Kira's POV
The underground facility smelled like sweat, blood, and revolution.
Lysa led me down concrete stairs into a massive space that had once been a subway station. Now it was a training ground—resistance fighters sparring, weapons being cleaned, strategy maps covering every wall.
Everyone stopped and stared when we entered.
"That's her?" someone asked. "The offering who saved Vex'thor?"
"Traitor," another voice muttered.
I felt their hatred like physical blows. These were the people I was supposed to belong to. My own species. And they wanted me dead almost as much as the empire did.
"Enough!" Lysa's voice cracked like a whip. "She's here to train. My father approved it. Anyone has a problem with that, take it up with him."
The crowd reluctantly returned to their activities, but the hostile glares remained.
"They'll warm up to you," Lysa said quietly, though she didn't sound convinced.
"No, they won't. And I don't blame them." I touched the data chip hidden in my pocket. "But I'm not here to make friends. I'm here to learn how to fight."
"Good. Because this won't be easy." She led me to a changing area. "Put these on. Training starts in five minutes."
She handed me combat gear—reinforced pants, a fitted shirt, boots that actually fit. Real clothes. Not the white dress that marked me as property.
I changed quickly, hiding the data chip in a secure pocket. When I emerged, Lysa was waiting with a severe-looking woman who had scars crossing her face.
"This is Commander Sarah Chen," Lysa said. "She runs the training program."
I froze. "Chen? Are you—"
"Related to you? No." Sarah's voice was clipped. "Chen is a common surname. Don't read into it." She circled me like a predator studying prey. "Lysa says you want to fight. Why?"
"Because I'm tired of being helpless."
"Not good enough. Lots of people are helpless. They don't all become soldiers." She stopped in front of me. "Real answer. Why are you here?"
I met her hard gaze. "Because I've been used, betrayed, hunted, and nearly killed by both sides of this war. And I'm done letting other people decide my fate. I want the power to fight back."
Sarah's expression didn't change, but something flickered in her eyes. "Better. You'll start with basic combat training. If you survive three days, we move to weapons. If you survive a week, you join active missions. Most don't make it past day two."
"I'll make it."
"We'll see." She gestured to the training floor. "Drop and give me fifty pushups. Now."
I dropped. My arms shook after ten. By twenty, I was crying from the strain. At thirty, I collapsed.
"Get up," Sarah ordered.
"I can't—"
"Then you're done. Go home. This isn't for you."
Rage flooded through me. Rage at my family. At Zair. At the empire. At everyone who'd ever made me feel weak.
I pushed myself up and kept going.
Forty. Forty-five. Fifty.
I collapsed again, gasping, my arms useless.
Sarah crouched beside me. "Not bad. For a civilian." She stood. "Rest sixty seconds. Then we do it again."
"Again?"
"This is just the warm-up."
The next four hours were torture. Pushups, running, climbing, fighting drills. My body screamed. Other trainees watched with satisfaction as I failed again and again.
But I kept getting up.
By the time Sarah called a break, I could barely stand. Lysa appeared with water and protein bars.
"You're doing well," she said.
"I'm dying."
"Same thing here." She helped me to a bench. "Look, I need to tell you something. About Zair."
My heart clenched. "What about him?"
"Dad's people are interrogating him. Getting the codes, the information he promised." She hesitated. "It's not going well."
"What does that mean?"
"It means Zair's not cooperating the way they expected. He gave them some codes, but not all. Claims he needs guarantees first—that you're actually safe, that the other offerings won't be harmed in the assault." She looked uncomfortable. "Dad thinks he's stalling. Planning something."
"Or maybe he's just being careful. Making sure his sacrifice actually means something."
"Maybe." Lysa didn't sound convinced. "But Dad's losing patience. If Zair doesn't give them everything soon..." She didn't finish.
"They'll torture him."
"They'll do what's necessary."
I stood abruptly, ignoring my screaming muscles. "I need to see him."
"Absolutely not. Dad would never allow—"
"I have information Zair gave me." I pulled out the data chip. "Evidence. Classified files. Things the resistance needs. But I want to see him first. Make sure he's okay."
Lysa stared at the chip. "What's on that?"
