24. TWENTY-TWO

twenty-two

“The human is impressive, wouldn’t you say?” Torvald leaned back in his chair, his eyes on the floor of the arena as Raider hid himself in a pocket of the dust cloud Kira had created.

“He is,” Graydon responded as a swarm of drones closed in on where Kira still stood, immobile, in the hole she’d blown in the wall.

She hadn’t just disrupted the tether that enabled the particles to communicate on a molecular level to assume different shapes and densities; she’d reduced them to dust.

They would be nothing but inert matter now, unable to relink.

It was a remarkable feat in someone who was relatively new to ki training—and a decent approximation of the technique Graydon first showed her on Ta Da’an when he’d reduced a statue to rubble.

Pride filled Graydon at the sight.

“This level of skill is sufficient to get him through the test of survival but to advance further he will need to be capable of more,” Torvald said as the drones passed over Raider’s position.

The human stepped out of the dust cloud, lobbing a small object the size of a fist in their direction.

The drones parted, allowing the object to pass before closing ranks and changing targets.

Raider smirked as they slunk in his direction and held up his middle finger.

Light and electricity burst from the shape. An energy field hit the drones directly around it.

They dropped.

Kira laughed as she darted across the ground toward the closest intact wall. She raced up its side before pushing off and flipping to land on a drone passing by.

Sensing its passenger, the drone activated its defenses. Blue light arced upward as Kira punched down.

Her fist broke through the casing. She ripped her hand free, the core of the drone clutched in her fingers.

She hurled it at another drone, leaping off the first and onto another.

Quiet rippled through the audience as they watched the destruction the pair wrought as Joule and Devon completed their task of dealing with those Tuann who’d been foolish enough to try to ambush them.

Torvald propped his head on his fist as he and Graydon watched the spectacle quietly.

A drone graveyard grew around the pair, many of the machines lying in pieces on the ground. Sparks still flew occasionally as Raider dealt with the final drone.

Their conversation echoed in Torvald’s box as the monitoring devices installed throughout the arena transmitted their voices.

It was an honor only those the Overlords and those within their boxes could access.

Several Houses had designated a few of their initiates as priority, allowing only themselves the ability to eavesdrop. Roake had done the same for Kira.

Such an action would block the rest of the arena from spying on those initiates who didn’t belong to their Houses.

Only the emperor could circumvent those restrictions.

Of course, some of those below had made their settings public. Those were the initiates hoping to be recognized and recruited by another House.

“Didn’t think I’d get such a good workout during this,” Raider said, tossing the drone he’d destroyed to the ground.

“You know what they say, ‘Participate in an insane rite of passage. Get your sweat on,’” Kira joked.

“I doubt the Houses expected them to be quite so dangerous,” Torvald murmured in a distracted voice as Devon studied the carnage with envious eyes.

“No one did,” Graydon responded.

They all underestimated Kira and Raider. Of course, for different reasons. Kira because she lacked the training of a Tuann warrior and Raider because he carried the stigma of being human.

“Asanth has learned,” Torvald responded, his gaze moving to Asanth’s initiates.

The small group were keeping their distance from Alexander and Selene, choosing a different circle when it became obvious which one the pair was heading for.

It was a surprising gesture of respect.

Below, Kira was in the middle of giving Joule and Devon a confused look. “What’s up with you two? You’re acting like I did something surprising.”

“It’s different seeing this in person,” Devon said slowly.

Kira’s face showed confusion. “You were there the last time I went on a rampage.”

Something in Devon seemed to withdraw at the reminder. “I remember little of that day. Mostly pieces. You standing over me. The lights on the drones as they swam through the darkness. The sound of their weapons. But nothing of the fight itself.”

If anyone understood what he was going through, Kira would, having her own primus.

Graydon knew Devon still had nightmares about his primus assuming control and killing everyone around him.

It had left him with a trauma that was slow to heal. Months after the incident that had caused his pain and Devon was still reluctant to have anything to do with his primus.

It was a wall Graydon hadn’t figured out how to help the boy overcome.

“She has talent as a teacher. Perhaps the child who refers to her as seon’yer is more perceptive than I gave her credit for.“ Torvald looked up at Graydon. “Even with you as his seon’yer, he’s been resistant about discussing anything to do with that day.”

