32. THIRTY

thirty

Kira kept her gaze fastened on her uncle’s as she made her way down the hall, a part of her still surprised she’d decided to come. She’d spent hours last night in her parents’ bedroom. It wasn’t until dawn stole across the horizon that she’d arrived at a decision.

To stay and take her chances.

It was a risky move that threw both her and Jin’s fates into question. The thing was neither she nor Jin had ever backed down from a fight and this was one of the biggest they’d ever faced.

They owed it to themselves to see it all the way through. No matter the ending.

Only then could they move forward.

Not to say she wouldn’t fight if they tried to destroy Jin. She’d tear this planet apart if she had to in defense of him.

But she wanted that chance to prove not all soul bound were what the Tuann thought. It was a decision she thought Jin would approve of.

Finn joined her, appearing from behind her like a wraith.

“Did you take care of what you needed to?” Kira asked.

“It turns out my preparations weren’t necessary.” He inclined his chin. “At least not yet.”

Kira sent him a look, reading the promise there that left her with the sense she hadn’t been the only one preparing for a departure.

It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him if he’d really considered going with her when she left. A question she refrained from voicing in case she’d misread him.

This wasn’t the right venue for such questions anyway. The hall far too crowded to allow for a private conversation.

More gazes turned toward Kira as the Tuann milling in the hallway caught sight of her arrival. A murmur started before several began moving toward the audience chamber as it became clear the trial would soon start now that the guest of honor had arrived.

Blue darted in Kira’s direction, her shorter stature making it easy for her to go unnoticed among the much taller Tuann. Her expression was furious as she caught up to Kira.

“Nixxy, what the hell is going on?” Blue snapped, blocking Kira’s path. She turned to follow as Kira side stepped her and kept going. “You’ve been AWOL for days and now I have to hear that Jin’s under arrest and might possibly be put down? What the fuck?”

“I can’t explain right now,” Kira told her, wrestling with a sense of impatience.

Blue didn’t deserve her irritation. Especially since her anger was justifiable. In her place, Kira would have been angry too at being left so far out of the loop.

Underneath Blue’s annoyance was also a thread of fear for Jin, reminding Kira that the two had once been close. Blue had always considered him family. They shared a love for all things technological that had bonded them.

Blue had started to speak when she fell silent again, her gaze moving beyond Kira. Her shock palpable.

“She’s alive?” A fragile hope bloomed on Blue’s face. “What about the rest of the Curs? Does this mean they’re alive too?”

Kira started to shake her head and then stopped. She hadn’t fully considered that.

No bodies had ever been recovered, the debris field of the half-destroyed moon making them impossible to find.

Their graves were still empty.

Elise had survived. Why not the other two?

Though after how much Elise had changed, Kira didn’t know whether to hope for their survival or the preservation of their memory that their deaths would ensure.

Kira shook her head as Raider and Elena arrived.

“Did you know about this?” Blue asked.

“Not until recently.”

Blue wasn’t listening, her head shaking back and forth. “This is—I don’t know what this is.”

Blue’s gaze landed on Elena, suspicion growing. “Wait a minute. I knew it was odd you were hanging around a kid when you hate them. She’s yours, isn’t she?”

Raider twitched.

“Holy shit, you’re a dad,” Blue gasped, seeming equally parts titillated and horrified. “I don’t know whether to sympathize or give you a high five.”

Raider’s jaw flexed. “How about neither?”

“Sure thing, boss.” Blue cackled before heading for the chamber doors. “I’m going inside. I want a good seat before the trial begins since I don’t trust certain people to share important details regarding the outcome.”

When an oshota moved to block Blue’s path, she bristled like an angry hedgehog. After a moment, the oshota lifted his hands and moved out of her way. Blue swept forward with a haughty tilt of her chin.

“Who is she?” Elena asked.

Raider scrubbed a hand over his face. “A Cur and a very good friend.”

Elena’s face puckered in a frown. “Are you sure it’s not more than that?”

Kira almost laughed at the way Raider seemed to freeze.

“What are you talking about?” Raider hissed, sounding almost scandalized. “She’s like a sister. An obnoxious and annoying little sister.”

“Hm.” Elena folded her arms over her chest not seeming convinced.

Raider’s eyes held shock as they met Kira’s.

Despite the tense situation, she couldn’t help but chuckle at his discomfort.

“Kira?”

