by T. A. White
Elena bumped Kira's arm. "That was unexpected."
"You think so?” Kira shook her head. “I don't.”
Elena peered up at her with a frown.
Kira slung an arm around her niece's shoulders. "He did what I was about to do."
Elena's confused expression cleared somewhat as she cast a yearning glance in the direction Raider had disappeared in. "You mean he did that for me?"
Kira playfully pushed her head away. "He certainly didn't do it for me."
Elena didn't look entirely convinced, but Kira didn't push. Elena needed to arrive at her own conclusions about Raider's behavior.
She tilted her head at Wren, changing the subject. "What do you think of him?"
Elena narrowed her eyes at the man in question. Noticing her actions, Wren stared calmly at her.
"He'd be a difficult opponent," Elena finally said. "Defeating him would be hard but not impossible for you."
Maksym overheard and made a muffled sound. Next, his shoulders started shaking as Zoella stared at Elena as if she were some odd being from another dimension.
Only Auralyn took the girl's words in stride, not reacting beyond a faint lowering of her eyelids.
Kira coughed. That wasn't what she'd meant, though she supposed it wasn't really a surprise given the type of training she normally subjected Elena to.
Wren's eyes narrowed on Kira. "Follow."
Elena frowned. "He's very authoritative. I’m not sure I like it."
Kira grimaced and patted Elena's shoulder. "Let's leave that aside for now. Stay close and don't go looking for trouble again."
Elena jerked her thumb at Ziva and Joule. "Mind if I show the little sister a few moves?"
Ziva brightened, looking like Elena had handed her a gift of unparalleled worth. In the face of such excitement, Kira didn't have the heart to deny her.
Even Joule seemed eager.
Kira hesitated before nodding uneasily. Why did she have a feeling this was going to bite her on the ass later?
*
Wren's back faced Kira as he helped himself to a drink of keeva.
Kira was content to wait, letting the silence that had descended during their trip to his private quarters linger.
His surroundings suited his personality.
There was very little clutter to be seen. What furniture there was, was simplistic and minimal. A black coffee table separated a couch and two armchairs.
Though the walls lacked artwork, the space was saved from being austere by the addition of an elegant white rug against dark floors that matched the dark ceiling.
The windows leading out to the balcony added texture and warmth to what would have been an otherwise cold room.
"Do you remember what you told me when I was dying?" Wren paused with his drink halfway to his lips.
Kira froze.
Her silence didn't deter Wren. "You told me my daughter wasn't waiting for me on the other side. You said she was here and that if I wanted to see her, I would have to live."
Kira's gaze dropped. That was the gist of what she'd said.
In her defense, she'd hoped her words would keep Wren alive. In that moment, she'd felt his willingness to slip gently into death and thought it a shame.
It had led to some unwise revelations on her part.
If the forty-three found out, forget about saving Elise, Kira doubted she would be able to save herself. She'd broken the taboo.
Kira's only choice was to bluff. "Did I? Fear has a habit of making you do impetuous things. Who can say for sure what I said then?"
She'd hoped with Wren being so close to death, he would doubt his memory—if he remembered at all. As was always the case, Kira's luck wasn't that good.
"Is Elena my grandchild?" Wren asked.
There it was. A frontal attack as befitting a man like Wren.
"How would you like me to answer that?" Kira asked carefully.
"The truth would be nice.”
Kira's smile was fleeting and didn't reach her eyes. "If I tell you yes, will you love and protect her with all the fierceness you couldn't give to your daughter?"
Wren's eyebrows lowered.
"And what will you do if you ever find evidence she has a little bit extra to her?"
Wren's eyes went cold as he picked up on her insinuation.
"What about when enemies come knocking because that little girl is the answer to the riddle they've been struggling with for centuries?"
The Tuann were powerful, but they had one primary drawback.
It took many, many decades for them to fully mature. Trying to build up their military strength took centuries—especially if the former masters of the Tuann had to start with new stock.
Elena had many of the Tuann benefits but aged as fast as a human.
Kira could see Wren’s struggle as he wrestled with rage, agony, horror—but not fear.
"How badly were you and the rest treated?" Wren finally asked in a hoarse voice.
"Torture is the proper term. There's a price for everything. The Tuann want their children back so badly they've never considered that their children might have become like the very monsters the Tuann fear."
The things they'd done and had done to them—they weren't easy things to brush under a rug and forget. All of them carried the scars.
"Can the Tuann still love their children if they aren't entirely Tuann anymore?"
Kira knew what it was like to have people's regard. To have them fawn and celebrate her. She also knew what it was like when that adoration was gone—to be reviled as a monster.
That sort of thing had a tendency to leave a mark on your soul, no matter how much you told yourself that you didn’t care.
She wouldn't let Elena suffer that fate. Not even from her grandfather.
Wren didn't speak for long seconds. Long enough that Kira was already considering how to extract Elena from this situation.