It was one of the reasons it had taken them so long to realize his primus rising wasn’t a natural event and instead a Tsavitee plot designed to isolate him from his peers.

“She understands better what he’s going through,” Graydon said.

From what the oshota Graydon had assigned to investigate Kira’s past had told him, Kira’s primus had killed quite a few allies by accident before she’d managed to gain control of it.

She was in a unique position to help Devon work through his issues.

“I never did thank you for what you did for me,” Devon was saying slowly.

Graydon chuckled at the uncomfortable look on Kira’s face. As if there was nothing she’d like better than to run away from Devon’s words.

Joule moved forward, setting a hand on Devon’s shoulder as he saved Kira from awkwardness. “It just means we have to work harder.”

Determination filled Devon’s eyes. “You’re right.”

Raider waved at them from where he’d been scouting. “Get a move on, Grandma. Time is a wasting.”

Kira’s scowl was magnified on the transparent screens in front of Graydon and Torvald.

“You know I hate it when you call me that,” Kira was saying.

“Don’t act like one and I won’t have to.”

Kira made a tsking sound with her tongue. “I should have picked a less mouthy second-in-command.”

That she hadn’t said a lot about her as a leader. She’d chosen to surround herself with people who weren’t afraid to challenge her.

Jin. Raider.

Both individuals who wouldn’t hesitate to voice their disapproval of a plan. Even as they remained ready and willing to walk into the fire with her.

It made Graydon wonder what sort of people the rest of her Curs had been. For her to mourn them as she did, they had to be individuals worth knowing.

They must have shone as bright as the two below.

It was pity he would never have the chance to meet them.

“Their bond is much deeper than I had been led to believe,” Torvald observed, one finger tapping against the arm of his throne as he studied Kira and Raider. “It is as strong as any familial bond between Tuann.”

It was in moments like these that Graydon saw how Torvald could maintain control of as fractious of a race as the Tuann. One that could all too easily fall prey to internal divisions.

He saw more than most.

Enough to pick up on the strength of the tie between Kira and her human.

“I see evidence of damage in their bond that frayed it but it’s been strengthened since then.” Torvald’s head tilted, fascination on his face. “Intriguing.”

Graydon said nothing as he stood beside Torvald, watching as Kira and her team advanced toward the circle they’d selected.

As powerful as Graydon was, he couldn’t see what Torvald did. The emperor was famed for his sensitivity and intuition that far surpassed any other Tuann, except one, that Graydon had met.

Graydon had to form his own conclusions from having interacted with Kira and Raider. Enough to know that the bond they shared was a precious thing. Something not even other Tuann might be able to achieve.

“I didn’t think we could create such an intricate bond with a member of another race,” Torvald said pensively.

Graydon understood his concern. A tie such as the one between Kira and Raider could strengthen each half immeasurably.

The problem lay in it ever being severed.

The resulting devastation would desolate the person left behind.

At least if that person was a Tuann.

There was a possibility a human might not suffer the same effects.

“This is concerning,” Torvald said, his gaze swinging to the one circle in the arena that had yet to be breached.

“It’s not over yet,” Graydon responded, knowing where Torvald’s thoughts had gone.

Golden eyes peered up at him. “You have such faith in her.”

“She has proven worthy of that faith,” Graydon said firmly.

Torvald leaned his temple against his fist as the four below reached the end of the maze of walls.

“I hope you’re right.”

As they were talking, a person wearing the garb of a wanderer approached the circle.

Above, the tendrils of ki realigned as the symbol prepared to change to the next access point. The transition created a split second of weakening in each of the circle’s barriers.

A fact the wanderer took advantage of as the Tuann pressed forward, breaching the outer barrier in an instant. They looked like they were moving through a thick wall of mud as they slogged toward their goal.

In all too short a time, they breached the wall of ki and moved into the center of the circle.

“I don’t know whether to be worried or impressed,” Graydon said.

What the applicants may not have realized was that there was a purpose behind the circles. By tradition, each one contained a purpose behind its existence.

It went far beyond the difficulty level of breaching their walls. It was once thought the circle chosen today would determine the path of tomorrow.

The higher the resistance, the more difficult the journey would be. It was a way of testing whether someone had the strength needed to walk the path. Many might desire to be an oshota or an Overlord, but few possessed the determination and will to overcome the obstacles that would inevitably rise.