Kira stiffened at the soft voice coming from her side, Raider doing the same in front of her. Elena’s face was a blank mask as she studied the woman who had given birth to her.

Elise’s gaze darted to her former lover and daughter. Pain and other things filling her face for a brief second before she tore her glance away to focus on Kira with a desperation that was carefully hidden.

Kira could see it, though. All this time and she could still read Elise. A little, at least. The other woman cared about Raider and Elena. Too much. Though she was trying not to show it.

Kira steeled herself against feeling any sympathy for the other. Elise chose this path. Not Kira.

If Elena was upset at Elise’s determination to ignore her, she didn’t show it, instead examining her mother with the same penetrating stare she reserved for her enemies.

Kira pretended the other woman wasn’t there as she ushered Elena in front of her.

“Are you really going to ignore me?” Elise asked with a faint huff.

Raider moved closer to Kira and Elena, his stance protective.

Hurt showed in Elise’s face before it vanished. “Kira, come on.”

Kira maintained her silence and continued forward with her niece.

Elise caught Kira’s wrist, bringing her up short. Elena whirled, slapping at her hand and breaking her mother’s grip.

Elise drew back with a stricken look that changed to one of determination as she focused on Kira. “Please.”

“As long as Graydon is still in a coma, I have nothing to say to you.”

Elise caught her elbow again, her expression pleading. “You don’t know everything.”

Kira yanked her arm out of her hold. “Whose fault is that?”

Kira reached her hand out to Elena, the girl taking it as they turned their backs on Elise. Elena’s hand trembled in Kira’s, evidence her niece wasn’t as unaffected as she was pretending.

“I wasn’t willing at first,” Elise said in Japanese, her voice desperate. “They took my future. Pieces of me that I have to get back.”

Elise’s gaze dropped to Elena, a meaning in them that made Kira’s heart skip a beat.

No. Please no.

“She’s not the only one of mine,” Elise said.

Kira thought she would be sick. It was something humans had been doing for centuries to help couples unable to have children. The years since had seen an improvement on the technology. Made it less invasive. Upped the odds of success.

She was relatively sure the camps had used it on a few of the older female and male children. Those whose abilities and bloodlines they thought worthy of preserving to experiment with later.

She’d never been able to confirm that though.

“Your enemy’s children aren’t the only ones at risk,” Elise said. “In either case, I cannot walk away.”

If true, it would change everything.

The problem was Kira didn’t know if she trusted the words out of Elise’s mouth. She could be lying. She was good at that.

There was a reason the forty-three had chosen Elise to infiltrate the Curs during the war. The woman had always been a talented spy. A chameleon, if you would.

Raider shoved his way between Elise and Elena, inserting himself between them. “Step back.”

Elise’s face softened, unable to conceal her yearning. “My light.”

“You don’t get to call me that,” he told her in a hard tone that made Elise flinch. “We would have helped if you’d asked. You didn’t.”

And in Raider’s mind that was a betrayal.

Raider turned his back on Elise, dismissing her as if she was nothing to him. “Let’s go. The Tin Can takes priority right now.”

Kira’s nod was slow as she looked beyond him to Elise, catching the sorrow the other woman wasn’t quick enough to hide.

Elise’s gaze hardened. “You know I can’t leave them out there.”

Kira didn’t know anything anymore, and right now, she was too tired to figure it out.

A hand slid into Kira’s as Elena looked up at her, a question in her gaze.

Kira nodded, patting the hand in hers before taking a deep breath and striding forward. Her uncle met her at the door to the audience chamber.

“You came,” he said with a glint of approval.

Kira jerked a shoulder up. “I didn’t have anything better to do.”

He didn’t remark on that as his gaze dropped to Elena. “And you listened to none of my instructions.”

Guilt warred with stubbornness on Elena’s face as she lifted her chin at him.

Harlow sighed before nodding at Wren. Kira’s seon’yer allowed the emperor’s oshota to take his and Auralyn’s spot beside Elise as he held out his hand to Elena. “Come, di aloashka. You will sit with me during this, and I will make sure you cause no trouble.”

Elena’s reluctance was obvious as she clung to Kira’s hand.

“Go.” Kira released Elena and patted her arm. “Keep your head down and listen to Wren.”

She sent an appreciative look Wren’s way, grateful he’d watch over Elena in her stead. Her seon’yer hesitated before stepping forward to wrap Kira in a hug.

