21. NINETEEN

nineteen

Kira stepped into a room that was in the shape of a rotunda with a solitary tree growing at its center. The ceiling was a glass dome, allowing a shaft of solid light to play in the tree’s gnarled branches.

Gold accents ran throughout the room. A monument to the Tuann’s wealth and history.

The scene looked like something out of a fairy tale. Almost dream-like.

The tree at the rotunda’s center was covered in blooms whose color reminded Kira of the trees that lined the road leading to Himoto’s ancestral family home on Atlas. The petals and shape were different. The light blush edging to brilliant pink in the center, but it had that same delicate appearance. The same ability to create a sense of awe and admiration in its viewer.

Kira circled the room, noting the alcoves dotting the perimeter. The eyes of the statues inside seemed to follow her as she passed.

Kira ignored the feeling. She’d never had any real expectations of privacy.

The Tuann might not be as high profile with their use of technology as the Consortium, but only a fool would expect they wouldn’t be observing from behind the scenes in something as important as the adva ka.

Kira suspected every step of the initiates progress was being recorded and displayed somewhere.

Who had access to those recordings was the real question?

The emperor definitely. Likely the Overlords of the major Houses as well. Beyond that she was uncertain.

Kira completed her circuit, making note of the six doors leading into the rotunda.

Five of those doors contained the crests for the major Houses. It was the sixth and final door Kira found most fascinating.

The crest was one she hadn’t seen before. A motif of the tree at her back.

She couldn’t help but wonder at its meaning. The other five were easy to figure out since the door Kira used to enter carried Roake’s symbol.

She was betting once the rest of the initiates started trickling in, they’d do so via the door affiliated with their House. Did that mean this door represented Houses not within one of the major five? Or was there a sixth House that wasn’t spoken of?

As interesting as the question of the sixth door was, Kira didn’t want to waste more time thinking about it.

She raised her arms above her head and stretched, enjoying the gentle pull of her muscles. Her jaw cracked around a yawn as she searched out the best spot for a nice snooze fest.

She dismissed the benches with barely a thought. They’d be far too uncomfortable to sleep on for long. Not to mention their easy accessibility practically invited challenges.

No, she needed something that wouldn’t be immediately visible upon arrival and would allow her to study her intended prey before they took note of her.

Kira twisted to look up at the tree, noting the sturdy branches and blooms that offered cover.

Kira grinned. If she really was being watched, she should keep things interesting for them. It was only fair.

Without letting herself think too hard about the wisdom of what she was about to do, Kira sprinted for the trunk of the tree.

She planted one foot on the tree and leapt into the branches, scaling the tree until she’d found the ideal location for her nap. A spot where the branch and trunk came together in a perfect cradle for her weary bones.

Almost as if the tree had known what Kira would want and had grown over the centuries to accommodate that desire.

Kira settled into the spot with a sigh, wiggling a little until she found the most comfortable position.

She leaned her head back against the trunk, her eyes closing as she felt the warmth of the sun on her face.

Was there anything better than a nap stolen in a fairytale tree while awaiting the arrival of possible danger?

Kira didn’t think so.

A smile was on her face as she allowed herself to relax under the gentle hum of the tree. The gentle whispers of its voice keeping her company as she drifted off, knowing her senses would wake her again the moment they detected an anomaly in her environment.

Kira roused from her nap a short time later, the groan of one of the doors warning her she was no longer alone. Her eyes cracked open as she held still, not moving from her perch in the tree as she peered through the branches.

She was careful not to cause any shift. Not wanting the faintest rustle to announce her presence or the fact the other initiate wasn’t alone.

At least not until she’d gotten their measure.

People were the most themselves when they thought no one watching. Even the most honest and straight forward person couldn’t help but to adjust their behavior based on the presence of others.

The best way to understand a person was to see what they did when they thought they were alone.

Did they immediately assess for threats? Or maybe they went straight for the refreshments?

Either scenario would tell her something about the person who’d arrived first after her.

Not knowing what challenges she’d face once the rest of the initiates arrived, it was important to learn all she could now when there was still time.

Later would be too late.

The person who’d arrived appeared bland and unremarkable as they prowled the perimeter of the room much like Kira had a little while ago.

She didn’t recognize their face, unsurprising given the limited contact she’d had with other.

Kira squinted at the person. They weren’t of Roake. That much was obvious. While her acquaintance with the rest was short, she’d made a point of memorizing their faces.

This person wasn’t any of those. Nor was their face among those in the list Jin had compiled for her.

