Stronger Together (Kylo Ren x Reader | Maia)

That's Not Possible

Kylo, summit stage

My eyes shifted to Kuruk when I saw him start working his way toward the exit. My heart seemed to beat louder. She had been flickering in and out of the Force, but I trusted that if it was her in danger, I would feel her panic. She felt no panic, only conflict. Deep conflict. And I realized, whatever she had sensed from Pryde, it must be bad. She would not do this for a simple suspicion. She believed he was a threat—a major one. Maia thought most people were a threat, so whatever it was, it must be a danger to us all.

I finished a few minutes later and was about to rush off when someone stood to ask a question. Hux reentered and gestured for me to go on. Taking that as Maia was not in danger, I grit my teeth and motioned for him to ask his question.

"What of the talks of peace?"

"Peace is something that must be won. And I intend to. Peace will not remove our power, but will only increase our influence."

"How?"

"You will have to trust the High Admiral on that." I was impatient and uninterested in the summit.

He furrowed his brows, then seemed to decide he could, because he nodded and sat down. His faith in Maia pleased me.

"Supreme Leader, your predecessor sat on a throne. We never even saw him. Why aren't you?"

"I do not have time to sit on a throne. He was blinded by it, allowing himself to remain detached from the galaxy. Perhaps one day, you may visit me upon it."

Finally, after about the dozenth question, I managed to leave the stage. Hux fell into step next to me, waiting until we were in the servant corridor to speak.

"She is on the third floor, sleeping soundly. She is exhausted. Your Knight is with her. Perhaps instead of waking her, you should go visit him."

"Why do you say that, General?" He was paler than normal and was bouncing on his heels as he walked.

"Because I do believe she did a number on him."

My jaw flexed as I rolled it over in my mind. If Maia darkened her soul to torture him, he was in for a world of pain.

———

When I entered the makeshift torture chamber, I stopped dead in my tracks. He was hunched over, unconscious, and at first, I thought she killed him. He had been awake when I left, his breath choppy and shallow. But his shirt was open, catching my attention. I had carefully closed it while taunting him.

Where the savage wound had been on his trunk, was now nothing but angry scars.

Impossible.

"Fucking hell." I gripped his hair and pulled his head up. His face still looked the same, but he had been much closer to death when I'd left him last.

The fucking woman healed him. In blind rage, I reached out and smacked him across the face. He groaned as he came to awareness, my footsteps ringing out as I paced. When his eyes popped open, they were clearer than they should've been.

"Who do you report to?"

"Fuck you."

I pulled my hilt off my belt, and it was enough to pierce him with fear. It was palpable, radiating off him unlike any moment before.

"Please," he begged, his voice cracked and desperate. "Not again."

It clicked.

Maia had not shown him compassion. Not one bit. She knew his life would end soon—she'd merely stopped it from being before he talked.