“Have faith, my yer’se. You are not abandoned yet,“ he said into her ear with one final squeeze.

Kira gave him a shaky smile. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

If that wasn’t a show of faith, she didn’t know what was.

“Stay the course.” Wren hesitated. “And thank you for what you did for my daughter. I know you could have settled things in an alternative fashion.”

By that Kira assumed he meant, she could have killed Elise.

The thought had occurred—especially when Graydon’s coma lingered with no end in sight. But such an action would have been impetuous. As angry as she was with Elise, that didn’t mean she wanted her truly dead.

“I couldn’t. She’s family.” Kira watched as the oshota guarding Elise prodded her toward the audience chamber. “Even if it doesn’t feel like it right now.”

If there was one rule Kira lived by, it was that you didn’t kill your family. Not unless there was truly no other option.

Elise might still die if the Tuann decided to exact vengeance. But it wouldn’t be by Kira’s hand.

It was a small distinction—but an important one.

The thought sent a pang through her. Perhaps she wasn’t as sanguine about the possibility of Elise’s demise as she was pretending.

Kira wasn’t sure how much of that hesitation came from Elise’s confession. For all she knew, Elise’s desperation had compelled her to feed Kira lies designed to prey on her sympathy.

Wren’s nod held exhaustion. These last few days had taken their toll on her seon’yer, aging him. To find his daughter after all this time, only to see her arrested had to be agonizing.

Wren didn’t say anything else as he ushered Elena in front of him, trailing behind Elise and her guards.

Auralyn paused beside Kira, waiting until Wren was out of earshot. “You’ve done a good job until now, but your part in this is done. We’ll handle those two. From here on out, your focus should be on yourself and that soul bound of yours. Nothing else.”

It was good advice from a woman who treated her words like precious treasures to be doled out only when absolutely necessary.

Kira nodded, taking comfort in the knowledge that if she wasn’t here Auralyn and Wren would pick up the slack. They’d watch out for Elena and though it would hurt, they would accompany Elise to the bitter end if the Tuann decided to exact justice.

With this she’d freed Kira from the last thing holding her back. Elena’s safety was the only thing that might have prevented her from doing what she had to for Jin.

Auralyn had just removed that weight from her.

Auralyn dipped her chin in a gesture of respect before sauntering after the rest.

“Not following them?” Kira asked, looking up at Raider.

He frowned after Auralyn and the other two, his expression grumpy. After a moment, he shook his head. “No. An idiot got themselves arrested and can’t be trusted on their own.”

“I know you’re not talking about me.”

Raider flashed her a smile. “Of course not. I mean the other idiot in my life.”

Kira rolled her eyes before focusing on Harlow. Her uncle waited on the threshold of the audience chamber, Caius the only one at his side.

Harlow held out a hand to her. “Ready?”

Kira took it, trying not to let him feel the way it trembled. “No, but life doesn’t usually care about that.”

Approval glinted in Harlow’s gaze followed by a wry agreement. “No, it doesn’t.”

Caius moved impatiently at their front. “Enough chitchat. Let’s get this done before someone discovers my forces aren’t where they’re supposed to be.”

Kira gave Harlow a startled look.

Her uncle’s smile had a crooked slant as Caius strode forward, stopping at the top of the stairs where he posed.

“Overlord of House Roake submits his niece, the heir of Roake, daughter of our House, beloved to the Mea’Ave and the lu-ong to judgment under the emperor’s authority.”

“Those are some interesting titles,” Kira murmured in a low voice. “Even I didn’t know the last two.”

“Caius is skilled at setting the tone in situations like these. The Overlords need a reminder of exactly who they risk upsetting if you’re threatened,” Harlow answered.

In Kira’s opinion, he was taking a certain amount of latitude by linking her to the Mea’Ave and the lu-ong. But sure, they could do it that way.

Caius’s speech wound down. “She will be tried for the crime of participating in a soul bound’s creation as well as hiding its presence from an inquisitor’s inquiry.” Caius broke off to look at Kira. “How do you plead?”

Kira didn’t have to think. “Guilty.”

She lifted her chin to meet the stares of those assembled head on, her lips quirking as a murmur ran through the crowd.

Her answer threw Caius off balance as he gave her a disgruntled look. “That’s an unusual tactic. Most people would have pled their innocence in these circumstances.”

