30. Thirty

Thirty

Jin’s confusion and terror buffeted Kira, amplifying her own emotions as his soul threatened to slip away.

The new vessel wasn’t acting like the anchor she’d thought it would be. Without her there to hold the soul in place, it would escape. Eventually dissipating.

Kira refused to let that happen.

Unfortunately, her energy was flagging as she faced the realization that she didn’t have enough left in her to do what needed to be done.

A sob left her.

"No. Please."

She slumped, her forehead touching the boy’s chest. This couldn’t be the end. It couldn’t.

Graydon’s arms came around her, his hands cupping hers as his front cradled her back. "Together, cheva nier."

Power splashed against her defenses. As comforting as a hot bath on a cold and damp winter’s day. Painless, unlike that of the lenacht and lu-ong’s.

"Use me," Graydon urged.

Kira did, weaving Jin into his new body with Graydon’s power and the little bit of ki she had left. Little by little, Jin’s soul settled into its new home.

"We did it," Kira gasped.

At least, she thought they had. Jin’s presence in their bond was scarily silent. To the point, she couldn’t be sure if what she felt was really him or a figment of her imagination.

Graydon caught her as all the strength left her body. "It’s time to go."

"How did you find us?" Kira asked as she felt him turn her to face him.

"Coli, you sent up such a big signal."

Kira studied the gaping hole the lu-ong had torn in the ceiling during its escape. "I suppose I did."

"I would have been here sooner, but I had to find my yer’se first."

Kira’s eyes fluttered closed.

Graydon’s lips pressed against her ear. "Thank you for staying with me."

Kira gave him an exhausted smile, unable to find the will to open her eyes as he lifted her.

"Tend to the injured. Anyone who can’t walk, we’ll carry them out," Graydon was ordering as Kira drifted off.

Graydon

Graydon felt the moment Kira went limp from unconsciousness. Her body loosened, her head resting against his chest.

He adjusted his hold, ensuring she was as comfortable as he could make her.

Solal nodded at the bank of cryopods and their inhabitants. "What about them?"

Elena’s gaze flitted from one face to another. "You can’t leave them behind. They’re of my mother. That makes them my siblings."

Solal looked over her head at Raider as Amila moved to tend to Finn’s wound.

The oshota’s face was dangerously pale from blood loss. If they didn’t get him to a healer soon, he might not make it.

Raider stared at the six unconscious children; his expression shuttered.

"Someone will need to take responsibility for them," Graydon said.

Elena scowled. "What does that mean?"

Raider knew. Graydon could see that from the way the human rubbed the back of his neck as he stared at the unconscious children. He understood the same way Graydon did that they couldn’t release these children into the universe without someone there to guide them.

Elena tugged at Raider’s arm, her expression pleading. "Dad?"

Raider nodded, his gaze finding Graydon’s. "I’ll do it."

"Are you sure?"

It would be less complicated for everyone if the children disappeared.

He’d made a promise to Kira though. And his own conscience wouldn’t allow him to order their elimination. Not without knowing whether they could be more than their masters made them.

That was what the lu-ong had offered the Tuann all those years ago. A chance at something different. It would be hypocritical now to judge these children for being in the same position they’d once been. Weapons and monsters—but not because of a choice they made.

Graydon wanted to hear Raider’s answer. Whether the human would prove worthy of the woman Devon had just carried out of the shadows and set beside Jin’s cryopod.

Raider’s gaze lingered on his former lover. "They might not be mine the same way Elena is, but Elise wanted them. She thought them worth saving. That’s enough for me."

Good answer.

With that, Graydon gave his people a nod.

Solal and Devon headed for the cryopods as Amila lifted Finn, supporting the majority of his weight as they hobbled toward the rest. The oshota too proud to let anybody carry him.

Pallas knelt beside Jin with a look of wonder. "Little brother, I can’t tell you how good it is to see your face again."

Graydon pretended not to notice the emotion on the other man’s face as he reverently cupped the top of the boy’s head.

A moment passed before Pallas rose. "Take care of them."

Lathan headed toward them, the body of a woman carried over his shoulder.

"As if I would ever do anything else," Graydon said with some amusement.

Pallas took the body from Lathan, holding the woman against his chest.

Graydon didn’t understand the flash of anger and disgust in the other man’s face. Especially when compared to the gentle way he handled her.

"Lathan will remain with you. You’ll have need of him," Pallas said.

"And where will you be?"

A void of black yawned beneath Pallas’s feet. "I have business to take care of."

The rift swallowed Pallas and the woman, leaving no evidence of their passage.