So not an ally—or known enemy.

That still left a lot of room for trouble to spring forth.

Kira shot a glance at the door the person had used, finding that it belonged to Asanth. Another House, like Kashori, that Kira had little interaction with.

Kira stiffened as the stranger shot a glance at the tree where she sat. Did the woman know she was here?

Anything was possible with the Tuann.

After the glance, the woman changed direction and headed for a bench directly across from Asanth’s door. There was a calm expression on the stranger’s face as she sat with a straight back, waiting for others to arrive.

Kira lost interest in the other rather quickly and was on the verge of another nap when Roake’s door opened, and Rheya and Blake stalked through. They paused at the sight of the Asanth woman before continuing toward a bench not far from where they’d entered.

Danai’s door was next to open. One of the Tuann who’d been in the crowd who’d hassled Joule stepped through.

He and Asanth’s initiate glared at each other. Rheya and Blake watching from their spot off to the side.

Kira wouldn’t quite describe the tension between them as hostile. More like they’d come across another they viewed as dangerous but hadn’t yet determined if they were a potential enemy or not.

Kashori’s door was next to open. Tinsley and a few of her fellow initiates following.

Disappointment showed on Tinsley’s face as she scanned the rest of the room and failed to find what—or who—she was looking for.

Her companion murmured something to her before they stopped at a table of refreshments.

Not bad. It seemed Kashori’s heir was no slouch.

A second arrival from Roake’s door drew Kira’s attention as Devon entered, his expression a stony replica of Graydon’s.

Interesting.

She’d known Devon had talent but perhaps not to this extent. It was impressive he’d managed to beat the likes of those she knew Roake had spent a lot of time and effort training.

In some ways, she saw echoes of Jin when she looked at Devon. If her best friend had been allowed to grow up among the Tuann, would he also have done this well?

She smirked. What was she thinking? Of course, he would have. He’d probably have given her a run for her money—if he didn’t set up a trap somewhere to give himself a head start.

Kira didn’t move from her place in the tree as Devon stuck to the edge of the room. His posture that of someone waiting as he leaned against the wall and folded his arms across his chest.

The Tuann below were playing nice for now as they eyed their competition, but Kira was interested to see how long that would last. Especially as the Tuann began to trickle into the rotunda faster than before.

Not all of those who entered were warriors either. Their physiques were a little bit softer, pointing to pursuits that had nothing to do with violence or weapons.

It reinforced the Tuann’s claim that not all those who undertook the adva ka were required to be adept at fighting. These would be those Tuann interested in becoming masters of their craft. Adults with a voice aimed at shaping their House’s future.

Kira wished them luck. She had a feeling this experience would be more difficult for them than it would be for those who’d trained in the art of war since they could walk.

The change in the room’s atmosphere was gradual as more and more bodies occupied the space. The distance between initiates began to disappear as more aggressive arrivals stalked the edges of the unspoken territories that had been established.

Votair’s initiates, all of whom entered through Danai’s door, were among the worst offenders. They skated Luatha’s border, heckling those across from them.

See—this was why Kira avoided the benches.

Roake’s door opened to admit another group.

Raider stalked into view, the armor Wren had gifted him smeared with mud and other plant matter. Joule trailed behind him, looking similarly disheveled.

Their arrival sent ripples of awareness cascading through the room as whispers containing the word “human” followed.

Raider ignored them as he scanned the room, his gaze almost immediately locking on the tree where Kira sat.

It wasn’t surprising he had figured out her position within seconds of arriving.

If anyone could, he would. Raider had always understood the way she thought, in part because he thought the same way.

Joule said something to Raider’s back as the human started toward the tree. Receiving no answer, Joule shook his head before heading over to where Devon waited.

Raider stopped under the tree, exasperation on his face as he set his hands on his hips.

A Tuann from a house Kira didn’t recognize shoved his shoulder into Raider’s in deliberate provocation. “Watch it, human.”

Older than most of those present, there was a jaded look on his face that made Kira think this wasn’t the first time he’d been through the adva ka. He was one of those Finn had warned her about. Someone who had no intention of passing the adva ka and made it a practice of targeting newbies with the goal of knocking them out of the running.

“What are you looking at?” the Tuann barked when Raider’s response was to roll his eyes at Kira.

If the Tuann had bothered looking up, he would have easily spotted her hiding spot. Instead, he was too busy picking a fight with Raider to wonder why the human was less concerned about him and more interested in what waited at the top of the tree.

Kira supposed that was her cue for a dramatic entrance.