Kira let go of her uncle’s hand, taking the last few steps to the top of the stairs by herself as Finn and Raider moved to flank her. “Why lie? I did exactly what they’re accusing me of.”

There was no use denying it.

“Jin is soul bound. My purpose isn’t to hide that; it’s to make the Tuann realize he’s not the monster they think.”

Kira started for the stairs, leaving Caius and Harlow behind as she began her descent. She didn’t bother trying to convince Finn and Raider to remain with the other two. Neither man would listen anyway, so it was best to save her strength.

Kira swept a gaze over the crowd, finding her cousin Liara sitting at the bottom of the amphitheater. Given the four formal looking chairs positioned beside hers, each containing the symbol of their House, Kira assumed that was where the major Overlords sat.

Every chair was occupied except for Roake’s. It seemed they’d all come to watch the fate of Roake’s heir be decided. Lucky her.

Except for Liara, the Overlords were strangers to Kira. Two men and a woman.

Kira’s gaze lingered on the sharp features of Danai’s Overlord, interested in a glimpse at the man who could very well be the enemy pulling the strings from the shadows.

Or her enemy’s patsy.

Kira was still undecided.

Danai’s Overlord was an attractive man if you went for the sort who looked like they might stab you in the back the moment you took your eyes off him.

The Overlord shifted in his chair to fix an assessing look on Kira.

From that one glance, she could tell this was a dangerous man. It wasn’t in the amount of ki he could wield or his physical capabilities. This was someone who liked to slink in the shadows. To call him a snake would be an insult to snakes everywhere.

He was the sort who’d use you up and then toss you to the side when he was done with you.

Enemy met and identified.

With this, it no longer mattered if this man was a patsy or a mastermind. He’d be a problem for future Kira one way or another.

She could see it in the way he watched her. A scavenger waiting to pick apart her bones once other hunters finished with her.

Oh yeah. Definitely someone she’d need to keep an eye on.

Kira dismissed him from her mind as she focused on the cage of light in the center of the floor. Jin hovered inside it, careful not to brush against the walls.

The cage sat directly in front of the bench where the emperor’s Justice sat.

Eurus looked even more like a vampire lord today. His hair braided back from his face to expose the points of his ears. The high collar of his jacket framed the pale column of his neck.

His red eyes were expressionless as Kira reached the bottom of the stairs.

Two oshota appeared from nowhere to block Finn and Raider’s path who had accompanied Kira in her descent.

“She must go alone from here,” the oshota told them.

Raider’s protest cut off when Kira glanced at him.

“We’ll be right here if you need us.” He gave her a look filled with meaning before glancing up at Finn. “Isn’t that right?”

Finn didn’t hesitate, his gaze landing on hers. “For once, the human is not wrong.”

The responsible thing to do would have been to tell them no. To not get involved if things went south.

Kira didn’t have it in her to do that. She’d need their help if she really had to fight her way out of this place, a prospect that was looking slimmer and slimmer by the second from how many oshota were gathered along the edges of the room.

“Understood,” Kira said, stepping past the oshota and crossing the floor toward Jin.

She stopped in front of his cage, lifting a hand to touch the energy barrier. Lightning speared through her as it zapped her fingers.

Kira’s expression didn’t change as she considered the red marks on her skin from contact with the barrier. It seemed they weren’t taking Jin lightly.

Her arm had gone numb all the way up to her elbow from a second’s contact with the barrier.

Extracting him would be difficult. Perhaps impossible.

“You okay?” Kira asked.

“Never better. Who wouldn’t want to experience the joy of imprisonment?”

Sarcasm. He couldn’t be too bad off if he was still capable of snark.

Kira cleared her throat. “They hurt you?”

“You know they didn’t. Devon made sure they couldn’t touch me.” Sadness tinged their bond along with grief. “You should have run.”

Kira couldn’t quite manage a smile. “Where would I go without you? You know what sort of trouble I’d get into. I wouldn’t even make it a month.”

“True.” Jin moved closer to the barrier where Kira stood. “I’m sorry I got us into this.”

“Does this mean you regret saving your brother?”

Jin’s instant denial filtered through their connection. “Of course not.”

“I don’t either.” The edges of Kira’s eyes crinkled as she gave him a tiny smile. “There’s never been a need for apologies between us. Let’s not change that now.”

