by T. A. White
She understood the chain of command, and her actions, purely motivated as they were, broke that in a big way. She'd take any rebuke he chose to give her.
"I suppose I should explain," Kira started.
Her words seemed to break Graydon out of the thoughts he'd been locked in. He crossed the deck with a few powerful strides. His hands closed around her arms, and he jerked her close, warm lips landing on hers. They were filled with the desperate need of someone who'd lost the most important thing to them. His kiss was scalding hot, a perfect counterpoint to the chill trying to steal her thinking.
Instinct took over.
Kira met his fury with her own, pressing herself against him. Death had come too close today, and she needed a reminder that life wasn't just risk and danger. It was about this too.
Graydon didn't pity her for her upbringing. He'd tasted loss. He understood duty and sacrifice. If she let him, he could meet her on an equal playing field.
The undulating sound of the baby lu-ong intruded. They broke apart but didn't go far.
Graydon's gaze was searing as they breathed, millimeters apart.
"That was some greeting," Kira finally said in a voice far breathier than it should be.
His expression hardened, his eyes turning to ice. "You will never do that again."
Kira's mouth quirked. And there was the asshole she knew and was unwillingly drawn to. "We'll see."
"We will not," was his response as she forced herself to step back.
Without his warmth and the hard line of his body against hers, she could feel the full impact of the chill. She was conscious of the way her clothes clung to her, and her hair streamed around her face sopping wet.
"I see you, Kira. I'm not going anywhere," Graydon said.
"We'll see about that," she said as she faced the baby.
"Yes, we will. I'll prove it over and over if I have to—until you trust me with all that you are," Graydon murmured.
Chills skated along Kira's spine. Those words were filled with a promise, the universe recognizing the vow being made and cementing it into place.
As if reading her mind, Graydon smiled, the easy expression doing nothing to alleviate the darkness in his eyes. "The Tuann do not make vows lightly. The Mea'Ave has a habit of making them binding—and this is one I will submit myself to wholeheartedly."
Kira didn't respond. She couldn't.
There was a heat in Graydon's eyes that dared her to deny it so he could prove it. It was both thrilling and terrifying.
She'd gotten used to being alone. It was heady stuff knowing there was someone willing to attack a lu-ong mother protecting her young to try to save Kira.
Speaking of, Kira glanced around, noting the rest of the patrol had broken off their attack and was in a holding pattern high above.
Colored globes of light spun dizzyingly around the lu-ong. The threat was clear—approach and be incinerated
She slid Graydon a considering glance. He would have had to do some fancy flying to have gotten past that.
"We need to get out of here. It's not safe," Graydon said, one hand resting on her shoulder.
"Not necessarily true." Kira's gaze swung toward the crew. "At least for us. They, on the other hand, aren't so lucky."
An older man met her eyes, his expression surly and uncooperative. The captain, she was assuming.
As if in answer, he lifted his chin, his jaw tight as he tried to stare her down.
The side of her mouth tilted up. Yeah, she had a feeling that was the case.
"Unfortunately for them, they were a little too successful in their day's catch. Their cage caught him." Kira focused on the baby, who still clung to the side of the boat, watching the proceedings with a fascinated gaze.
"Ridiculous," the captain argued. "A cage would never be able to hold him."
Kira's head bent. "Not usually, I imagine." She glanced up at Graydon. "I don't know what it was made of, but it tried to drain me of ki."
Graydon's face hardened, his expression smoothing out as it turned calculating.
A couple of the younger members flinched and shifted away.
"What proof do you have?" the captain challenged.
Kira shrugged. "I think the lu-ong I freed does a pretty good job of supporting my claim."
Graydon's gaze lifted to the mother lu-ong and the spinning balls of fire around her. "As does the fact she stopped trying to sink the boat as soon as you went under."
"Who is she to make these accusations?" the man said, unable to see when the battle was lost.
