Captive: Hopeless

Chapter 56 - Understanding

Thane turned to Akira as Marcus strode away, holding Kay to his chest as if she were the most precious thing on earth.

Akira limped badly and refused help from the hovering Marcella and Cat. Before she could understand what he intended to do, he picked her up and started walking.

"What the hell, Dad?" she squeaked, and he smiled.

She was not used to accepting help, always having been independent and stubborn. His heart still swelled with pride when he thought of the way she had taken out Azera and handled it all, but she had also defied him in so many ways that would have angered him in the past.

So much had changed in the last few years, all because of Kay. How had he allowed the betrayal by his family to turn him into a man with no heart? Did it happen long before Akira duped him into wanting to kill his own offspring? Was he always a monster, or did the years turn him into one? When did it start? The day he first realized they did not have to spend the rest of their lives alone on this forsaken planet? Was it when he decided to settle a new colony here and for them to survive against all costs?

"You said you wanted to get home before sunrise. At the rate you were going, that would be sunrise tomorrow."

Someone sputtered behind them.

He didn't know, but now that he could see himself more clearly, he didn't like what he saw. How many Kay's had his callous disregard destroyed? How many good people had died so their species could survive here? Had any of it been worth it? His gaze caught on his daughters, and guilt and shame filled him. There was no way to undo the past, but he had the power to make the future better for those like Kay who had not yet been taken from their lives.

***

"Shut up, Cat," Akira hissed to hide her discomfort.

She had never experienced the warmth of her father's embrace, not even when she was a child. Other than when she tumbled from her horse and bumped her head.

Thane had carried her home; she was five and unconscious at the time, so it did not count. The connection between them made her want to lean into him, and yet she was uneasy at the same time. It also created a warmth in her chest that felt like happiness, another near-foreign concept.

The years at his side had not been easy, and there were days she wished she could end it all. Unlike her father, the seedlings and their plight did not leave her cold. The day she sent Kay, the one she altered to change their future, she hated herself. Every report deepened that sense of self-loathing as she waited for the inevitable.

She knew the dark queen would come for them from the day she escaped Azera's clutches. At first, hatred drove her to create Kay's bloodline, but as she watched the child grow and hoped she would survive, she became fond of her. Giving her away like an unwanted toy to Azera had nearly killed her inside.

"Sorry, Queen Akira, I am of the Light, you cannot command me," Cat sassed, and Akira sighed. "Fucking Azera."

Thane shook his head. "Potty mouth," he reprimanded, and Akira looked at him with an incredulous expression.

"That is the least of my sins," she said, unable to escape the emotions she had fought for so long.

"She's just practicing for her new role, sire. Tomorrow she will decapitate kittens," Marcella said with a pretense of innocent helpfulness from behind them.

Behind her father's back, Akira gave Marcella the finger, and Cat sputtered again.

"Are they always like this?" Artemis asked with a look that said she wasn't sure if she should be incredulous but amused or shocked and disapproving.