Jin should never have to hold himself back for her. He’d made the correct decision in sacrificing his possible safety to help Devon. He wouldn’t have been him if he’d made any other choice.

“I’m with you to the end.” No matter what that entailed. “You’d do the same for me.”

Kira looked up at Eurus’s impenetrable face. Truly, the man was beautiful. Almost otherworldly.

“Should we get started?” Kira challenged.

The emperor’s Justice stirred, a statue come to life as the room quieted.

Jarek strode onto the center of the floor, bowing slightly to the emperor on his throne, Devon at his side, and then Eurus.

He shot Kira a quick glance. “Since she’s already pled guilty, there is little need for a trial. Although I admit that the actions of this soul bound do not seem to hold much in common with those from our stories, it does not change our laws. Any time a soul bound is encountered it is to be destroyed. It is the only merciful thing to do. As much pain as that fact might bring to others.”

A man spoke from behind Kira, his voice coming from the vicinity of the Overlords. “Danai is in agreement with the inquisitor.”

“Asanth agrees as well,” another man said.

The crowd stirred.

Kira put her back to Jin’s cage as she faced down several Tuann who encroached on the floor. Terrel was among them, his face an ugly mask as he pushed his way forward.

A concussive wave came from behind Kira, a wall of ki picking up those who’d trespassed on the amphitheater floor and throwing them back into the stands.

“I am the only one who can pass judgment in this room. Another display like that and you will be the ones facing punishment.” Eurus’s powerful voice echoed throughout the room, cutting off the chatter.

Danai’s Overlord sat back in his chair, crossing his legs. He was undaunted in the face of Eurus’s anger. “Then hurry up and do so. You have your confession. What more do you need?”

Kira’s hands trembled as she clenched them into fists, hating how helpless she felt in all this. A pointless bystander, unable to do anything but stand there.

Eurus was still for a second before he glanced in Torvald’s direction, the two trading a long look. At Torvald’s side, Devon made an aborted motion and took a step forward to face the emperor and Eurus.

“You can’t kill him. He’s saved my life twice. That must count for something,” Devon pleaded with a beseeching look.

Kira stilled, for a moment feeling hope as Devon fought for his brother.

A hope that was dashed by Torvald’s unyielding expression. He was going to do it. He’d let their enemies destroy Jin.

It would kill him, but he’d do it for the good of his people—everyone but Jin.

Kira was already in the process of moving, whirling to face the barrier. Before she could touch it, a clap of sound rocked the chamber.

A rip tore through the fabric of time and space a few feet away from her. A black gash from which stepped a wanderer and another.

“See, I told you, you didn’t have to worry. We made it just in time,” the wanderer said, removing his hand from Alexander’s shoulder.

Alexander was hunched in on himself, his expression slightly sick as he tried to keep from throwing up.

The wanderer clapped his hands in glee and stepped forward. He was a stranger. Likely one of the ones who’d accompanied the wanderer Kira had met in the adva ka.

“Who are you?” Jarek demanded as the stranger looked around, his face still covered by the helmet of his armor. “What are you doing here?”

Kira fought the urge to take a step back as the wanderer changed direction toward her, his arms open as if to embrace her.

Kira slid away from him. There was only one person she knew capable of doing what he’d just did and who would also be in the company of Alexander.

And that person was someone she usually went out of her way to avoid.

“Not him. Any of the others but him,” Jin pleaded as Jarek motioned for the oshota surrounding them to remove the wanderer from the floor.

Alexander finally straightened, sending a glare at the oshota to warn them off. “I wouldn’t.”

The wanderer reached up to remove his helmet, revealing a face that made Kira want to curse as he gave her a cheeky grin. “Hey there, little sister. Miss me?”

“Not even for a second, Pallas.”

The man’s head was shaved on both sides, his hair long on top. It gave him a roguish look that was compounded by the trim beard along his jaw and the piercing through his eyebrow. Metal glinted from the rim of his ear where there were several more earrings. Like Kira, his ears had been docked, but unlike her, one was missing a sizable chunk from a fight of some kind.

“Why would you bring that psycho?” Kira hissed at Alexander.

Pallas was who the forty-three sent when they were feeling a little vengeful and wanted to wipe clean whatever or whoever had offended them. Considering the man had named himself after the Titan god associated with war, it was no wonder he was their first pick whenever they needed a hammer or a strong fist.