"Will he be alright?" Graydon asked Lathan.

The wanderer’s face remained calm as he moved over to help Solal and Devon lay out the children. "He will grieve. And then he will kill."

Graydon glanced at the spot where Pallas had just been. "How very Tuann."

Lathan’s smile was soft. "Yes."

There was a commotion as his oshota found a boy lying on the ground, just returning to consciousness. A general who looked confused as he took in the semi-destroyed state of the room.

"What happened?" the boy asked.

Raider whipped up his rifle, aiming it at the youth’s head. Graydon’s oshota unsheathed their en-blades to point them at the boy.

Elena threw herself between them and the general, her hands held out placatingly. "Don’t hurt him. He’s with me."

"Not you too," Raider groaned, his rifle lowering slightly.

Elena looked puzzled for a moment before her face brightened. "Auntie is working with them, isn’t she?"

The general held still, aware that his continued existence hinged on Elena’s actions.

Smart. Maybe he could be of some use after all.

Graydon prowled toward him, stopping just out of reach. "You’re in luck. I’m going to offer you a choice. I suggest you consider it carefully."

The general’s gaze lifted to Graydon’s, a question in them.

"You may come with us—or stay here."

If he chose the second, he would die before the words finished leaving his mouth. Graydon wouldn’t risk leaving behind a liability. He was already being magnanimous enough in offering him this opportunity. One that was only possible due to the vow Kira had made to Aeron.

Emotion chased across the boy’s features before defeat settled over his face. "You might as well just kill me. I can’t leave or else they’ll punish my family line. If I stay, my fate will be worse than death when they learn of the exalted one’s demise."

Elena looked stricken at that response.

On the other hand, Raider seemed considering. "There is a solution to that dilemma. It’s a bit out of the box though."

Graydon raised his eyebrows at the human.

Raider offered him a shrug. "We fake his death—Kira style."

Elena clapped her hands excitedly. "That’s it. If we take some of his DNA and fabricate it, it should be enough. Especially if we blow this place up on our way out. They’ll assume his body got caught in the blast."

Raider gave his child a careful look, his expression turning dark as Elena walked over to Graydon to reach into Kira’s battle suit. "Why is your plan so specific?"

"Auntie taught me what to do," Elena answered, withdrawing a tiny device from Kira’s pocket.

"Why would she teach you that?"

"Just in case."

Raider’s glare moved to the woman in Graydon’s arms.

Coli, it’s a good thing you’re not awake right now or you’d have a lot to answer for, Graydon thought with some amusement.

There was an explosion from somewhere else in the facility that made the ground rumble under their feet.

A second later, Talon peered through the massive hole in the ceiling. "There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you."

His gaze stopped on Finn. "Are you injured?"

Finn’s glare contained a hint of fire. "I killed an Osiri."

"You did? Or her?" Talon nodded at Kira.

"It was a team effort," Finn said through gritted teeth.

"If you say so," Talon said before focusing on Graydon. "You should get a move on. The Tsavitee have begun evacuations. Their towers are leaving one by one. This one will follow. You don’t want to be here when it does."

Talon disappeared from the ledge.

"Did you do something?" Finn called.

A chuckle from above was Talon’s only answer.

Graydon glanced back at the general. "Time for that choice."

The general’s hesitation lasted only a second before his gaze met Graydon’s. "I’ll come with you."

"If you ever betray us, your death will be long and painful."

The general swallowed hard.

Graydon turned toward his people. "Let’s get out of this place before that thing Talon is worried about becomes a reality."

Kira

Kira’s eyelashes fluttered as the quiet murmur of conversation pulled her back to awareness. She blinked, taking a second to register the presence of the Tuann shuttle ceiling above her. The sensation of movement under her came a second later.

It looked like Wren and his pod had come through for them.

Kira patted the surface under her, conscious of the fact she was lying across a shuttle seat. She wasn’t alone either. A woman with white blond hair sat beside her, her attention elsewhere.

Kira twisted to take in the woman. "You’re supposed to be on Ta Sa’Riel recovering."

A faint smile creased the corners of Auralyn’s eyes as she nodded at the trio across from her. "This felt more important."

Kira looked over to find Wren sitting on the opposite side of the aisle. Like Kira, Elise was stretched across a seat, her head in Wren’s lap. Elena was clutched to his other side, his chin resting on the top of her head.

His eyes were closed, his features lax with relief. As if his entire world had just been given back to him.

"Yeah," Kira agreed softly.

Auralyn looked down at her. "You gave us our family back. Thank you."