That wasn’t to say that if a person entered a circle that differed from the path they desired that they wouldn’t someday find themselves on that very course, but rather the circle assessed where they stood in the current moment.

Most were only capable of passing the adva ka. To reach higher, more sacrifice and ability would be required.

The circle the wanderer had chosen fit none of these avenues. It was once called the emperor’s path. Though that name had fallen into disuse. Walking it no more guaranteed that you’d become an emperor than the oshota’s path promised you’d become an oshota.

They named it that because of the difficulty level.

For starters, the symbol above would never call that circle’s number, making the wanderer’s method the only way to breach its walls.

“It is an unusual step but in line with their stated goals.”

Despite Torvald’s words, Graydon caught the flex of his fingers on the chair of his throne that said he was deep in thought.

“I hope you’re right,” Graydon said.

Because there was another purpose beyond that of an emperor’s path in that circle.

“We won’t have to hope if she answers the call.” Torvald gestured with his chin at those below as they reached the edge of the walled maze. Devon and Joule started to cross the wide-open space that lay between them and their destination.

Kira dragged them back before they could take more than a step.

She slapped them on the back of their heads while saying something sharp.

Torvald balled a fist and hid his smile behind it as his shoulders shook at the sight of his son being chastised.

“There is still purpose in her current trajectory,” Graydon said. “Time remains for her to answer the call.”

Torvald might be able to see into the truth of things, but Graydon understood people and how they operated.

Kira would do what they needed her to do. She wouldn’t be able to help herself.

“If not, we’ll have to take more drastic measures,” Torvald’s voice was grim.

Graydon hoped it didn’t come to that.

“Why are you stopping me?” Devon asked, sounding frustrated.

The look Kira leveled on him was chock full of patience.

It was the expression she’d perfected when dealing with stubborn soldiers who refused to recognize that someone as young looking as her knew what she was talking about.

A little patronizing. A little sympathetic. It usually drove people mad—but it did make them listen.

“Because you’re being stupid, and I don’t want you dragging the rest of us down with you.”

Devon glared at Kira after those words. “The symbol is changing.”

“But it hasn’t changed yet.”

Though it was about to.

Kira could feel the pressure in the air, the sapping of the ki barrier around the circle.

It was mere moments from opening.

“It’s going to. We should be standing there when it does.”

Devon’s argument made sense to a certain degree. There was a reason for the saying “first come, first served.”

However, Kira thought caution was the better part of valor in this moment.

The Tuann were a tricky lot. There was no telling what traps lay between here and there.

Not to mention, she was almost certain there were those lying-in ambush waiting to pick off the unwary.

“Is there any reward for being first?” Kira asked, trying to use logic rather than force.

Devon wasn’t her soldier. She couldn’t order him to stay put and expect obedience. Not to mention, by explaining her reasoning, she hoped he would learn something.

Unfortunately, Devon stubbornness didn’t allow him to see the concession she was so graciously making. That was a trait he and Jin shared.

Through the comms, Jin snickered. “I like his fire. Let him go. I think he could make it across by himself. If not, he’ll make a stellar pin cushion distraction.”

Kira wasn’t doing that. For some reason, she felt an obligation to Devon.

Whether that was because of Jin or the fact she could see his potential, she didn’t want to abandon him unless he made her lose her temper.

“Not officially,” Joule answered for him. “But impressing the audience can lead to a more advantageous position in your birth House or another should you choose to relocate.”

“Neither of you are planning to join a House,” Kira pointed out calmly. “So, what’s the point of assuming all the risk when there’s no reward at the end of it?”

Devon avoided her gaze, the stubbornness in his face fading but not entirely disappearing.

Ah. Reputation.

Devon’s flaw was that he was ambitious. He wanted to create a name for himself. Like Graydon. And his father.

Ambition wasn’t always a bad thing, but if he wasn’t careful, it would get him killed.

Possibly others if he did stupid things in their vicinity.

“Legends often have short lives,” Kira told him.

If he wanted to be one of those idiots, he was welcome to try—but not at the expense of doing things properly.

A whistle caught their attention.

They looked up to see Raider tilt his head at the open stretch of ground. “You want a reason. Look there.”

Three individuals burst out of a break in the wall as the symbol overhead finally changed over. They raced across the floor toward the safe zone.

They’d made it a quarter of the way when the sound of zuipis being charged filled the air. Energy arrows launched in their direction as the person at the rear shouted a warning.