Then again, maybe Pallas was exactly what the forty-three thought was needed for this situation.

Pallas caught Kira, grabbing her cheeks and smooshing them together as he pressed his face against hers. “Don’t tell me you’re still sore about that time I almost killed you.”

Kira drove her elbow into his side, biting back a whimper as pain lanced her arm from the hard impact with armor.

“Multiple times,” Jin shouted, lifting so he could see Pallas better.

Pallas’s grip eased as he got a thoughtful look on his face. “Oh yeah, you might be right.”

See, this was why Kira hated him. The man couldn’t even bother to remember how many times he almost killed her.

“As to your question, he didn’t give me much choice,” Alexander informed her with a glare at Pallas. “He was already here anyway.”

Pallas strolled over to Jin’s cage, tapping against it much the same way Kira had. She couldn’t describe how unsettling it was to know their first instincts were exactly the same.

Pallas rubbed his fingertips together with a thoughtful look before sending Kira a wink. “Thanks for the care you gave my yer’se. He learned so much from his duel with you. I couldn’t have asked for a better lesson. We’d have been here sooner, but I wanted to see him to safety first.”

Kira stiffened, a few things finally clicking into place. She should have seen it sooner. No wonder the wanderer’s moves had been so familiar. He learned them from Pallas.

Even that habit of chatting with his opponent while battling. It was the same.

Pallas waved at Jin through the cage. “Little brother, this is quite the pickle you’ve landed yourself in.” Pallas didn’t pay any attention to Jin’s snarl as he finally looked in Elise’s direction. “Traitor, I’ll deal with you later.”

Elise’s eyes narrowed. “I see your social skills haven’t improved any.”

Pallas waved a hand in dismissal as he finally focused on Torvald and Eurus. He’d always been good at identifying the most dangerous prey in a room and locking on target.

What was stranger was how neither had tried to interrupt his grandstanding, letting him parade around without making the slightest effort to stop him.

It told Kira they were aware of his identity as one of the forty-three. The Overlords too, given how they were staring at him like he was a juicy steak they were set on devouring.

Fools.

Pallas was much more likely to devour them.

“I seem to remember a warning being left that your lost children would judge you by the way you treat our youngest siblings.”

Pallas didn’t raise his voice, but he didn’t have to. His words echoed so even those located in the back would hear every word he said.

“I suppose this mockery of a trial is your answer,” he said with a twist of his lips. “How disappointed the others will be.”

The Overlord of House Danai sat forward. “What House do you belong to?”

Interest showed on the faces of the other Overlords except for Liara and Harlow.

“It’s always the same with you lot. House. Pah. Like that’s all that matters.” Pallas rolled his eyes up to the ceiling and sneered before sweeping the five major Overlords a mocking bow. “To answer your question, I was born to House Shivie. Stolen at the age of fifteen and thrown into a fate worse than death.”

Asanth’s Overlord frowned. “House Shivie has no affinities like the one you just demonstrated.”

Pallas stared, his expression flat before it shifted in one of those lightning-fast changes he was capable of and a large reason why Kira steered clear of him whenever possible.

“Very good eye. You’re right, it’s not an affinity of that House—or any Tuann lineage. It’s a product of our master’s tampering, a gift they took from an interesting race called the Blat that you’ve probably never heard of.”

For all that he was still smiling, there was a calculative look on Pallas’s face as he took in the reactions of the Tuann.

“None of your children are the same as they were when they left you. We all have a few extra odds and ends, courtesy of our masters in their pursuit of a genetically superior creature who would serve at their beck and call.” Pallas lifted one shoulder, ignoring the cold looks on Alexander and Kira’s faces as he revealed secrets no one wanted out. He had a sly expression on his face as he slid a sidelong glance in Kira’s direction. “My sister tried to spare us by sugar coating the matter. What she doesn’t realize is we never expected acceptance from the Tuann. We remember how close-minded you bastards are. The way you refer to humans as half dead because of their inability to sense their soul’s breath. You are far more like our masters than any of us care to be reminded of.”

Danai’s Overlord stood from his chair in challenge. “Then why have you come?”

Pallas looked over at Alexander with a faint smile. “I think that’s your cue.”

Alexander stepped forward, raising his arm and the pinky sized tablet on his wrist. He flicked several data streams to Eurus.

