Page 57 of Captured Onyx

Epilogue

Malia

"Let me speak to her alone."

Lailah's request freezes the blood in my veins. My back stiffens and my shoulders tense. I don't know why I fear her. She's lying in a bed, tubes attached to her body, looking more dead than alive, and so frail that she looks as if someone has literally sucked the life out of her. There's nothing she could do to me.

Except speaking.

The savage tone of her voice is bone-chilling, and the thought of being left alone with her frightens me, especially because she didn't ask me to stay—she commanded.

Nate doesn't appear to like the idea any more than I do. He narrows his eyes, a quizzical look darting back and forth between her and me.

"What for?" he demands. "I was hoping we could speak in private for a moment."

"And we will," Lailah says calmly. "After I've spoken to her—alone."

Her expression is fierce and unyielding, and if I wasn't scared of her as much as I am, I'd probably admire her for standing up to Nate like this. I don't think I could ever do it.

The most amazing thing about it is that she actually succeeds. He casts me one last look, apathetic and unreadable as usual, before turning around and walking out of the room, closing the door behind him.

I feel like someone is sitting on my chest once I'm left alone with Lailah. My breathing is choked and erratic as I return her pointed look.

"I apologize," she begins in a surprising twist. "I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sure it's the last thing you need right now."

I hesitate, unsure what to respond.

"Big George told me about you," she goes on. "Daveed doesn't always comply with Nate's decisions as much as he should; he never has. He told George all about you right after the guys took you from that casino. Nate tried to keep it a secret for as long as he could, but George hates to be kept out of the loop. We needed to see you as soon as possible, to make sure Nate was doing the right thing."

Grimacing in pain, she pauses for a moment, catching her breath. It's apparent that speaking takes a lot of energy from her, draining from a diminishing pool of strength that is limited at best right now.

"And?" I ask, unable to hide the cynical mood that her last words put me in. "Is he doing the right thing?"

She catches my tone, choosing to respond to it with a benevolent smile.

"To be honest, I don't know. You and I, we don't have the same definition of right and wrong."

"That we can agree on."

"But I can say this," Lailah goes on. "I know it doesn't feel like it right now, but you're fighting on the right side of this war. We're not the good guys, but we're not the bad guys, either. The Scivolas, however? They deserve what's coming to them."

I bite my lower lip, suddenly overcome with an insecurity that feels misplaced. "I don't know if I can do it."

"No one does, but can you promise me that you'll try?"

The look on Lailah's face changes. The cold-hearted fierceness I saw in her expression before has disappeared and been replaced by a soft appeal instead.

"I've been preparing for this mission for so long," she adds in a sad tone. "And I wouldn't have done it, if I didn't believe in the mission."

I scrunch my eyebrows in doubt. "But why? Nate won't even tell me all the details about this mission, but what little I know, it doesn't seem to me like it's based on good versus evil."

Lailah lets out a little sneer, shaking her head at my words.

"He's trying to protect you. That's just the kind of man he is. Very protective of his subjects."

"Subjects?"

"Well, that's what you are to him," she says. "But it seems that you might be more than that."

---