She slowed, coming even with him, surprised he was telling her so much. Loran scowled, but she remembered his good-natured smile when he’d sparred with Liv.

“I saw you in Rim,” she said. “Liv liked you.”

His eyes softened. “I was lucky to have known her.”

The comment was earnest and almost tender. She studied him, her curiosity increasing. His hair was black and long enough to skim the collar of his uniform. A long, pointed nose and high eyebrows gave him a natural air of superiority. He looked older than Sable by a decade.

He pressed his lips into a grim line when he caught her staring. “You’re going to run into a wall that way. Turn right up ahead.”

“Where are you taking me?”

“Somewhere. Hopefully in this lifetime, but at the pace you’re setting, that’s uncertain.”

They came to a door flanked by Horn soldiers.

“Ten minutes,” Loran told them. “No one comes in that room.”

One of the men by the door nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Loran’s gaze flicked to Aria, his eyebrows knitting together. She saw dread and anticipation in his expression, and horrible thoughts crashed into her mind.

Until that moment, she hadn’t been afraid of him. Now she realized how naive she’d been. Loran had shown unusual interest in her the first time he’d seen her. She’d been aware of him because she’d sensed his awareness of her. She looked from the door to him, fear turning her to stone and rendering her mute.

Loran cursed at her reaction. “Skies! No.” He grabbed her arm, lowering his voice. “Keep your mouth shut and don’t utter a word about this to anyone. Not a word, Aria. Understand?”

Then he shoved her into the room.

Where she found Perry.

He lay on a narrow cot on his side, asleep or unconscious. Bare, except for a sheet pulled up to his waist. White towels were piled on the floor by the cot. Even in the dim light, she could tell they were stained with blood.

Her legs wobbled as she moved closer, overcome by numbness as she took in his condition.

His arms had always been sculpted with muscle. Now they were bloated. Swollen with purple and red marks that covered his skin. They spread over his chest and stomach. Over nearly every inch of him.

In all her life, her heart had never hurt like this.

Never.

Loran spoke quietly at her side. “I considered warning you. I couldn’t decide if it would have helped or made it more difficult. He’s expected to make a full recovery. The doctors have said so.”

She turned on him, rage igniting in every cell in her body. “Did you do this?”

“No,” he said, reeling back. “I didn’t.” He moved to the door. “You have ten minutes. Not a second longer.”