Trials of Conviction, page 15
"Looks like someone didn't get the memo," Kira muttered.
Typical Pallas. The man was a loose cannon, way worse than Kira had ever hoped to be.
At least she'd never kidnapped anyone.
Except that one time with Odin. But those were extenuating circumstances.
"There's something else going on," Selene said with a shake of her head.
Kira's gaze caught on her, finally registering the uncertainty that Selene was trying to hide. There was apprehension on Selene's face.
"What do you mean?" Kira asked.
Selene wet her lips, her gaze darting up to find Alexander before she looked back at Kira. "They're here."
Kira's forehead creased. "How many?"
"All of them."
Kira rubbed her eyebrow in confusion. That was different. The forty three rarely gathered in force. They considered it too dangerous.
No wonder Selene was on edge.
"Does Alexander know what they want?" Kira asked.
Selene shook her head. "No."
The forty three didn't follow a strict hierarchy in the same way the Tuann or even certain factions of the Consortium, like the military, did. It was probably a consequence of their upbringing. Their ability to follow orders from anyone not themselves as poor as Kira's own.
While there were no technical leaders, there were those whose opinions and voice carried more weight.
Alexander was one of them. His role more like that of an elder than a leader. Selene would be too if she hadn't turned herself into a practical hermit to keep the children’s existence a secret from the forty three.
Except for Selene, Elise, and Alexander, Kira didn't have much cause to meet with the rest of the forty three. Pallas was more of an enemy than a friend. The others she'd encountered every now and then, but most gave her a wide berth when they came across her. The only things she really knew about them were what she remembered of them as children.
For them to exclude one of the few people Kira had significant contact with from their decision making process was a concerning development. Particularly when she was about to walk into a room with them.
"They're forming factions," Kira noted softly.
She never thought she'd see the day. They'd always been so united.
Selene seemed as troubled by that prospect as Kira.
"What do they want?"
"I don't know," Selene confessed.
Kira looked up to find Alexander watching them closely. If she didn't know better, she'd say she and Selene weren't the only ones worried.
"Kira," Selene called, the soft ache in her voice making Kira still.
She could see the guilt that haunted Selene. The question of 'what if' likely keeping her up at night. Maybe she could have prevented this, she'd tell herself. If only she'd been there.
That was the thing, though. The past didn't change just because you wanted it to. The only thing guilt accomplished was wearing you down and destroying your soul.
"I want to go with you," Selene confessed.
Of course, she did. She'd raised Elena when it was too dangerous for Kira to do so. Her protective nature and sense of responsibility were why Kira had entrusted her with Elena in the first place.
"No."
"She's my niece too," Selene choked out. "For the first time in an eternity, I wish to rampage. To be the monster our masters created me to be."
"That's exactly why you can't come."
Once you went down that path, it was so hard to come back from it. Selene wasn't like Kira. She had vulnerable lives counting on her. How would she offer them the softness they deserved if she was mired in darkness?
"Elena needs something to come back to. That's you."
If Kira and the rest didn't make it, Selene was her back up plan. She'd be there to step in if the worst came to pass.
Kira met her gaze fully. "Protect yourself and the rest of the children. That's how you help."
Selene's composure cracked. A tear rolled down her cheek, only to be dashed away a second later.
"Very well. As you wish." Selene jerked her chin in an acknowledgment, stalking up the stairs and past Alexander without another word.
"What was that about?" Graydon asked with a penetrating stare. As if he was trying to peel her layers back to see what was beneath.
"Oh, that's right."
He didn't know. At least not all of it. He’d been apprised of the fact Selene was the caretaker for an orphanage but not where all those children had come from. Selene’s contacts would have whisked the children away before any investigation could be launched.
Finn must not have told him either. Kira was a little impressed at her oshota’s discretion. Loyalty like that was hard to find. Particularly when it touched on a species-wide trauma.
"There are more children in Selene's care than just Elena," Graydon guessed.
"That's why I like you, Graydon. You catch on quick."
