by T. A. White
"What I'm more interested in knowing is why you came here—to Jettie, a place you had to know we'd be."
And more important, why she'd allowed her niece to come with her.
For all that she might rebel against the Tuann, Kira had the same overprotective tendencies. If anything, her drive to safeguard her loved ones was even more overdeveloped, likely in part because of her history.
Kira affected a nonchalant shrug. "She wanted to see me race."
Graydon nodded. Uh-huh. Sounded reasonable.
"And it had nothing to do with the woman you were with when the swarm attacked?"
Graydon watched as Kira's expression closed down. It was like a mask descended, not a scrap of the Kira Graydon knew remaining. All emotion was gone, leaving only a blankness his oshota would have envied.
"How do you know about the woman?" Kira asked in a careful voice.
"The Haldeel are as paranoid as we are. But unlike us, they have no sense of privacy and have installed surveillance on all public areas of the city. Let's say I found the video of your battle illuminating."
Interest threatened to crack Kira's mask. "I'm surprised they let you see that."
"Who said I asked for permission?"
A glimmer of respect appeared before it was gone. Her forehead wrinkled. "If they have surveillance on all areas, how did a swarm grow that big?"
"That's what they'd like to know as well."
Kira's expression turned troubled as she fell silent. "The Haldeel have a leak."
Graydon inclined his chin. "That is the likely conclusion."
Kira met his gaze. "This is big. That means the Tsavitee have their hooks in all three races. The Haldeel were the only ones who managed to avoid that fate during the last war."
"That you know of," Graydon corrected.
Kira conceded his point with a thoughtful frown.
"The Haldeel also have a crack in their armor they didn't have last time," Graydon pointed out.
Kira's head lifted. "You're talking about the human refugees."
"Humans do have a history."
Kira slanted him a sharp look. "So do the Tuann."
Everything in Graydon went still as he finally realized the true reason behind her departure from Ta Sa'Riel. He had no problems believing Elena was the architect behind their escape. It was too reckless, even for Kira.
There was no way they would have been able to guarantee they could take Graydon, let alone Harlow, off guard. Add in the obstacle of the defenses, and Graydon didn't think Kira would risk her niece in that manner.
But that didn't explain why she hadn't contacted them to return or why she had chosen to disguise her identity.
She believed there was a mole still in Roake. In the Tuann.
The realization gave him insight into what drove her. For a protector like Kira, no amount of trust or desire would allow her to be reckless with her niece's safety.
In her mind, there was no need to adapt because her niece had already gone this long without an immediate threat. Only by putting Kira's back to the wall and forcing her hand would Graydon have any chance of slipping into her guard.
"She's no one," Kira lied. "Just someone I met."
"You and she seemed pretty familiar for new acquaintances," Graydon said.
It was there in the way they'd fought, as if they'd done this before. The other woman hadn't been flashy, lingering toward the back and only acting when absolutely necessary, but she'd held herself with a readiness that said she was prepared to intercede if necessary.
You didn't get that sort of teamwork without a history together.
There had also been that small interchange at the beginning where Kira had stopped the woman from doing something.
Using ki was Graydon's bet.
Kira lifted her chin as if daring him to keep pushing.
Far be it for him to disappoint. "She was very careful not to use ki after you warned her."
As if on cue Kira's expression hardened even as her guard snapped up.
"Coli, sometimes you are so predictable," Graydon said in a gentle voice. "I have no intention of forcing your friend into the light unless it becomes clear she is in danger." Graydon turned resolute. "But we will intervene should we feel the situation is dire. The emperor has decided to listen. For now. But the Tuann will not suffer the loss of another child."
Graydon waited until Kira met his gaze, letting her see how serious he was. The emperor was giving her and the others a chance to prove this could work in the hopes of bettering the relationship between them, but there were limits to his magnanimity.
To the Tuann, the children were theirs, regardless of what said children thought. If the Houses learned the emperor hadn't moved the stars in an effort to reclaim their progeny, there would be war.
The only reason they were considering letting the children come to them was because Kira was more than anyone had expected. She could take care of herself and held a maturity not seen even in some who had completed their adva ka.
There was also the tiny fact that her escape from Ta Sa'Riel—abetted though it was by Graydon—made it clear they couldn't keep her unless she wanted to be kept.
No one wanted to see what would happen if Tuann who held Kira’s same level of skill but an even more reclusive mentality were trapped on a planet and told they couldn't leave.
To say nothing of how such an act smacked of something their ancient masters would have done.
Neither Graydon nor the emperor wanted to become anything like those monsters.
"And me?" Kira asked.
Graydon quirked an eyebrow. "I believe you've already made your deal."
An introspective look entered Kira's gaze as she considered.
She nodded. "That's fair."
Graydon felt a pulse of fierce pleasure. Whether Kira knew it or not, she'd already accepted her place among the Tuann. If she hadn't, she would have fought tooth and nail against that statement.
Progress. Slow and frustrating, but there, nonetheless.