“The Haldeel Royal, za na ri na Tierni, sends greeting and a warning. Should the Tuann choose to persecute her savior, Jin, for the crime of his existence, the Haldeel will see it as an intent to exterminate an intelligent species and declare war,“ Alexander informed Eurus and Torvald. “She also sent a message, ‘if the Tuann cannot recognize the treasures they have in the two souled, Jin and Kira, the Haldeel would be happy to claim them as their own’.”

Eurus took his time to peruse the letter Tierni had written, forcing the rest of the chamber to wait as he considered Alexander’s argument.

Kira felt like she was standing on a bed of hot coals as anxiety twisted in her stomach. Jin held still in his cage, but she knew he, too, was hoping for a miracle that didn’t involve bloodshed.

Finally, Eurus lifted his head and looked at the emperor. “The Haldeel Royal makes an interesting case.”

Torvald’s expression shuttered as he dipped his head. “Since my judgment is considered compromised, I’ll leave the decision to you.”

Eurus dipped his chin in acknowledgement, his gaze catching Kira’s. “I side in favor of the soul bound and recommend the inquisitors re-examine whether a soul bound is automatically deserving of the fate they’ve historically been given.”

There was an outcry from those behind them as Terrel shouted an objection.

“You can’t be serious,” Terrel argued. “That thing is an abomination.”

“You have heard my decision. I suggest you step lightly Overlord of House Votair. You have yet to meet your own judgment for your actions during the adva ka,“ Eurus warned, making Terrel blanche. “We have not forgotten what you’ve done.”

Terrel backed down, chastened. Danai’s overlord shot him a disgusted look as the other withdrew.

Eurus waited until he was certain there would no more objections before turning his attention to Jarek. “Inquisitor, I know this goes against your order’s vows.”

Jarek was staring at the ground in thought. He blinked and raised his head.

“It does—and while we may not be able to touch the soul bound at this time, we will be watching him for the first sign of madness.” His eyes were cold when he glanced at Jin. “At that point, we will not ask for permission but rather execute without regard for the political ramifications.”

Eurus nodded. “That is satisfactory.”

“There is, however, the matter of the soul bound’s creation,” Jarek added before Kira could breathe a sigh of relief.

“No,” Harlow snarled from his seat.

Jarek folded his hands in front of him. “I move for her memories and the soul bound’s to be examined to ascertain the truth behind his creation.”

Harlow’s roar shook the chamber as several oshota appeared to point their en-blades at him. Caius held him back with a tense look on his face.

Kira wasn’t sure what about Jarek’s suggestion had set Harlow off, but it was clear the Overlord of Roake was in the process of losing his shit in a way that might start the war Alexander and Pallas’s interference had just prevented.

“What do you say, little sister? Willing to take a trip down memory lane?” Pallas asked with a wink.

“Why do I get the feeling you’re hoping I agree?”

Pallas’s grin was wicked. “Because I am.”

Kira shot a quick glance at Harlow, giving him a tiny nod to say she would be fine. Her uncle calmed but not before sending a murderous glare Jarek’s way.

The inquisitor had better be careful from now on. He’d made an enemy of Roake’s Overlord—and by extension the rest of the House.

Kira squared her shoulders. “For Jin. Anything. But first—I want the room cleared of all these people.”

“You are the one on trial. You have no right to make demands,” Danai’s Overlord said.

Kira ignored him as she met Eurus’s eyes. “My memories aren’t fodder for entertainment. They’re private; I’d like them to stay that way as much as possible.”

Eurus considered her with a gaze that felt like it saw too much. “I can’t empty the room all the way, but I can dismiss the lesser Houses and those whose opinion carries no weight in these matters.”

That would leave an audience far larger than Kira was comfortable with.

“I can also extract a vow, witnessed by the Mea’Ave, from those who remain that states they will not share anything of what they learn here. Should they break their vow, the Mea’Ave will bind their ki and their status as Overlord will be revoked,“ Eurus continued when Kira held silent for too long.

After a moment of hesitation, she nodded. “Very well.”

That was probably the best offer she was going to get.

Eurus waved his hand in dismissal. Obeying some rule of hierarchy only they understood, those Tuann located in the back rose, filing out of the room.

To Kira’s disappointment, the Overlords of the five major Houses and several of their higher-ranking members remained seated.

When the room was only a quarter full, Jarek approached Kira. “Are you ready?”

Kira narrowed her eyes at him in confusion.