There was a time when she'd also hated that about him.
"I was under the impression the forty three were the only ones to survive," Graydon said slowly.
"That's what they tell themselves," Kira allowed.
"And the truth?"
"In reality, there were many other camps like the one we escaped from."
Graydon seemed to expand, his anger making him appear larger. "You mean there are more of our children out there."
"That remains to be seen," Kira answered.
Though she was almost certain there were. She'd caught traces of them a time or two. Nothing definitive. Just enough that she had her suspicions.
Apparently, the Tuann had troublemaker stamped all the way down to their genes.
"It would be more accurate to consider the children Selene was referencing as their offspring," Kira said, watching him carefully.
These were secrets she had killed to keep. The children weren't like the forty three. They were less Tuann—and more other. Where the Tuann might accept the extra bits and bobs in their own child's genetic makeup, they might not be so magnanimous with those created later.
Graydon's face went carefully blank.
There it was. He’d caught on to what she was saying.
"The emperor would protect any child of Tuann bloodline. No matter how minute the traces or what else had been added," Graydon said.
Kira released the breath she was unconsciously holding.
That was good. Very good. Graydon wouldn't say something unless he believed it down to the core of his being.
"He might—but what about the other Houses?"
The emperor was one thing. The Houses another.
As honorable as Kira had come to see the Tuann, there were still several things about their society that gave her pause. Their obsession with bloodlines and lineage among them.
Graydon's expression was careful as he nodded. "That is always a possibility, but there is still room for a middle ground. Torvald, at least, would protect them. I would stake my life on it."
Kira relented, giving him a truth that she had only shared with a very few. "I can tell you I've never met another survivor, but I do know our camp wasn't the only one. Jin and I found evidence of others. By the time we visited though, they'd been shut down. I don't know what happened to the subjects."
She hoped they'd escaped.
"The children in Selene's care are likely the descendants of the forty three and those in the other camps."
"This is what you and Jin have been doing all this time."
Kira nodded. "In addition to searching for the Tsavitee home world and Elise."
Graydon studied her carefully. "Every time I think I've found all there is to love about you, you show me otherwise."
Kira's gaze caught on his tender expression, the affection and love in it making her stomach flutter.
She cleared her throat, glancing at the stairs where Alexander was still waiting. "Since they brought me all this way, I suppose I should see what they want."
Though she didn't want to. Her patience for the forty three's games was at an end. Had been for a long time.
Graydon patted her back in silent support. His presence a steadying influence as she started for the steps.
"He should remain here," Alexander warned as they reached him. "They won't like that you brought him."
"I'll let you be the one to tell him that," Kira said, side-stepping Alexander.
If he could make the emperor's Face remain behind, she'd stand on her head and sing the Consortium's anthem backwards.
Graydon offered Alexander a genial smile that didn't soften the stone cold stare that came with it. "Where she goes, I go. Was I not clear in my earlier actions?"
Kira snickered lightly, unsurprised when Alexander was the first to back down. He turned on his heel, stalking through the mammoth door.
"Your siblings seem to be a little hard headed," Graydon observed.
"You could say that again."
Kira tilted her neck back to look up at Graydon. Once upon a time, his cockiness had made her semi-homicidal. Who would have ever thought there would come a day when that arrogance was used for good?
"You should be honored. You're the first outsider to ever meet all of them face-to-face like this,” Kira teased.
"Oh, I am. You can't imagine how hard my heart is beating with gladness."
Kira snickered as she took the lead, entering the same door her siblings had disappeared through. They walked through a short hallway, entering a large, circular chamber that reminded her of the ruins of a colosseum.
Most of the roof was missing, allowing moonlight to stream onto the floor. Its soft light cast the majority of the audience stands into shadow.
She stopped in the center of the room, carefully studying the darker shadows sitting in the tiers above.
"The forty three," she told Graydon softly.
The first people she'd cared about. And the ones who'd never forgiven her for choosing Jin over them.
Petty bastards.