Graydon could be patient.
He had a feeling Kira was worth the wait. Her layers seemed endless. A protection she'd needed to survive what she had. But Graydon had a feeling when they were finally pulled back, they would expose a woman with a soul like no other. Beautiful and pure.
Already, she'd given him brief glimpses of that woman when she interacted with her niece and Jin. Those all too brief moments where she forgot to guard herself. The taste was addictive and he found himself utterly enthralled.
Kira rolled her lips between her teeth as she looked like she was debating something. "There's something you should know."
Graydon waited.
Kira's gaze met his. "I think Elise is somewhere on this planet."
TWELVE
KIRA PRESSED HER lips together as her words hovered in the air. What she wouldn't give to take those words back.
But she couldn't.
They were already out, waiting for the universe to bestow a blessing or a curse. Hard to tell which.
Graydon wasn't the easiest of individuals to predict. He used a veneer of sarcasm and wit that was as likely to draw blood as his sword.
He could very easily use her confession against Kira.
It'd been a long time since Kira had let herself be so vulnerable. She was beginning to remember why she'd stopped.
This feeling sucked.
Handing someone the power to hurt you took bravery. Guts. Both things Kira hadn't felt she possessed in a long time. At least emotionally. Physically, she was just as likely to throw herself into the fire.
Graydon held the ability to crush her and her objective.
Would he though?
That was the question she was hoping to get the answer to.
"You hope to go after her," Graydon stated.
The look he sent her was reflective, as if she'd handed him a piece to some invisible puzzle he was assembling.
"I'm not leaving this planet without her."
Graydon might as well know the truth. She'd sacrifice everything if she had to—even the Tuann.
Of course, she was hoping it wouldn't come to that. If she ever had to fight Graydon for real, she wasn't entirely sure who'd come out the victor.
"It's very convenient for her to appear now. Are you sure it's her?" he asked.
"No, but that doesn't change what I'm going to do."
Graydon stirred, his gaze thoughtful. "The Tsavitee had her for a long time. She might not be the person you remember."
"I've considered that, and if that's the case, I'll do what has to be done."
Kira let herself feel the raw devastation of that thought. She didn't try to hide or pretend. She put it all out there for him to see.
She was going into this with her eyes wide open, knowing she couldn't control the outcome.
All this time she'd been holding onto the slimmest of hopes that when she found Elise, there would be something of the woman she knew remaining. It was her light in the dark, the thing that forced her to pull herself together in the early days after the coma. After all this time, it had become habit to cling to that hope.
But in the back of her mind, she'd always known what she might have to do if Elise had been twisted beyond repair by the torture and brainwashing she might have endured.
It was the nightmare that kept her up nights.
It would be easier not to go looking. To hold onto the memory of who Elise was.
Kira couldn't force herself to do that. It wasn't in her nature to let things go. Even if the hope was small and the chances of failure were great, she'd give everything she was to see this through. Even if it destroyed her in the end.
Graydon could accept that and help her—or he could get out of her way.
"All right," Graydon said.
The sudden absence of tension made Kira almost lightheaded. For a second, she questioned what she'd heard.
Had Graydon, Mr. You'll-Do-It-My-Way, just agreed to her demand? Had the world turned upside down while she wasn't looking?
Graydon's eyes danced at her mistrustful look. "There are conditions, of course."
"Of course," Kira bit out.
How could she not have guessed?
"You're not to make a move without me. No going off alone. No keeping secrets."
His gaze was firm with no room for negotiation.
Kira wondered if that look worked on other Tuann.
"I can't promise you the last one," Kira said. "There are things I know that affect the safety and wellbeing of others. I can't reveal their secrets without their permission."
Graydon waited a long moment before inclining his chin. "That is acceptable."
Kira watched him carefully, not sure if she trusted this magnanimous version of the Emperor's Face. Where were the demands? The rules? This was downright understanding of him.
Graydon's smile widened. "You're not the only one privy to secrets that could move empires. We all must walk a delicate balance."
It was likely as close as Graydon would get to admitting he had secrets of his own he couldn't—wouldn’t—divulge.
"Then we're agreed," Kira said.
Graydon straightened, the movement somehow predatory. It was enough to make Kira's insides tremble as he brushed past her.
"Yes, we'll work toward our goals together." Graydon stopped next to her, saying those last words directly into her ear.
Kira shivered at the barely restrained growl in his voice.
Why did Kira have a feeling he had placed an entirely different meaning on that sentence?
*
The privileges imbued by rank were made clear during Graydon and Kira's departure. No one tried to stop them as Kira grabbed Jin and they left the conference room. The corridors they passed through as they retraced Kira's steps were empty, not a Haldeel peacekeeper in sight.
If not for Kira's certainty the Haldeel were watching every move they made, she'd have thought they were making a grand escape.
They arrived at the entrance. The Haldeel peacekeeper from before waited there along with two Tuann Kira didn't recognize.
Taller than Graydon by a few inches, the male Tuann had the same powerful build that said he'd spent a lifetime honing his body into the perfect weapon.
