My hopes plummeted at the same rate as the blood drained from my face.

They didn't know it, but the Andekas were now in possession of the one person that might break my resolve. I couldn't let them find out how important Tobi was to me, or all of this would be for nothing.

So, despite the icy chill in my veins, I looked away from the new arrivals and endeavoured to focus my concentration on Thomas, who had raised a brow with interest as the small party advanced.

"What shall we do with them?" asked the sentry that was gripping Elizabeth's restraints.

Thomas paused as he considered his answer.

"Under normal circumstances I'd ask you to find them a nice comfortable cell," he acknowledged. "But this one," he added, motioning towards Tobi. "Isn't this one your Katki, Matthew? I think I recognise him from your broadcast."

Wincing internally, I stayed silent, reflecting Thomas' cold stare as he turned it towards me.

"Why would he be here at the Kinnisvara?" Thomas continued with feigned curiosity. "Could it be that he was trying to liberate you? That perhaps he cares about you?"

I flinched at his insinuation, but again, I bit my tongue. My biggest weakness was right here in this room. I needed to avoid them exploiting it, but my emotional state meant that my mind was blank. Without being able to think of something I could say that would throw him off the scent, silence seemed like the safest alternative.

"The bigger question is, do you care about him?" Thomas continued musing, before he turned and spoke to one of the sentries in hushed tones.

As the sentry nodded and disappeared, I could feel my adrenaline rising as the zealot signalled for Tobi to be brought closer to him while Elizabeth wrenched at her chains in my peripheral vision.

"I guess we can have some fun finding out," Thomas smiled as the returning sentry handed over an unmistakable white powder in a small bottle to him. "You know – he should never have been taken off the Ravim," he added as he took out the stopper.

"You're bluffing," I blurted out, blood rushing past my ears so loudly I thought everyone in our small gathering must surely be able to hear it. "You must know by now that your Ravim supplies have been compromised. You wouldn't want to waste any when reserves are so low, would you?"

"Oh, I strongly suspect this will be a good use of some of the remaining supplies," he replied confidently.

"Regardless of whether or not I retract my message, the Ravim will still run out," I reacted in desperation. "And when the Katki out there wake up, people will see the truth."

"It's already being taken care of," he assured me. "Every Katki's custodian is recorded, so we can ensure we remove them from people's homes before they become lucid."

"You think custodians will respond positively to their Katki being taken away?" I countered.

"We just need to tell them the facts," Thomas stated. "That the Ravim supplies were disrupted by the extremist that we have in our custody. I'm sure they'll be happy to comply if they believe there's a threat."

"But the Katki aren't dangerous!" I refuted animatedly, jerking the constraints as I did so.

"I would argue otherwise," he retorted. "Take this one, for example. He sabotaged one of our pipes and upset the status quo. There's no doubt his vandalism can be viewed as a form of aggression."

"He gave people back their natural ability to have children!" I snarled.

"Spoken like a true terrorist," Thomas sighed with mock sympathy.

"Terrorising what?" I challenged vehemently. "The only things we've been attacking are the lies and deception that are being implemented by our governing body!"

"There's very little crime in our society," the brunette deflected. "The system works."

"Not for everyone!" I cried, gesticulating as much as I could towards Tobi. "Families are being ripped apart! And what about those that long for a child but aren't deemed laudable enough to be granted one? I doubt they'd agree that your 'system' is fair."

"I didn't claim it was equitable," he clarified. "I said that it worked. It makes sense that only those who have proved themselves trustworthy should be able to procreate. We can't have fanatics and insurgents reproducing and passing their rebellious thoughts onto their offspring. It would upset the balance and harmony it's taken so long to achieve."

Another surge of fury shot through me at his words.

"Balance and harmony?" I mocked. "You mean, loyalty breeds loyalty, which increases your hold on society."

Thomas didn't seem fazed by my accusation, giving me a condescending smile.

"You don't understand the bigger picture," he insisted. "Overpopulation of the planet brought war on a scale that had never been seen before. By ensuring only those devoted to our customs and lifestyle have children, it minimises any overall conflict. So, ultimately, controlling the population size preserves peace. History tells us that an excess of citizens inevitably just leads to violent confrontations."

"But who contributes to the population and who doesn't ... that's not your decision to make!" I growled. "I don't know what's worse. The fact that you're a pompous charlatan, or the fact that you seem to believe it's all for the greater good!"

"And just like you, the general populace wouldn't understand the sensitive balance of the status quo, which is why such a façade is necessary."

"You're deluded," I spat.

"I understand that's your point of view," Thomas replied, contempt marking his tone. "But you're a scientist, Matthew, not an imperator. Leadership comes with certain responsibilities. You've started a conflict, and my biggest responsibility right now is to ensure peace is restored. And in order to reinstate order, I need you to publicly retract your recent words and actions."

"You need me to lie," I scoffed. "As you just pointed out, Thomas, I'm a scientist. As such, I also have certain responsibilities, like an intrinsic obligation to seek and tell the truth."

"Even if it means increased hostilities?" he asked.

"It might not come to that!" I implored. "We don't know for sure how people will react!"

"It's not a risk I'm willing to take," he stated. "I'm sorry, Matthew, but I need you to retract your statement."

I grimaced.

Thomas wasn't sorry in the slightest. The only thing he was sorry about was that he'd allowed me to undermine his authority and now he wanted it back.

"I will not," I snarled in anger.

"It looks like you might need some persuading, then," the older man retorted calmly.