“My affinity lies in the realm of the mind,” Jarek explained. “I will access the memories you have surrounding this event and display them for the rest to see.”

Oh joy. The man who hated the soul bound the most would be the one infiltrating her mind. Could this day get any better?

Kira steeled herself and nodded. “Do it.”

Before she lost her courage.

Jarek touched his fingers to her forehead. There was a crashing sound as Kira’s memories swamped her, yanking her under before she could even take a breath.

A cruel smile split their captor’s face. “We have a winner. Bring him.”

A boy with golden eyes was dragged out of formation, already sobbing as they put him on his knees and proceeded to beat him.

Rain poured down, mixing with the red of his blood as she held perfectly still, weapon extended before her.

There was a low pained-filled sound like that of an animal in agony that didn’t seem to go with the scene. It was followed by a soothing voice. “Sire, I know this is hard, but this is only a memory. His pain would have faded long ago.”

To her left, whispers started as the others began planning. “We must leave tonight. We can’t delay any longer.”

Her weapon dropped to the ground with a clatter as she stepped out of formation to face their captors with a challenge.

There was a flash, and she was running through the woods. Desperation beating at her, accompanied with the knowledge they were being hunted like mice in front of a fox.

A hand being ripped from hers as a boy tripped.

Eyes the color of daisies were filled with tears as the boy looked up at her. “Go. Don’t wait. You’ll never make it with me slowing you down.”

He was right. She wouldn’t.

She cast around for a hiding place, finding one in the hollow beneath the trunk of a fallen tree.

“Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

Another voice intruded. “How ashamed Roake must feel for naming an heir so lacking in courage.”

The disbelief and lack of hope on the boy’s face made it clear he thought she planned to abandon him. She didn’t have the time to argue, already sprinting through the forest.

She stopped as soon as she detected the presence of another.

She slunk through the darkness, waiting as her victim left the safety of their four wheeled vehicle to shine a light into the trees. She swung her knife, slicing his throat with the same move they’d forced her to practice a thousand times.

Her prey never made a sound.

She let his body fall, darting to the four-wheeler and climbing aboard. It took a second of study to figure out how it worked.

The vehicle roared to life, and she pointed it in the direction of the boy’s hiding place.

“What was that about her courage?” someone taunted.

The scene shifted.

The area under the log was empty. There was a growing desperation as she searched.

Where was he?

Noise from the copse of trees to her left had her freezing. A pained scream disturbed the night.

The girl dashed to her chariot, kicking it awake and aiming it toward that sound.

She shot forward, the edges of the world collapsing in on themselves as darkness claimed her.

“What happened? Why aren’t we seeing her memories anymore?” someone demanded.

“There’s damage,” another person said, sounding surprised. “Let me—ah, there it is.”

The perspective changed as they slid deeper into her mind, down a thread that wasn’t entirely her own.

The little boy looked up at a monster. He should have died. That would have been better than being caught. Despair choked him as his captor raised his arm.

The girl exploded out of the darkness on a mechanical steed that breathed smoke and fire.

She leapt off her ride, allowing it to crash into one of the monsters as she landed on the back of another. Her arm flashed as she plunged her makeshift blade into the monster’s back over and over.

“Damn, she’s a vicious little thing,” someone said in an admiring voice.

The boy didn’t move as those holding him down let go, rushing for the girl.

She pushed off her victim, flipping in midair. She landed, her blade flashing again as she cut through the larger foes. A beautiful goddess of vengeance.

For the first time in his short life, the boy knew hope. She was his light in the darkness. The only person who’d come for him—not once but twice.

A watcher drone swung out of the shadows. A flash came, hitting the girl in the chest.

She collapsed with a shocked expression, taking all that beautiful light with her.

The boy screamed, an agonized sound ripped from the most primal part of him as the world turned gold.

When he could see again, everyone else was on the ground—including the girl. The drone that had extinguished her light next to her.

The memory jumped again. The moon and stars visible through the tree branches as a boy with gold eyes appeared above her.

His mouth moved as he reached for the drone that killed her and set it on her chest.

The girl could have told him it was useless, but she was too tired and the moon too fascinating to bother.

It was a shame she wouldn’t see what lay beyond the forest. She’d always wondered what was out there. Now she’d never know.

Her thoughts were already fading as a golden light tried to swallow her. Only it failed as the violet lightning housed in her center rose to absorb it instead.