It'd likely mean burning bridges, but Kira had always excelled at that. Himoto liked to say Kira didn't just burn her bridges, she broke them into tiny pieces and soaked them in gasoline before lighting the bonfire. Afterwards, she’d pull up a chair and roast marshmallows in the resulting blaze.
"I feel I should inform you that you're no longer my only yer’se." Wren carefully turned and poured himself another glass of keeva.
If he had a purpose for that statement, Kira couldn’t see it.
"It's unusual to have two yer’se at one time, but the potential you both hold can’t be denied."
Kira’s eyes narrowed. He was changing the subject.
"I expect you to make every effort to get along with him."
Kira looked around feeling like she was in some alter dimension. How did they go from talking about Elena's lineage to this discussion about another yer’se she couldn't give two craps about?
Kira forced herself to play his game. "And who is this yer’se?”
Wren set his glass down, his face composed again as he met her eyes. "Raider."
Kira blinked in confusion. “My Raider?”
"I'm not sure he would enjoy being called that."
Probably not. It was more likely he'd try to separate her head from her shoulders.
"I saw your race in the preliminary rounds. It was impressive," Wren said in another lightning fast subject change. "In the future, you will not be so reckless."
Hold on a minute.
"It's only reckless if you get hurt or die," Kira said defensively.
Neither of those things had happened, so from where she stood, all was well that ended well.
The way Wren frowned at her made her feel like he was trying to determine the level of her stupidity.
Despite how it seemed, Kira always had a plan. Granted, those plans were often loosely defined with a high tendency to go wrong at the last minute, but she always came through in the end.
To prove it, she pulled up the hem of her shirt, exposing the under layer she still wore. "I knew this could take the impact. I
never would have crossed the finish line that way if there had been risk of serious injury."
Wren regarded her with serious eyes. “You're trying to argue that the balial Roake gifted you would have prevented your death if you had miscalculated your descent on the tower.”
Kira winced. "Not exactly."
Wren gave a short nod. "Good. Because I know the ballistic resistance of that material. Every bone in your body would have been crushed. If you hadn’t pulled out of your dive in time, you would have died."
"But that didn't happen," Kira pointed out.
Wren's face was expressionless as he studied her. "I don't know how you're used to doing things, but you're one of my responsibilities now. I will not allow you to take such reckless actions again. Next time, find a safer way to win."
Kira didn't get a chance to argue before he switched topics again.
"I assume your board was destroyed. Do you need help procuring another one?" he asked.
Kira shook her head. "It's handled."
"Very well. You're dismissed."
Kira stood there for several seconds as she debated the merits of returning to their previous conversation.
He’d never given her a satisfactory answer.
Reluctantly, Kira moved toward the door.
"Kira," Wren said abruptly.
Kira stopped but didn't turn around.
"Thank you for protecting her for so long. The debt I owe you can never be repaid. I'll take over from here."
FIFTEEN
KIRA LET HERSELF out of Wren's room, in time to find Graydon prowling toward her. He was alone—or at least that was how it would seem to outsiders. A man as important as Graydon never went unaccompanied in potentially dangerous territory.
Graydon looked from Kira to the door she'd exited, amusement touching his features. "How did it go?"
There was something in how he asked that and the knowing look on his face that made Kira realize something.
"You knew."
Cunning man. She would never have expected him to put Elena together with Wren. He'd probably known their relation all the way back on Ta Sa'Riel—which meant Harlow was likely aware as well.
"How?"
Graydon stopped in front of her, his expression faintly mocking. "It's true the child doesn't much resemble Wren." Graydon paused, his sly smile widening. "But she looks very similar to Wren's deceased wife."
Kira didn't say anything. She looked away and closed her eyes as she kicked herself for not considering that possibility.
But then, who could blame her? It wasn't as if the concept of parents and lineage was a familiar one. Until her encounter with the Tuann she'd always thought she was a test tube baby designed in a lab.
She and the rest hadn't exactly spared a lot of consideration to where they came from. Surviving had taken up all of their focus in the early days, and later it hadn't seemed important. They'd been more than willing to bury any questions about their origins.
Rooky mistake, Kira.
"I'm impressed you could tell," Graydon said.
It had been difficult. There was a resemblance in their eyes and jaw, but it wasn't until hearing his history and seeing him fight in the uhva na that she'd been sure.
Wren and Elise’s ki felt similar. Nearly identical if she was honest.
From there, she’d gambled that the two were linked.
Kira started down the hall again, Graydon keeping pace. She wasn't surprised when Finn moved out of the shadows, smoothly gliding after them.
As they walked, Kira sent Graydon a sidelong look. "Done with your pretty companion?"
He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Is that jealousy I detect?"
Kira eyed a doorway and then him.
His gaze turned questioning.
Kira smiled at him. "Just measuring to see if your inflated ego would fit through the opening."
Next to Finn, Amila choked on a laugh before hiding her amusement behind her typically stoic expression.
Kira didn't know when the other woman had joined them, but that wasn't odd. Graydon's oshota were among the best. Kira had given up on guessing all they could do.
