Defenders of Destiny Bk 1: Destiny Begins

Thermobaric.

Warning ⚠️: This book contains graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised.

"So black is the best color for the suit, it allows you to hide in shadows and such..." Killian glanced at Kai out of the corner of his eye, the slightly older male not meeting his gaze as he instead stared down at his hands.

"I said what I said." Kai's answer caused Killian to sigh quietly as he began to type on his computer once again, eyes seeming to glaze over as he worked.

"Why neon blue, if you don't mind me asking? It'll make you stick out quite a bit to have two slashes of blue on your thighs and triceps. It's not difficult to add or anything but it's kinda impractical." Killian continued to work as he spoke, not wanting to sit in silence like they previously had been for the last two hours. Kai having only told Killian what to add to the suit around an hour ago after Killian took his measurements.

"It was my sister's favorite color. Mine too. Our nursemaid had neon blue eyes... Which, now I know was because she was an android but still. It was comforting for both of us to have her. For awhile, anyway." Kai mumbled without looking up, choosing to instead pull his butterfly knife from his pocket as he flicked it open, twirling it around in his hands.

"I see... So... Uhm... Your nursemaid raised you then?" Killian asked rather awkwardly, wishing that Kai would leave him alone to work in peace but he knew the male wouldn't go upstairs until it was time to leave.

"In a sense, yeah. Not very hard considering we were only babies for like three months. She taught us to read and how to walk... All the normal mom stuff. But she never gave us love or anything. We were just stupid and thought she loved us sheerly because she kept us alive. Little did we know, she didn't have a choice. She wasn't even alive in the first place. After our fifth month they just stopped having her come in altogether. They had us eat in the dining hall after that, which was the first time we'd ever seen any humans other than ourselves. But we weren't allowed to talk to anyone but each other. They wanted us to bond and become loyal to each other and each other only." Kai's expression seemed to darken even more, if that was even possible as his rapid movements with the knife seemed to pick up. The metallic sound grating on Killian's ears but he said nothing about it as he cleared his throat.

"I was like that with my younger sister, Skylar. She was the accident but I loved her more than the rest of my siblings. Sounds messed up I know... But... My oldest brother, Spartan was... Well... Kinda aloof with my existence in general... My older brother Kareem was too busy with girls and sports... And my sister Kiera was a good big sister but she was always off studying and doing important stuff after she entered high school. So it was basically me and my baby sister Skylar. I miss my family. My mom and dad were always working which made us closer as siblings but my parents were still amazing. They raised us wanting for nothing and always made sure we knew we were loved." Killian gave a soft sigh as he closed his eyes for a moment, picturing his family in his head before he shook it off as he went back to work.

"I wish I had that. My sister deserved better than the lives we got. Being raised in an actual family was all I ever wanted. I guess that's why Sam was so different. They treated me like a person rather than just an expendable guard. They taught me about the outside world... They frees me from my prison and gave me a home here. I'm thankful to them for that..." Kai's hands stilled as he flicked the blade closed, his eyes raising to look at Killian now as he watched him work.

"You met Sam before we escaped then. I thought so. I saw the way you looked at each other that day." Joelee's voice startled the two, Killian immediately wheeling around in his chair to face her as she leaned against the doorframe.

"I met Sam about a year ago. They were singing a Brendon Urie song in their cell and I overheard because it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard in my whole life." Kai's eyes were distant now as he inhaled deeply before releasing a loud sigh to try and fight the feelings that bloomed through his chest.