She wrapped her legs around the branch of the tree, falling sideways and letting gravity claim her until she was hanging upside down.

“Hello,” she said.

The Tuann screeched and leapt sideways, ki scorching the air.

Kira’s amused expression changed to a serious one as she caught his wrist, shoving his arm down as her legs let go of the branch.

She flipped in midair, her grip on the man sending him face first into the trunk of the tree as she landed on the ground.

A groan left the man as he jerked away from the tree trunk, holding his nose.

Kira grimaced at the blood and snot he’d left behind on the bark of the tree. “Eew.”

Murmurs escaped those watching as the Tuann eyed her with surprise.

“Is that her?”

“Where did she come from?”

“Has she been here the whole time?”

“I didn’t see her arrive, did you?”

Raider’s face showed boredom. “As always, you’ve created quite the entrance.”

Kira picked a leaf out of his hair, examining it closely before flicking it to the ground. “I could say the same about you. What happened?”

“Someone tried to ambush the kid. I got caught in the crossfire.”

From the way he said that Kira suspected the responsible party wouldn’t be joining those waiting in the rotunda.

“Roake?”

Raider shook his head. “Someone from one of the minor Houses.”

“They’re getting bolder.”

Particularly if they were willing to make an incursion into Roake’s territory.

The opening of a door distracted them from their conversation.

To Kira’s surprise, it wasn’t any of the doors associated with the five major Houses but rather the sixth. Unused before now.

A wanderer stepped through.

“They don’t belong here,” a Tuann nearby murmured.

“Neither does the human,” someone else responded.

Raider smirked at those eyeing him. “It’s amazing how the species changes, but the trash that comes out of their mouths is always the same.”

Kira made a sound of agreement as she met the gazes of those looking in their direction, making a note for later.

There was a lot of disdain in the faces of those around them. Not all of it limited to House Danai and their allies.

Raider had an uphill battle in front of him.

Before anyone could make a move, the sixth door opened again, allowing two more people entrance.

Selene and Alexander’s unexpected arrival sent a buzz coursing through those present.

Kira blinked rapidly as she fought to keep the surprise off her face. “What are they doing here?”

“Maybe the same thing you are,” Raider said as the pair glanced in Kira’s direction and then away, acting like they had every intention of ignoring her.

Fine. That suited her.

She’d planned to keep her distance anyway.

The wait after Selene and Alexander’s arrival wasn’t long. Only a few more Tuann stepping through each of the doors before a change spread through the room.

“Something is happening,” Raider said, looking around him with suspicion.

“I feel it too.”

As did many of the rest in the rotunda.

Joule glanced in her direction. She shook her head at him, motioning for him to stay where he was.

Oshota appeared from the walls, stepping out of them like they were ghosts.

Those who hadn’t had any prior warning of their arrival startled as the oshota herded them toward the tree.

Kira and Raider didn’t move, having already anticipated their arrival.

She was interested to see there were a few others, Asanth’s first arrival and the wanderer among them, who showed little reaction at the oshota’s sudden presence.

Graydon stepped out from the oshota’s midst, his arrival causing a silence to fall.

Selene and Alexander moved smoothly across the ground, stopping not far from where Kira and Raider waited by the tree.

Graydon scanned those present, his storm-colored eyes pausing on Kira for a moment before moving on.

“On behalf of the emperor, I welcome you,” Graydon started.

Raider frowned at Kira as she jerked, something catching her attention.

“What are you doing?” he hissed, trying not to move his lips as the nearby Tuann glanced in their direction before focusing on Graydon and his speech.

Kira didn’t answer as she listened, trying to catch the sound she’d just heard.

There. There it was again.

A voice. Tinny and indistinct crackling through her comms.

Kira stiffened. She knew that voice as well as she did her own.

“Oh no.”

Raider glanced at her, his gaze seeming to tell her to stop acting crazy and pay attention to the instructions Graydon was giving.

She’d like to. She really would, but there were more pressing matters to attend to.

Kira searched the ground as the voice grew more distinct, developing an almost sing song quality as its owner continued to broadcast.

“Kira? Phoenix? Nix? Nixxy poo? Lovely lady who forgot to take me with her. Where are you?”

“It’s not forgetting if I deliberately leave you behind,” Kira declared through gritted teeth.

“There you are,” Jin said at the same time she spotted the flicker of light shimmering against pink crystal.

The lu-ong/snake lookalike made a beeline straight for Kira.

“That little—“ Kira cut herself off as she drew attention from those around her.