Graydon's smile was a thing of beauty and death as he aimed it at the captain. "The missing heir to House Roake."
Kira shrugged, and half shook her head before nodding. "The title of unwilling guest works too."
There was a hint of fear in the captain's gaze as he glanced at Kira before his expression firmed.
"I don't care who the iffli she is," he spat.
Kira stiffened, the name tugging at memories she'd long since buried. The instructors in the camp used to call them that.
Her hands curled into fists as her emotions shut off, leaving her studying the captain the way she would a poisonous insect.
"House Dethos will not stand for this. I'll be speaking to our Overlord," the man was saying.
Hm. She'd heard that name before. It took only a second for it to come to her. The initiates who'd started the bar fight last night had belonged to House Dethos. Interesting to hear that name again here.
"You do that," Graydon rumbled, his voice deepening until it contained a dangerous bite to it. "I would be most interested to hear why a boat belonging to their House is fishing in sacred waters. These waters were declared off-limits."
"Except for Roake," the captain muttered defiantly.
Graydon's face was expressionless. "Yes, because they were appointed the custodians and protectors of everything that lies within. Your House is welcome to challenge them for their position at any time."
The captain's mouth snapped shut, his eyes flashing mutinously. "We're not currently in a position to win a challenge against Roake."
"Then perhaps you should not trespass in their waters or bemoan what you are too weak to secure," Graydon said with infinite patience.
Kira barely heard the words, her focus entirely on the captain. His gaze darted to her and away.
This wasn't her imagination. He was afraid of her. That, coupled with the use of that word, was enough to send her senses to high alert.
There was a whistling sound from behind them. The baby lu-ong wiggled further onto the ship, making those behind them stir uneasily.
Kira ignored them, giving herself space to think as she left Graydon's side and moved toward the lu-ong. She stopped in front of him. Taking a chance, she reached out, a small smile escaping her as he knocked his head against her fingers before rubbing his cheek along them while making a sound very like a purr.
Kira's heart stuttered, wonder unfurling in her chest as she set aside the captain momentarily. Seeing the baby under the water hadn't done him justice. He was beautiful and delicate, the suggestion of the mammoth creature he'd be one day there in his face. For now, he was adorable, his eyes multifaceted, his coloring not as pronounced as his mother's.
Impressions raced through her mind. A joyous warbling rising as he whistled and trilled a greeting at her.
He broke off abruptly as the world around them seemed to burn, the very air boiling and frothing.
A form dropped out of the sky, wrapped in darkness as stars trailed behind it. The Overlord of Roake landed heavily on the ship. Hellish fury and the promise of retribution raging from his eyes.
Kira caught sight of the survivor he was, the one who feared loss as much as she did. The one who would destroy his soul if it meant safeguarding those who he'd taken under his protection.
The emotions folded away as if they'd never been as he straightened, his expression containing a calm that almost made Kira think she had imagined what
came before.
There was a minute tightening in his expression when he caught sight of Kira's state, the blood oozing from the cut on her head. The half-drowned look and the protective way Graydon hovered over her.
Harlow inhaled deeply, whatever emotions he felt disappearing as if they had never been.
"What is going on here?" he asked, his cool gaze traveling over them.
The captain opened his mouth on a lie Kira sensed even before it left his mouth.
"Iffli," she said, using the term the captain had called her. "Is this a common word among the Tuann?"
Her uncle regarded her carefully. "Not one I've heard used before."
"Graydon?" she asked.
Panic deepened in the captain's eyes.
"It is an old one, not often used in common speech because of its origins with our former masters," Graydon said slowly. He saw the captain's unease too.
Graydon snagged a sheet that had been sitting over some bulky cargo. Cages, identical to the one she'd freed the baby from, were stacked all along the wall of the boat.
Graydon sent a chiding smile at the captain. "And you said she was lying." To Harlow, he said, "This is seiki stone. The emperor decreed its use as forbidden."