A hood with some type of field masked his face, making his features impossible to decipher.
At first glance, it was tempting to assume he was one of Graydon's people from the matte black armor he wore. The protective way he hovered beside the woman, as if ready at any moment to lay down his life in her defense, told Kira that wasn't the case.
The only explanation for why the man was wearing synth armor exclusive to the emperor’s people was if the woman was another of the Emperor’s Faces.
Kira examined the woman with renewed interest. Where Graydon reminded her of a savage storm, containing the potential to annihilate everything in his path, the woman was his contrast in every way.
She was like a winter's night. Calm, still, a biting chill emanating from her. She didn't wear the synth armor Kira had come to expect among high-ranking officials of the Tuann.
Instead, she was clad in the same intricate style as the Haldeel. Her outfit was built in layers. She wore a silvery, flowing skirt and a cream-colored under top that were overlaid by a dark blue robe fitted with a wide silver belt. It was followed by another sheer robe that hung loose around her body. More intricate by far than the peacekeeper's outer garments, the material was luxurious, a silver pattern shimmering among the darker blue.
It was elegant and not at all suited to moving quickly. If the woman was attacked, it'd be almost impossible to defend herself.
The woman held a kind of beauty that you couldn't help but admire. Hair as black as the void of space was gathered in an intricate tail down her back.
Her eyes were serene as she watched Kira and Graydon's approach.
To Kira's surprise, there was a thread of tension in Graydon at the sight of the woman.
The Haldeel ignored the others to sweep Kira a partial bow. "Za na ri, my superiors thank you for your great service."
The waiting Tuann looked with interest at Kira.
She was no less startled.
The most common form of address for the Haldeel was za. If they were feeling especially polite or grateful, they'd throw in an extra syllable making it—za na.
To be called za na ri was surprising.
It was one of the politest forms of address—denoting a respect and acknowledgment that was almost unheard of when speaking to members of an opposing race. To Kira's knowledge no human had ever been called that.
Even Himoto had never earned that honor.
There was only one form of address higher than za na ri and that was the form of za na ri na—which was almost exclusively used for royalty.
The Haldeel were unique in how they decided their royals. It wasn't based on bloodline and was entirely dependent on a Haldeel's skill and talent. Only the most exceptional among them could reach that status.
They called the climb from commoner to royalty the Ascension. From what Kira had heard, it was a rather brutal fight that more often than not resulted in the hopeful's death along with anyone who helped them.
Kira didn't like the way the Tuann woman was looking at her—like she was a particularly clever pet who had done something interesting.
Leaving the matter aside for now, Kira held out Jin to the Haldeel. "Now that we've settled this matter, fix him."
The woman’s slow blink was as effective as a slap at conveying disapproval.
Kira had no problem ignoring her. Jin was what was important right now, and no amount of manners or dancing around the diplomacy bush was going to impede her.
Oddly enough, Graydon relaxed at her comment, regarding the rest of them with the lazy amusement of a bystander.
For the Haldeel's part, he remained unaffected, taking no offense at Kira's abrupt demand. He made a sharp gesture and the same buzz that h
ad preceded Jin's lapse into unconsciousness took over Kira's world.
When it cleared, she could feel Jin's presence in her mind again, right there where he was supposed to be.
"It is done," the Haldeel stated.
The relief at the feeling was overwhelming.
Kira stared at her friend, ready for him to jolt to life. Seconds slid into one another until they formed minutes.
Still, Jin remained unresponsive.
"Why isn't he waking up?" Kira asked, unable to stay silent any longer.
The Haldeel leaned over, taking a longer look at Jin's small sphere. "Hmm. It may take a little time for the residual effects of the field to wane."
"How long?"
The woman stiffened further, her already straight spine going even straighter.
"Not long I think," the Haldeel assured her.
That was good enough for now.
Kira tucked Jin against her body. "I'll be sure to find you again if that isn't the case."
It wasn't a threat so much as a statement of her intentions.
If Jin didn't wake up, Graydon wouldn't have to worry about what Kira did in pursuit of Elise, because he'd have far more concerning things on his mind.
Such as the war she was likely to start.
"You overstep." The woman's stare burned into the side of Kira's face.
Maybe, but Kira always found it best to make one's intentions clear. It prevented all those nasty little misunderstandings that could result in blood shed.
Jin was her line in the sand. If he saw harm, she'd exact retribution. Simple as that.
This time the Haldeel’s bow was deeper. "As is your right, za na ri."
Good. He understood.
She so enjoyed when people had a meeting of the minds. It made everything else so much easier.
In this instance, the Haldeel knew Kira would kill him if her friend didn't recover, and she knew he'd defend himself with lethal force if necessary.
Kira smiled. "So glad we agree."
"Indeed."
The woman's expression iced over as Kira swept out of the inner sanctum and into the immense foyer of the building. Shadows danced on invisible waves over the floor as Graydon and the other two Tuann followed her out.