Graydon didn't react to her words the way she expected. Remaining unaffected, his expression was teasing as he watched her with the focus of a cat that had spotted a particularly interesting mouse.
Kira braced, resisting the urge to slide away. Every time he looked at her that way, she usually ended up the loser in their exchanges.
"Have you spoken to Raider yet?"
Direct hit.
Graydon made a masculine sound that almost reminded Kira of a purr. "Let me know if you need my help dealing with him. My inflated ego and I will be more than happy to run to the rescue."
Kira had had enough of this conversation.
She lengthened her stride, hoping to leave him behind. As was always the case with Graydon, he moved to match her, keeping up easily.
Defeated, Kira resigned herself to having to deal with Graydon for a bit.
"Your exhibition with your niece was quite interesting," Graydon said.
His statement was slow to register, but when it did, Kira sent him a searching look. "You weren't there."
She would have known. Graydon carried this almost raw magnetism that was nearly impossible to miss. If he'd been in the training room, she would have picked up on it. She wouldn't have been able to help it.
Graydon regarded her steadily, his thoughts unreadable. "I have my ways."
Kira's eyes narrowed as she considered him. His ways, her ass. "You’re having me watched."
She glanced around, her eyes lingering on Finn before she dismissed him as a possibility. The past weeks had convinced her of his loyalty. If he ever betrayed her, it would be because he considered her a danger to the Tuann’s survival and the universe in general. He wouldn't throw away the gains he'd recently achieved to be Graydon's eyes and ears.
"Did you really expect anything else?" Graydon asked, interrupting her thoughts.
Not really. No. In his place, she'd have done the same to a known flight risk.
She and Jin would have to be more careful. Right now, she fully intended to work with Graydon on the subject of Elise, but there were still secrets she didn't feel comfortable revealing.
The need to have an escape route was as embedded in her DNA as the color of her hair.
Graydon and Kira descended the stairs to the first floor.
"I see Joule wasn't lying. You really are back," Devon said, leaning against a doorway as they approached. Spotting Graydon by her side, Devon gave him a serious nod. "Seon'yer."
Kira gave Graydon a considering glance. "Really?"
His appointment as Devon's seon'yer made perfect sense, considering what she suspected about Devon’s lineage.
"You must be pleased," Kira told Devon.
He nodded once. "It was an unexpected reward."
Graydon brushed Kira's shoulder as he focused on his yer’se. "How did your preliminary race today go?"
Pride registered on Devon's face as he came to attention. "I qualified for the next round."
Kira was impressed. While the early rounds of the preliminaries weren't exactly impossible, especially for those of her level, they weren't easy either. You needed skill to reach the next stage.
"What position?" Graydon asked.
"Second."
Not bad. It would allow him to advance, but because he was second, he wouldn't draw too much notice from the other competitors.
If Kira hadn't been forced to extraordinary lengths by her awful start, that's the rank she would have targeted as well.
"There was a racer in the round after me that was very impressive. She used the same maneuver on the tower as the racer from yesterday."
Kira didn't move for several seconds, knowing she was the racer from yesterday that he was talking about. "Is that right?"
Devon's brow furrowed before he gave a hesitant nod.
"Did you get the name?" Kira asked.
He shook his head. "They went by the call sign Moonbeam."
Kira's gaze turned distant. Only a few people she knew of could have performed the dead man’s plunge without crash landing and killing themselves.
Raider was one. Jace another.
Beyond the two of them, she could count on one hand the rest, and none were currently on the planet.
It was more likely this was a message to her. An act of challenge designed to draw her attention. But from who?
If Elise wanted her attention, why wouldn't she use one of the dozen drop boxes they’d set up for exactly this chain of events?
"Something wrong?" Graydon asked.
Kira shook her head, pushing the questions and half fleshed out theories out of her mind. This would have to wait until she had more information. Until then, any conclusions she drew would be speculation.
Devon's frown had grown more and more pronounced while Kira was lost in her thoughts. "Those allowed on planet are all required to compete in a quorum event.”
"You don't know, do you?" Graydon teased.
Devon looked between the two of them in confusion. "Know what?"
Graydon tilted his head toward Kira. "Meet Sparrow."
Devon examined Kira in disbelief. "That's you?"
Kira lifted a shoulder. "The last time I checked."
"Winner of the Dragon Circuit? Two-time champion of the Osiris Belt?"
Kira studied him. Most people knew about the first but not the second. Only die-hard race fans ever remembered that one.
The Osiris Belt was considered boring among most fans. There weren't as many opportunities to showcase fancy skills. Couple that with its location on one of the most remote and unremarkable planets of the Consortium and few had heard of it.
It meant Devon had gone beyond the level of a general fan. His knowledge placed him in the realm of a super fan of the sport. Not something she’d anticipate of someone in his position.
Graydon considered her with interest. “That’s quite the reputation you have there.”
Footsteps from the hallway forestalled Kira’s response.
She looked up to find Joule heading toward her.