"Everything. Proof of war crimes on both sides. Council corruption. Integration secrets." I held it tight. "But Zair gave it to me to use how I think is right. Not to hand over blindly. So here's my condition: I see him, make sure he's alive and not being tortured, then I share what's relevant. Deal?"
"You're bargaining? With the resistance?"
"I'm protecting someone who protected me. There's a difference." I met her eyes. "You're my best friend, Lysa. But he saved my life. Multiple times. I owe him this much."
Lysa was quiet for a long time. Then she sighed. "You've changed. The old Kira would never have stood up like this."
"The old Kira died in Zair's quarters. I'm what came after."
"I'll talk to my father. No promises." She took the chip carefully. "But Kira? Be careful. You're starting to sound like you care about him. Really care."
"Maybe I do. Is that so wrong?"
"When he's killed thousands of our people? When he brutalized you?" Lysa's expression was sad. "Yeah. It's wrong. But I understand it anyway."
She left to find her father.
I returned to training, pushing my broken body through more exercises. Commander Sarah watched me with increasing interest.
"You're stubborn," she said after I completed an impossible climbing drill. "That's good. Stubborn people survive."
"Or die trying."
"Also true." She handed me a practice weapon—a training blade, dull but heavy. "Let's see how you handle close combat."
She attacked without warning.
I barely blocked the first strike. The second hit my ribs, driving air from my lungs. The third would have killed me if the blade was real.
"Again," Sarah ordered.
We went again. And again. And again.
By the time Lysa returned, I was covered in bruises and could barely lift my arms.
"Dad says yes," Lysa announced. "You can see Zair. But I'm coming with you, and you get ten minutes. That's it."
"When?"
"Now."
She led me through corridors to a secured area. Guards everywhere. We stopped at a reinforced door.
"He's in there," Lysa said. "Remember—ten minutes."
The door opened.
The room was small, concrete, with a single chair bolted to the floor. Zair sat in it, hands restrained, looking exhausted but uninjured.
His violet eyes widened when he saw me. "Kira? What are you doing here?"
"Making sure you're okay." I moved closer, ignoring Lysa's warning look. "Are they hurting you?"
"Nothing I don't deserve." His eyes searched my face. "You should be far away from here. Safe."
"I joined the resistance. I'm training to fight."
He looked stunned. "What? No. That's not—you're supposed to be free. Living your life."
"This is my life now. My choice." I knelt in front of him so we were eye level. "Why aren't you giving them all the codes? What are you waiting for?"
"Proof that you're actually safe. That this isn't a trick." He leaned forward as much as his restraints allowed. "Kira, listen to me. Don't trust anyone here. Not completely. Everyone has agendas. Even Lysa."
"I know that. But I trust myself." I glanced back to make sure Lysa couldn't hear. "The data chip you gave me. Is there something specific on it I should know about?"
His expression turned grave. "Yes. File seventeen. Open it when you're alone. It's... it's about your mother."
My blood went cold. "What about my mother?"
"Not here. Not now. Just find file seventeen." His eyes held mine. "And Kira? Whatever you discover, whatever you decide to do—I support you. You're stronger than any of us. Never forget that."
"Time's up," Lysa called from the door. "We need to go."
"Wait—" I grabbed Zair's hand. "Are you going to be okay?"
He smiled sadly. "I've survived worse. But you? You need to survive better. Promise me."
"I promise."
"Kira, now," Lysa insisted.
I stood reluctantly. Walked to the door. Looked back once.
Zair mouthed two words: "Trust yourself."
The door closed between us.
Lysa led me back through the corridors. "Did you get what you needed?"
"Maybe. He mentioned something about file seventeen on the chip. About my mother."
Lysa's face went carefully blank. Too blank.
"You know something," I said, stopping. "What is it?"
"Kira—"
"Tell me!"
"It's not my place. If Zair wants you to see that file, you should look at it yourself." She met my eyes. "But be prepared. Some truths change everything."
She walked away, leaving me alone in the corridor with a chip full of secrets and a terrible certainty that my entire life was about to turn upside down.
Again.
I found an empty room with a data console. Locked the door. Pulled out the chip with shaking hands.
Inserted it into the reader.
Scrolled through files until I found seventeen.
It was labeled: "Chen Medical Records - Confidential."
I opened it.
And everything I thought I knew about my life shattered into pieces.And I had absolutely no idea what the right answer was.