The last thing she wanted was for someone to see her dumbass friend in what was probably the grossest security violation the adva ka had ever seen.

She gave them a stiff smile that probably looked as awkward as it felt.

“I’ve been calling you forever. How dare you leave me behind,” the source of their future doom exclaimed as he slithered over the tops of shoes and in-between legs.

Raider’s angry exhale told Kira when he spotted Jin a second later. The warning look he shot her was pointless. Did he really think she wasn’t aware of the shitstorm Jin’s presence had landed them in?

Dead. That’s what Jin was. So very, very dead.

The lu-ong snake reached the toe of her boot, lifting its head to glare up at her. “Are you just going to leave me down here?”

Kira was tempted—but no. Jin was more likely to be discovered if left on his own.

She squatted, pretending to tie her shoe as she held her hand out to the mini spawn.

Raider shifted to block the others’ view of what she was doing, his face tight as he glared around him with a scowl that would have once terrified their subordinates.

Jin wriggled onto her hand and up her palm before twining around her wrist.

“Why is he here?” Raider asked under his breath as Kira stood.

She tugged her sleeve over his body, making sure he was fully covered. He wiggled, trying to stick his head out from under her sleeve.

She flicked him between his eyes before yanking the sleeve over his body again. “Stop that.”

“I can’t see if you cover my head!”

“You also can’t be seen.”

Something that felt incredibly important as Graydon glanced in her direction. He wasn’t the only one paying attention to her either.

Selene also stared at her with a questioning look. Not to mention the interested gazes both the wanderer and the woman from Asanth were giving her.

“You’re so twitchy,” Jin complained.

“I am trying to pay attention, so we don’t get knocked out of the adva ka early,“ Kira ground out. “Remember all our reasons for participating?”

For instance, the Tsavitee general’s claim that Elise planned to infiltrate the adva ka. Not to mention the small manner of obtaining her full independence as a Tuann adult.

All good reasons to be on their best behavior.

“That’s why I would think you would want me as a partner on this,” Jin said with an insulted sniff.

Raider’s head moved slightly, showing he was listening even if it didn’t look like it.

“For instance, I don’t like the way those two to your right are looking at you.”

Kira was careful to act casual as she looked in the direction Jin indicated.

“Recognize anyone?”

Kira scanned the faces of those on her right which included Asanth’s initiate and the wanderer.

A pair of hazel eyes peeked through the wanderer’s hood before looking away.

The person was young from what Kira could tell. Devon’s age or a few years behind him. She’d expected someone older.

From this close, she could see the marks that said their armor had been modified. As well as the amount of care they’d put into the maintenance.

“Know this trial will test the core of who you are. Not everyone will pass. For those who do, you will be the very best of us,” Graydon was saying as Kira continued to search for the pair Jin had been talking about.

She found them a few steps from the wanderer.

Renata and Notus glared at Kira, making no attempt to conceal their enmity.

Kira could see why Jin was bothered by them. She didn’t like the way they were looking at her either. Like she was rabbit they intended to rip apart.

In front of them, Graydon was finishing up. “You will find yourself driven to the brink. Hold fast to the ideals and teachings of your House. If you waver even a tiny bit, you will find yourself dashed against the rocks as so many of your predecessors have been.”

“That’s not grim or anything,” Raider muttered.

“Reminds me of the speech they gave at the academy—except for the whole rocky death part. That’s new,” Jin quipped.

Kira’s smart-ass response died as her senses tingled.

Movement from the tree caught her attention as the branches extended. They reached out, almost as if stretching.

The buds that dotted the limbs with barely opened flowers in varying shades of pink bloomed. Their petals lengthened until the tree was covered in blossoms.

So many that Kira could no longer see the bark of their branches.

Gasps let her know she wasn’t the only one who’d noticed the tree’s change.

Light started to gather in the blossoms. More and more until Kira had to shield her eyes from the piercing glow.

She looked away from the tree, surprised to find the walls of the rotunda shimmering. Almost as if the heat from the blossoms was creating an optical illusion much like you might encounter in the desert.

A familiar sensation built as her hair stirred.

Kira didn’t even have time to draw breath before the bottom dropped out of her stomach. The tree and its blossoms shattered, the pieces exploding outward.

There were screams as the initiates ducked away in an attempt to protect themselves.

Raider grabbed Kira, yanking her down and covering her head with one arm and his with the other.

The pain they braced for never arrived.

Kira lifted her head to find the shards from the tree suspended in midair. The world dropped out from under her in the next second, sending Kira and everyone else into a dizzying free fall.