Kira settled back on the seat, not knowing how to respond. "Elena and Elise are my family too."

Amusement touched Auralyn’s eyes as she inclined her chin regally.

Kira looked at the other out of the corner of her eye. "You going to be okay?"

It probably wasn’t a good thing for Auralyn to have cut her recovery short. Harlow had seemed to think she would need much longer than a couple of weeks to fully recover from losing her arm.

Kira wasn’t very familiar with the Tuann methods for treating a lost limb. If this had been Consortium territory, Auralyn’s options would have been limited to a mechanical arm or a synthetically grown limb that would then be re-attached.

Either of those would have taken months of recovery and rehabilitation.

Auralyn touched the place where her arm would have been. "I will adapt."

There was calm acceptance in the other woman’s features. No sign of the regret that would have plagued most.

Kira glanced around the shuttle, her gaze touching on several people before landing on Devon and the blanket covered figure he held so carefully in his lap.

"Jin," Kira called softly.

Quillon was there before she could push herself fully upright. He planted a hand on her forehead, shoving her back down on the seat none too gently. "There’ll be none of that. You’re to lay there and recover."

"I’m fine," Kira argued.

The healer leveled a glance on her that had Kira shutting her mouth. "You’re not fine. You have obliterated your reserves of ki. If not for that, you’d be dead."

Quillon stabbed a finger at the lenacht resting against Kira’s stomach.

Kira touched its head in surprise, only just now aware of its presence. If the lenacht was here, Lathan must be too.

Kira found him not far away. The wanderer had his head resting against the back of the seat, his eyes closed. He didn’t open them as he lifted a finger to wave it lazily at Kira.

"You are to lay there and not move," Quillon said fiercely.

"Fine, but under one condition," Kira agreed, knowing that it was useless to argue when he was in a mood. "Examine Jin and tell me he’s okay."

"I already have. Physically, the boy is fine."

"When will he wake up?"

Quillon gave a tiny shake of his head. "I don’t know."

Kira went very still as her gaze went from him to the boy in Devon’s arms. "What does that mean?"

"I can feel him in there, but its faint."

"But you do think he will wake up."

Quillon’s hesitation had Kira’s stomach crawling into her throat. "I can’t tell you that. We have no experience with returning a soul to a body. The only thing I can say is that the experience is likely to have been traumatic. It could be all he needs is time for his soul to acclimate or—"

"Or he might never wake up," Kira said when it looked like Quillon didn’t want to continue that sentence.

His nod held regret. "That is correct."

Kira breathed carefully through her nose, composing herself.

No matter what Quillon said she refused to believe that Jin would be forever comatose. Like he said, moving into a new body was just a little traumatic. That’s all. He just needed time.

"What about Finn?" Kira asked when she was sure she wouldn’t break.

"He’s unconscious but stable." Quillon’s scowl was sudden. "The idiot tried to walk out. He collapsed half way and had to be carried by Talon."

Relief eased the tightness in Kira’s chest. "He’ll be okay?"

"If he knows what’s good for him, he will be," Quillon growled, moving off.

Having been at the tender mercy of the healer on more than one occasion, Kira could almost sympathize with her oshota.

Talon replaced Quillon at her side.

Kira stared at the Tuann. "Look who finally showed up. Where have you been all this time?"

"Just here and there. I had a few things to take care of down there."

Auralyn’s snort was amused. "He means he sabotaged several of their ships. The explosions caused massive casualties on their side. "

Talon grunted, not acknowledging Auralyn’s statement as he tossed something at Kira.

Puzzled, Kira lifted the fist-sized object, turning it over in her hand. "A Tuann storage device."

"In addition to my meddling, I did a little investigating while I was down there." Talon tapped the stone she held. "Everything I found is on there."

Kira looked at the memory device with renewed excitement. There was no telling what information Talon had found, but she suspected whatever was on this would be of considerable value to Jace. Maybe enough to help him in the shit storm that was sure to come his way for going rogue.

"There’s a price though," Talon told her before she had a chance to thank him.

Kira bit back her words, watching him warily. "Okay."

"Don’t worry. It’s not going to hurt you." He smirked as he knelt in front of her. "I will be your shield."

Kira’s eyes widened. "No. Absolutely not."

"You will be my sword," he continued.

"I don’t accept." Kira looked back at Auralyn. "That’s how it is supposed to work, right? I have to agree?"

Auralyn’s gaze was speculative. "That’s how it’s usually done."

Talon’s expression was impassive as he pointed at the storage device in her hand. "If you want that, you don’t have a choice."