He stopped, spinning to throw up a shield.

He never finished as the ground erupted next to his foot. The person who’d lain in wait rose, slashing at him with their sword.

Unprepared for the ambush, the man never had a chance.

He fell to the ground, his body vanishing within seconds as the arena booted him from the area.

Without his protection, the energy arrows pierced the backs of his companions.

They fell face first toward the ground, their bodies vanishing before they could hit.

“You see now why I wanted to wait?” Kira asked the two beside her.

They nodded their heads in tandem.

Kira moved past them toward Raider. “What do you see?”

“It’s going to be tough.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

Kira really wished they still had Selene in their party. The other woman’s shields were better than Joule’s. With her, there would be little issue of reaching the other side of this killing field.

“My calculations say the next circle to be chosen will likely be on the opposite side of the arena,” Jin inserted.

Great.

That meant a trip back through the maze and its warren of traps and drones while hoping there was enough time to reach their destination before it changed again.

Everything in Kira rebelled at that plan. Her instincts said she and the rest needed to stay on this side of the arena.

That this was where they would find success.

“This isn’t a test. It’s a battle royale,” Kira muttered unhappily.

“You are correct,” a voice said from the side.

Kira and the rest peered to their right to find Alexander resting against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the circle.

Selene perched on top of the wall, kicking her feet.

“I count twenty along the perimeter,” Alexander said as if his and Selene’s presence wasn’t a total shock.

“Twenty? Is that all?” Raider asked sarcastically.

“I thought you went ahead,” Kira said, ignoring the human.

“As you can see, you were wrong.” Alexander unfolded his arms and straightened. “It took you long enough to reach this point. Have your skills lapsed?”

Kira’s glare grew heated.

Not that Alexander seemed to notice as he turned to help Selene down, gentle as he lowered her to the ground.

“What’s wrong? Are we keeping you?” Raider asked with a taunting note in his voice.

“It’s good that you know.”

Kira grabbed Raider before he could do anything stupid. “Later.”

Raider’s shoulder relaxed under Kira’s hand as he backed off. “Sure. Later works for me.”

Joule looked between the two men, reading the atmosphere. “Do we have a plan?”

A low tone sounded, causing them to look up.

As if the universe had decided to up the difficulty level, shadowy shapes dropped from the ceiling. They flipped midair, small wings coming out as they glided toward Kira and the circle beyond.

A whooshing sound came next, capturing their attention. Like sand sliding against sand.

“Oh shit.” Raider stepped back, fear on the face of a man who once charged a company of Tsavitee infantry all by himself.

Kira felt her heart sink as she looked beyond him to the massive creature rising from the center of the maze.

“The fierot,” Joule whispered as the pupils of his eyes narrowed to small pinpricks.

The fierot’s limbs were thin and long, reminding Kira of tree branches. They had the same texture and color too, but that was where the resemblance stopped. Shaggy strands of black hair straggled down its back. Its face was swollen and bulbous looking.

An unsettling feeling filled Kira. One that approached terror as the fierot’s tiny eyes focused on Kira and the others.

Or more accurately the circle behind them.

“Something about this circle must require a greater test,” Selene said, echoing Kira’s thoughts.

“What do we do?” Devon asked.

Kira’s expression turned grim. “You wanted a plan? Run.”

That was the plan. Pure and simple.

There was no time for anything else.

Sure, they could try another circle but there was no guarantee the fierot or the creepy bird drones would let them go.

Their only hope for safety lay in that circle.

Alexander nudged Selene in front of him as the two raced forward.

Joule and Devon remained locked in place, staring up at the fierot with terrified eyes.

Raider swore, grabbing the shoulder of Joule’s shirt and shoving him toward the circle. “Move!”

The action broke their paralysis.

Joule and Devon dashed after Selene and Alexander.

The appearance of the fierot had caused a disturbance in those waiting to ambush them. Panicked cries spilled out of the maze as the other initiate’s finally caught sight of the terror.

“Selene!” Kira screamed.

Selene raised her arms, her hands flying through several gestures Kira couldn’t have replicated even if her life depended on it.

A narrow corridor extended from Selene to the circle. The walls ten feet high and transparent.

Joule and Devon raced into the corridor as Selene formed a third wall over their heads.