The captain's eyes darted, the noose around his neck tightening. His crew tensed at the implications.
"This is alarming, indeed." Harlow's voice a silky rumble. "The hunting of lu-ong carries a death sentence."
"That's not what we were doing," the captain defended. "You're mistaking our intentions."
"Are we?" Kira asked.
Somehow, she didn't think so.
More importantly, the mother and child behind them didn't either. If the Overlord didn't do something about this, they would. Kira got the sense their form of justice would be much bloodier and involve teeth.
"What does it mean?" Kira heard herself ask. "That word?"
People lied about words not hurting. Sometimes words left painful wounds that were more difficult to heal than physical ones.
For Kira, that word was deeply rooted in the identity of those who'd once called themselves her master.
Graydon shifted as if reading her hunger for blood. The change was slight as he readied himself for battle. "Halfbreed."
Kira's smile was humorless. "I thought so. I’ve heard it before—in the camp where I spent my childhood."
Graydon’s and Harlow's attention snapped to the captain.
He snarled a curse.
Kira took a chance, dropping into the Tsavitee language. "Your skin is wearing thin, and your deceptions no longer fool the eyes, shapechanger."
She saw the moment when the captain's resolve faded. He shot a glance at one of his crew members, one who stood slightly apart from the rest. He looked as Tuann as any, if one ignored the eerily smooth skin or the placid detachment with which he observed the situation. Unlike the rest, there was no unease or fear at being faced with two powerful Tuann.
That utter lack was warning enough.
At the captain's mistake, the man's eyes finally filled with emotion. Greed and hunger fought for control. He sprang forward, the skin he hid behind tearing to reveal a Tsavitee shapechanger. Sexless and bald, claws outstretched as his mouth opened wide, he streaked across the deck toward Kira.
She barely had time to prepare, tensing to dodge.
She needn't have bothered.
An en-blade appeared, separating the skin walker's head from its shoulders as the marshal Kira had met her first day on the planet stepped into view, seemingly out of thin air. His gaze was serene as he slashed his blade through the air, slinging the blood from it in one smooth movement.
Nearly identical to the Overlord's, the marshal's armor gleamed in the sunlight. These weren't the ornate ceremonial pieces Liara had worn to greet her. These were meant for war. Plain. Simple. Utterly efficient. Without a hint to announce either man's rank or status.
"I suppose this merits a thank you," Kira told Makon.
The faintest hint of warmth touched his expression. "No need. I suspect you would have had it in hand soon enough. Baiting the creature was a wise move."
Kira was glad someone thought so. The shaking in her hands disagreed. Shapechangers were nasty creatures, reliant on poison as much as their claws. If he'd managed to nick her or pierce her skin in any way, she might not have survived long enough to make it to a medic.
Kira glanced beyond him to find shock had settled on the crew's faces.
"We didn't know anything about this," the captain tried.
Lie.
Kira wasn't the only one to think so either, judging by the way Harlow and Graydon watched him like lions studying a juicy gazelle.
The marshal transferred his attention to Harlow. "I pulled the record, as you asked. This ship has had two warnings before about straying into protected waters. Whether they knew or not, they're still responsible."
The captain started to bluster a denial.
Harlow raised a hand, cutting him off.
The captain fell silent. The appearance of the shapechanger had knocked some of his confidence out of him.
Before, he had postured, convinced he could talk his way out of this. Now, he realized the waters he'd sailed into were much more treacherous and deeper than he'd previously assumed.
Makon paused, waiting. When the captain said nothing else, he continued. "This ship is registered to House Dethos. They are a small House. It is my opinion this is a deliberate trespass on our authority and should be treated accordingly."
Harlow studied Graydon. "And you?"
Graydon's smile was the stuff of nightmares. "They've directly broken several of the emperor's laws."
"We haven't," one of the crew pleaded.