Involuntarily, Kira clutched the device to her chest.

Talon smiled. "Glad we’re in agreement."

"We’re not though," Kira called at his back as he made his way back to where Finn was lying.

She cursed when he gave no signs of hearing.

"Congratulations on your new oshota. Your uncle will be pleased," Auralyn commented.

Kira threw an arm over her face. One oshota was bad enough. She refused to accept a second.

Maybe there was a way to convince him to take back the oath he’d just made. No one except Auralyn had been paying attention. Kira was sure the other woman wouldn’t contradict them if she and Talon pretended this hadn’t happened.

Graydon’s presence beside her registered a second before he lifted her arm off her face.

She stared up at him grumpily. "Don’t say it."

His eyes laughed down at her.

"I mean it, Graydon. Not a word."

It had been a long day, and she wanted to hide from the inevitable just a little while longer.

Graydon’s face was soft as he took in her features. "Alright, coli. Have it your way."

She turned into his touch as he gently brushed a finger across her face.

"We did it," Kira said softly.

She was still having trouble believing that.

His nod was small. "We did."

She sent him a crooked smile. "I told you I wouldn’t die."

"You did."

Now that it was over, Kira could feel herself relaxing. Elena was safe. Jin would wake up. And for now, the Tsavitee had been routed.

They’d return. They always did.

But hopefully, this experience had taught the Consortium something. At the very least, Jace and his fleet had bought them time.

How much of it was still to be determined.

There was a bump as the shuttle landed. The hatch opened several minutes later to reveal Harlow waiting on the other side. Her uncle prowled inside, his massive presence making the already cramped space feel even smaller as his raptor’s gaze landed unerringly on Kira.

"Uncle, what are you doing here?" she asked in surprise as she raised onto her forearm. Last she’d heard, he was supposed to be managing the rebellion on behalf of the emperor.

"You didn’t think I’d let you attack a known stronghold of our old masters without support, did you?"

Kira glanced at the oshota in the shuttle and then the window outside where the massive Tuann warship was visible as if to say "isn’t that what this is?"

His face held a faint amusement as he moved toward her, nodding a greeting to Graydon. "Thank you for protecting her in my absence."

"It was quite the troublesome endeavor at times," Graydon said, giving way.

Harlow’s face was wry. "I have no doubt."

"You can put your mind at ease for the future," Graydon said, looking down at Kira with amusement. "Just now, a second oshota has sworn himself to her service."

Kira sputtered as Harlow’s eyebrow arched. "And she accepted?"

"She did," Graydon informed him.

Kira gave her lover a scathing look. "What happened to not a word?"

"I thought that only applied in terms of mentioning it to you. Next time, you should be clearer."

Kira stared at him with a partially open mouth, not quite able to believe he’d sold her out.

Wait a minute. Yes, she did. This was Graydon they were talking about. The master manipulator. The man who always had to have the last word.

Of course, he’d told Harlow. Her Overlord. Likely to ensure she couldn’t go back on the agreement.

"I’ll get you later," Kira mouthed at him.

"I look forward to it," he murmured back.

Harlow waited until they were done, leveling a displeased look on her. "You, my dear, were supposed to wait. I was not pleased to arrive to find things already in motion."

"It would have been too late if I’d delayed."

And she doubted he would have let her handle things in the fashion she had. It was almost certain he would have cut out Jace’s people. Not to mention, he would have tried to wrap her in a blanket of protection that would have prevented her from doing what needed to be done.

No, things had to happen exactly the way they did.

"Your rear admiral is quite the interesting leader," Harlow commented.

"He’s alive then?"

Harlow inclined his head. "As are many others due to his actions. It was quite impressive."

"Impressive enough that you’d consider an alliance?" Kira challenged.

Harlow’s face was hard to read but she thought she caught a tiny gleam of amusement hiding in his eyes. "We’ll see."

That was better than nothing. Jace could capitalize on the rest.

"Very tricky, niece," Harlow commented, reading her like a book. "You’ll make a fine Overlord one day."

Kira didn’t tell him that wasn’t going to happen. Mainly because she’d learned her lesson over the past few months. It was impossible to know what the future would bring. And she hated when circumstances made her a liar.

"What about the Curs and Joule?" Raider asked.

Harlow glanced at him. "Alive and on this ship."

Raider’s body loosened with relief.

"You’ll need a briefing," Kira told Harlow.

As would Jace.

"But first—you’ll rest. The slayer of an Osiri will need her strength for what is to come," Harlow instructed.