No doubt her memories of the head warden had triggered the dreams again.

She mentally cursed the head warden, and by extension, Ty Adams. The two of them had robbed her of

a wonderful night spent in Jaxton’s arms. His warm body had made her feel safe, and while part of her

wanted to curl up against his chest, she wouldn’t allow her past to taint and possibly destroy whatever kind of chance she had with Jaxton. The last thing she wanted from him was pity; she would sort out her mind

first, and seek comfort later.

“Kiarra?”

Jaxton brushed her bangs to the side and his touch intensified her urge to jump into his arms, but she

steeled her resolve. “It was just a dream. Nothing you need to worry about.”

“Bollocks. You were tossing and turning before you screamed loud enough to wake the dead.” He put a

finger under her chin. “You can tell me anything, pet, because if you can’t learn to trust somebody, you’ll never be a full-fledged member of DEFEND.”

She shook her head and dislodged Jaxton’s finger from her skin. Each time he was kind to her, it

weakened her resolve. “You don’t understand.”

Jaxton sat down on the bed, next to Kiarra’s hip, and put a hand on her cheek. “Talking about your

demons helps to chuck them out for good. You need to tell somebody, so tell me.” The indecision in

Kiarra’s eyes tore at his heart. “I won’t judge you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Why should I trust you when you don’t trust me?”

Kiarra almost sounded like herself again. “Well, that’s where you’re wrong. I was planning on taking

you out to scout information with me this morning. But if I think you’re mentally unfit to go out into the field, then I’ll have Millie stay with you while I go out alone.”

Millie hadn’t come back to the flat yet, but Kiarra didn’t need to know that.

Kiarra’s eyes widened. “You’ll take me out and let me help you?”

Jaxton raised an eyebrow. “Why would I say so otherwise?”

She searched his eyes and when she finally spoke, her tone was solemn. “I’ve never told anyone about

what happened.”

“I’m not just anyone, you know.”

His deliberately arrogant tone worked, making Kiarra smile for a brief second before she took a deep

breath and averted her gaze. “I sometimes dream about the day the AMT head warden found me guilty of

seduction, and his resulting sentence.”

He held back his anger and kept his tone gentle. “Tell me about it, pet.”

There was a brief silence, but Jaxton’s patience was rewarded. “They restrained me to a table and

whipped me.” She closed her eyes and Jaxton traced her jaw until she opened her eyes again. “All I

remember was being scared, the overwhelming pain, and then the darkness.”

“Unconsciousness?”

Kiarra leaned forward and tucked her head against his chest before she shook her head. “For a time, but

even when I woke, it was dark. I spent three months in solitary confinement.”

When she shivered, he sensed there was something more that she wasn’t telling him. Jaxton drew her

closer against him and waited until she had settled before he said, “What happened during those three

months?”

Kiarra started and pulled away so that she could look Jaxton in the face. “W-why would you think

something happened?”

“Let’s just say that I’m fairly good at judging whether someone is hiding something from me or not.”

She scowled, and Jaxton knew she was once again becoming his version of Kiarra. “Is there anything

you can’t do?” she asked.

He grinned. “I can’t give birth to babies.” She swatted his chest and Jaxton captured her hand and

squeezed it. “Now, tell me. What happened?”

She stared at their hands as she spoke. “The head warden often came to my cell for inspections, to make

sure my injuries were healing.”

“Because they whipped you more than once.”

She looked up at that and nodded. “Yes.” She looked back to their hands on his chest and he squeezed

her fingers gently. “But the head warden had his own kind of inspection.” She closed her eyes, her voice a whisper. “He would strip me and force me to stand while he looked at me.”

Fucking bastard.
Kiarra flinched and Jaxton loosened his grip on her hand. “Sorry, pet. I didn’t mean to hurt you, but just the thought of what he did to you makes me furious.” He rubbed the back of her hand

with his thumb. “Did he ever…hurt you?”

“Thankfully no.” She traced designs on his chest with her free hand. “The head warden died within a

few months of my confinement, before he ever had the chance. They said it was a heart attack.” Jaxton

harrumphed and Kiarra looked at his face. “What was that supposed to mean?”

Sulking wasn’t his usual way, but Jaxton didn’t care. “I wanted to kill him for you.”

She smiled. “In an odd way, that’s sweet.” She searched his eyes. “But you really believe me, just like

that?”

The note of skepticism in her voice irritated him. “If given the choice between believing a clever,

spirited, beautiful, if somewhat naïve young woman, or believing a man who worked for a system that

imprisons and tortures children, which would you choose?”

Kiarra blinked at his praise. She was unused to it, which meant Jaxton needed to do it more often.

Kiarra didn’t know how much she had to offer the world. Certainly more than her lack of elemental

abilities or her body. Hell, she could call him out on his shit for one thing, which was a task in and of itself.

Kiarra shook her head to herself and he wanted to know what she was thinking. There would come a

day when she wouldn’t hide anything from him, especially since he wasn’t letting her go anywhere for the foreseeable future.

But right now, she still didn’t feel comfortable enough to confide in him without reserve. He was about