He flinched when Graydon's attention settled on him, white-hot and edged with violence. "You were caught with a lu-ong in your cage. Found to be hosting an abomination created by an enemy that has already attacked us once. Had the Tsavitee gotten a hold of a lu-ong for their experiments, the damage done to us would have been catastrophic. There is no other way to interpret those actions."
The faces of the crew paled further, fear permeating off them in the face of Graydon and Harlow's regard.
Kira had to hand it to the two. They did intimidation well.
Graydon looked over, a smile tangling his lips as if he'd heard her thoughts.
She rolled her eyes. Yes, yes, he was very scary. That was never in doubt.
That smile died as soon as his attention returned to the captain and crew. "On behalf of the Emperor of the Tuann and standing in for your Overlord, I excommunicate all of you from your former House for grave crimes."
There was an immediate outcry from the Tuann in front of them.
"You can't do that," the captain shouted.
Graydon's jaw was set and hard, mercy nonexistent in his gaze. "I can, and I did. My status as the Emperor's Face gives me that power. I'd tread carefully. I hold your fate in my hand. Be careful not to tempt me to a harsher sentence."
Kira wasn't sure, but excommunication from one's House sounded pretty harsh to her. She'd seen how seriously the Tuann treated the bonds to their House, was living proof to how far they'd go in pursuit of them. She knew how lonely and difficult it was to be an outsider, and she suspected for the Tuann it was much worse.
Humans understood the need to walk alone at times. Not all of them fit in pretty little boxes. Sometimes you became a loner by choice, as she did; sometimes, it was the only path left to you.
Kira didn't regret the captain's fate so much as his crew. For most of them, they were probably only following orders. Now they were going to lose everything.
Still, she didn't speak on their behalf. Graydon was in the right. Sometimes you had to be harsh to protect the many. That they had had a Tsavitee shapechanger in their midst pointed to a rot far greater than she could ever forgive.
"Our House won't stand for it," the captain argued, the veins in his forehead popping. He looked beside himsel
f with rage, his face red and his hands clenched.
"They will," Graydon assured him with a rumble. It was like listening to the crash of mountain ranges. Slow, slumberous, inevitable. "Especially when I open up an investigation into your former House."
The captain sucked in a harsh breath. "You wouldn't."
Graydon's head tilted. "You keep telling me what I will and won't do. That is a mistake. Your Overlord is ultimately answerable for the actions of those in their House. Your casual disregard for our laws points to a dangerous mentality being fostered in your leadership. That is something neither I nor the emperor will stand for."
Shock rendered the captain mute. If he'd been furious at being excommunicated, this proclamation terrified him. Kira couldn't help but wonder if the captain had reason to fear his Overlord, or if there was something she was missing.
The captain's gaze moved to Kira, his expression frozen. When his eyes landed on her, all that emotion he couldn't take out on Graydon found an outlet. Rage spilled into his face.
"You," he breathed. "This is your fault."
Kira braced, knowing what was coming. He needed someone to blame. She was his chosen victim.
Ki gathered around the captain, building as Kira prepared to spring. She needed to disarm him before he could release his ki.
She didn't make it more than a step before Makon appeared next to him like a ghost, his sword sweeping up and separating the man's head from his shoulders.
Kira stopped abruptly, blinking at the sudden carnage as the rest of the crew lost their collective minds. Graydon and Harlow snapped into motion, subduing them in seconds.
Blood pooled under the captain's body, spreading until it nudged the tips of Kira's boots.
"I wish you hadn't done that," she told Makon.
He cleaned his blade with a quick flick of his wrist. "Mercy is not always wise, child."
"Maybe not, but I have a feeling he could have told us more about where that one came from." She nodded to the other headless body on the deck.
The marshal's gaze was contemplative as he took in the body of the shapechanger. "You have a point. Pardon my overzealousness."
He inclined his upper body in a small bow.
Harlow hauled one of the crew up, holding him in an implacable grip. "You will return to your House and tell them they are banished from these waters and every ocean on a Tuann planet."