“Talia?”
I jerked at a male voice calling her name and jumped to my feet. I eyed up the male standing before me. He looked familiar. His hair, his eyes, his build.
The male glared at Talia. My hands fisted at my sides. My chest rose and fell. Suddenly, a female entered the room. Her eyes looked to me, then the man, and finally to Talia.
The female’s eyes widened when Talia’s hand fell on my arm. The male’s eyes narrowed and his head tilted to the side.
Why did I know him?
“Zaal,” Talia’s soft voice called. I pulled my gaze from the male’s stare to look into her face. She lifted onto her toes and pressed her hand against my face. She looked pale and my heart dropped. I didn’t understand why she was so worried. I didn’t understand what I’d done wrong.
“This is my brother, Luka.” Talia pointed at the male who had been glaring. “He’s the person who freed you,” she explained.
My eyes widened. My attention was naturally drawn back to the male. Talia’s fingers stroked down my cheek. I moved my gaze back to her. “Zaal, my brother, Luka, he is like you.”
I frowned and Talia edged closer. She placed her other hand on my cheek, cupping my face. I leaned in to press a kiss to her lips. I could feel her lips trembling. Her hands were shaking on my cheeks, but I felt every part of that kiss. Felt her intense sadness.
She was sad for me.
My stomach sank. It was as if her kiss was telling me that something bad was about to happen. As Talia broke away, she ran her hand down my neck, over my chest and down to grip my hand. Feeling eyes watching, Talia turned us to face her brother.
Talia brought us forward. Every cell in my body was alert as the man stared at me. He was dressed in a shirt and pants like Master. He looked like Master. The female behind him, the female with the bright blue eyes moved closer to the male who looked like Master.
Talia brought us to a long seat and urged me to sit. I followed her lead, but my eyes never left the male. He was tall, broad, and strong. He had scars on his face and arms. I looked down at my arms. They were like mine.
Talia’s brother and the female slowly sat on the seat opposite us. The room was filled with tension and silence. It made me want to get up and leave.
The male watched me, then turned to Talia. “How long?”
I tensed when the question came from his lips. Talia flushed red and bowed her head. “Awhile.”
The male’s face hardened and his jaw clenched. “And you didn’t think to tell me?”
Talia was silent. The finger wrapped around mine tightened. The female next to her reached over and got the male’s attention. She shook her head at him. The male’s eyes focused back on me. His hard eyes flickered to Talia, but not for long.
I pulled on Talia’s hand and her head lifted. Brown eyes met mine and I stroked my free hand down her face to make sure she was okay. Talia cast me a small smile and turned back to her brother.
“Luka,” she said quietly, her voice timid as though she was afraid of what he might say, “Zaal has been free of the drug for weeks. He has been gaining strength each day.” Her eyes fell, then fluttered nervously back up. “That’s why he is out of the basement. He changed when the drug left him. I have … I’ve been caring for him.” She sucked in a deep breath. “I’ve been with him.”
Talia glanced up at me and brought our joined hands to her mouth, her lips pressing a kiss to the back of my hand.