Alexander charged to the front. He plunged one hand into the ground, snagging the person hiding there and tossing them outside the corridor.

Joule and Devon reached the circle.

Kira slowed then paused as Alexander plunged his hand into the sand a second time, locating his victim unerringly.

He yanked upward; a person’s foot clutched in his hand.

“Do you remember the old rules?” Alexander asked, blocking the woman’s swing before tossing her away like trash.

“I do.”

How could Kira forget?

Those rules had kept her and the rest alive during the dark time in the camp.

“Perhaps you should follow the third one a bit more closely today,” he advised.

It wasn’t hard to figure out the one he meant.

The rule that stated they should only ever show what was absolutely necessary. The one that told them to survive—but only by the narrowest margin possible.

It was so their masters would underestimate them.

If a person didn’t know fully what you were capable of, they couldn’t defend against you.

Kira couldn’t understand why Alexander mentioned that rule to her. She strolled after the rest, trying to puzzle out the meaning behind his words.

Up ahead, Raider, Devon, and Joule had already reached the circle and had started to force their way inside.

To Kira’s surprise, Selene didn’t join them.

She reversed course toward the maze, a corridor once again extending in front of her. Alexander followed.

“Where are you two going?” Kira asked.

Alexander didn’t stop. “Our fate does not lie in this direction.”

A frown crossed Kira’s face. Then why had they come?

“Worry about them later,” Jin instructed. “The window is closing.”

Kira started forward again, only for her steps to slow a second later. There was something inside that resisted the idea of continuing in her current direction.

In front of her, Devon was the first to breach the circle’s barrier. Sweat showed on his forehead as he turned to encourage Joule and Raider.

Behind Kira, those who’d waited in ambush and those who were just reaching the area raced toward the safe zone.

Kira saw why a second later as the fierot advanced in this direction, flushing everyone in front of him.

They had no choice but to reach the safe zone or be evicted from the arena.

Joule finally made it through. Raider seconds later.

They beckoned her, screaming for her to get inside.

Kira’s pace didn’t pick up. Instead, it slowed further.

More and more, the feeling or repulsion was getting harder to ignore. Something whispering that she was heading the wrong way.

Kira stopped on the periphery of the circle, unable to take another step.

“What are you doing?” Raider asked, staring at her as if he could force her to claim that last foot of space.

Good question.

Kira looked up at the box where she knew Graydon was. From this distance she couldn’t see his expression but something about the way he stood seemed to urge her to listen to that little voice.

“Kira, you need to hurry. There’s only one slot left,” Joule urged.

One side of Kira’s mouth quirked up as she looked back at her friends.

Raider, who appeared as if he suspected what she was about to do. Joule, who was mostly concerned. Devon, whose confusion said he didn’t understand her hesitation.

“Don’t—“ Raider started.

Kira sidestepped as wind whistled past her head from an attack. The person responsible stumbled forward.

Kira planted a foot on their back and shoved.

The initiate hit the wall of the circle, sticking to it like a fly on sticky paper for a moment before slowly pressing forward.

Raider’s expression turned severe, his stare going from the stranger to Kira. “Why did you do that?”

He spoke with carefully controlled precision. As if doing otherwise might result in a tantrum of epic proportions.

“Not going to lie, I’m with the meat sack on this one. This wasn’t part of the plan,” Jin said.

Kira stepped back, giving Raider a pained smile. “I know but everything in me is saying it would be a mistake to enter this circle.”

She’d ignored her instincts once to a devastating cost. She couldn’t force herself to do so again.

“This isn’t my path.”

The words felt like a release.

She’d gotten Joule and Devon where they needed to be, but their path wasn’t hers. It never had been.

Even Raider had a different fate than her.

Though sometimes their paths might converge, each person had to determine the route they’d take.

For now, hers would diverge.

She could feel it. In her bones. And her soul.

Kira wasn’t a spiritual person. She didn’t believe in fate or any of that nonsense. Choice was what decided your future. The ones you made—the ones you didn’t.

Right now, instinct and the Mea’Ave’s will had tangled together, telling her one thing.

Her enemies expected her to be in this circle. They had planned around that scenario.

It’s why they focused on Joule. Why the ambushers had seemed to drive them along this path—even as they tried to obstruct them.

They wanted her distracted.

What would happen if she flipped the board? Acted out of character?

Kira didn’t know, but she really wanted to find out.