Struggling against the constraints, I watched helplessly as Thomas pushed Tobi to his knees. My heart was screaming for him to stop as he signalled for a guard to pull on my Katki's platinum blond hair, forcing Tobi to face the ceiling, but I knew that allowing my emotions to find a voice would almost certainly result in a worse outcome than if I stayed quiet. I knew I couldn't give Thomas the additional leverage of knowing how I felt about the man he had in front of him, but being a bystander as the dictator held Tobi's nose and forced the white powder into his mouth was almost unbearable.

Blinking away the rapidly forming tears, my chest tightened as I watched the life drain from Tobi's eyes and his spirit vanish under the influence of the powerful drug.

I silently chastised myself, questioning my impulsive decision as I heard Thomas instruct Tobi to stand, looking on despondently as the impassive Katki did exactly as he was told.

"Seven Zero Eight One," the brunette continued. "Do you recognise your custodian, Matthew Sullivan?"

"I do," Tobi replied indifferently.

"I want you to hurt him," Thomas told him. "But not his face. Aim for the ribs."

The conniving snake knew what he was doing. He didn't want to leave any visible indication that I might have been coerced for his potential audience to see.

I couldn't stop the tears forming as the person I loved the most in the world proceeded towards me, completely detached from reality with no sensitivity or compassion for what he was about to do. Devoid of any concerns, he swung his leg round hard and fast, my body recoiling slightly as his solid boot connected with my ribcage. He repeated the motion several times before Thomas stopped and recalled him.

Thankfully, despite the platinum blond's best efforts, Tobi couldn't do much real damage because of his relative size.

However, Thomas was aware of that already. That little demonstration wasn't actually about inflicting injuries and we both knew it. It was about sending a message to me that Thomas was in control, and that stung me more than any boot to my ribs. Thomas might not know the full impact that his subjugation over Tobi had on me, but I was fully aware that what hurt me more than the aching blows was the power that the imperator exerted over Tobi's body and mind. My Katki's azure eyes had returned to being ice-cold, and it devastated me to see the bright, vivid fire had been extinguished so easily by the Ravim.

I tried to console myself with the notion that least Tobi wasn't being physically hurt.

"Feeling inspired to make that apology yet?" Thomas asked with a hint of derision. "Or do you need a little more encouragement?"

Hatred seeped into every bone in my body.

"You're deranged!" I erupted, my chains pulling taut as a result of my futile attempt to launch myself at him. "I have nothing to apologise for!"

"Such a shame," Thomas sighed condescendingly, unsheathing a blade and handing it to Tobi. "Here I was hoping that nobody would have to get hurt. I do hate watching innocent people suffer."

Suddenly the situation looked considerably more precarious, and I felt adrenaline rising as heat coursed through my veins.

"I swear, when I get out of this, I'm going to rip you apart!" I thundered.

"Now, Matthew, there's no need to be like that," he replied, his voice sickly sweet. "It just seems you need an additional incentive, and I have just the thing. It's every parent's wish to watch their children grow up strong and healthy, so I think that denying your friend that opportunity is probably a good place to start. Seven Zero Eight One, do you recognise Matthew's friend Peter?"

I could feel myself trembling as cold anxiety spread through me.

"I do," Tobi confirmed as I continued to battle unsuccessfully against my manacles.

"Blind him," Thomas instructed him clearly. "Use the knife."

Seren whimpered, and her hands shot upward to cover her face in distress.

My throat immediately tightened, and I couldn't breathe properly. The room started spinning as a whirlwind of panic gripped me, and I felt sick to my stomach as my blood ran cold. This couldn't be happening.

It was akin to some crazy nightmare as the disorientation set in, and yet all my senses were heightened to the point where there was absolutely no doubt in my mind that this was real.

As Tobi started executing his instruction by moving in our direction, I stole a glance at Peter, whose rebellious, defiant expression was more controlled than my own. Neither he nor the mother of his unborn child made any attempt to persuade me to capitulate to the demands of our captors.

Did that mean they thought I should remain steadfast?

I turned to be met with Tobi's vacant stare. He was going to go through with it. Of course he was. He had no choice.

"Aren't you going to order your Katki to stop?" Thomas taunted me. "You must realise he's still under your command?"

It was true, I could tell Tobi to stop, but not without it directly contradicting an order from the Andekas leader. I'd learned from my experience with Six Eight Three Two that doing so was likely to create an internal conflict that would kill the platinum blond. It was clear that we both knew that Thomas was the only one that could retract the order without a fatal contradiction taking place.

My loathing for this man was escalating fast.

Clenching my jaw, I ensured I said nothing.

"You care about this Katki," Thomas speculated from my silence as Tobi paced towards Peter.

"I care about all Katki," I spat through my gritted teeth as I desperately tried to hold my emotions together.

"That's good to know," he replied in a tone that suggested my Katki would be next on his agenda.

Tobi continued to advance.

Could I really let this happen? If Peter was blinded, there would be no turning back. He would never recover or see his unborn child. And where would it end? What would Thomas do to him next in the name of 'peace'? Or to Tobi, for that matter, now that he was drugged?

Placing my head between my knees to try to stem the blood rush, I weighed up the probability we could defeat the Andekas this way. As far as I knew, any allies I might have had were either captive in this room, in hiding or being guarded.

I could feel my resolve slipping as I realised the Andekas were currently in a much stronger position than we were. Given that I was only just realising the lengths that Thomas was prepared to go to to get his way, it dawned on me that if he continued, I would crack at some point down the line. The question then became, how much mutilation was I prepared for others to endure before I did?

As I struggled to remember what I thought standing against the Andekas would accomplish, and now that I was faced with the harsh reality of Peter being permanently scarred and Tobi being next, one thing became clear through the haze.

I couldn't go through with this.