Sensing her anger, Graydon's hand slipped into hers, the rough calluses on his palm oddly comforting. "You don't have to talk to them if you don't want to. Fighting our way out of here is always an option."
One side of Kira's lips tugged up. "Shouldn't you be ecstatic to meet the Tuann's long lost children?"
"You forget—I'm not here in my capacity as the emperor's Face."
Ah, yes. That's right. He was here as her shield.
"Don't tell me. Is this him?" a woman declared excitedly, her voice seeming to come from everywhere.
Graydon dropped Kira's hand, his en-blade appearing in his palm as he went on the alert.
A woman appeared, crouched on thin air directly in front and above them. She balanced on her toes, seemingly on nothing. Her face was painted with heavy, theatrical makeup that obscured her features. Except for her eyes which were wide and fascinated as she focused on Graydon.
Kira caught Graydon's arm. "Don't react."
From the looks of things, the forty three had decided to test Graydon. Kira remembered it from her times in the camp. It's what they did on the rare occasion someone new entered the group.
They were learning his limits. What made him tick. What made him angry.
"They won't hurt me."
Though there was that one time they'd broken her arm. And her leg.
"I'm reasonably sure they won't," Kira added.
Graydon gave her a look as if to ask if she was kidding.
Kira shrugged. "They're unpredictable."
"Don't tease the poor man. The Tuann aren't known for their humor." The woman lay on her stomach in the air, her knees bent and her feet kicking lightly behind her. "Of course, we're not going to kill you. We went to a lot of trouble to invite you here."
The woman paused, her smile growing until she was grinning as wide as a jester. "At least we won't kill you today."
"Keep messing with him, Thea. I'll let him do what he wants," Kira threatened.
It was one thing for Kira to stay Graydon's hand. Another to listen to this woman taunt him.
"Don't play with strangers, Thea," someone called from the stands. "You don't want to be contaminated with their madness."
Thea pretended to be horrified, theatrically pressing her hands to her mouth and quailing away from them.
"No wonder you pretend they don't exist," Graydon said to Kira, not taking his eyes off the other woman. "I'd avoid them too."
Thea dropped all pretenses, revealing the cold blooded killer that was inside. "Careful, puppet. We won't kill her, but you're not so safe."
Graydon looked delighted at the threat. "Give me a reason to act. I beg you. Your head is currently only still attached to your body out of consideration for Kira."
The silky tone in his voice had alarm shooting through Kira. It seemed he’d done a very good job of hiding his rage. To the point where she’d thought he’d let slide what Pallas had done.
Instead, he’d been suppressing it. And now it was leaking through. Just itching for a target.
"Enough, Thea," a man rumbled from the shadows gathered at the base of one of five statues guarding the top of the wall. Haldeel warriors all of them. Their implacable expressions conveyed solemnity and expectation. As if they were waiting for those below to prove something to them.
Their presence answered part of the question of where they were. Haldeel territory. The oubliette they were standing in was evidence of that. It was a sacred proving ground that the Haldeel once used for combat and judgment. It had largely fallen out of fashion in the past thousand years or so, to be replaced by the quorum and games like the stratagem.
The oubliettes still existed though. Mostly on planets that had been in the empire for a long time.
Occasionally, challengers still appeared, but it was rare.
A hushed somberness pervaded the space. An almost holy feeling imbuing the atmosphere.
Kira scanned the statue, noting the Haldeel armor it wore. A more ancient version of what she was used to. The distinctive paneled skirt allowed for free range of movement for the eight prehensile appendages that made up the warrior's lower half. A spear-like weapon similar to the trident they used in current times was held in their hands.
As fascinating as the peek into Haldeel history was, it was the man standing at the statue's base that drew Kira's attention.
Her eldest brother. Her personal nemesis. And the man who while not officially recognized as the forty three's leader, certainly acted like he thought he was.
"Hello, Ryan," Kira said, focusing on the place where she knew he was standing. "I take it I have you to thank for involving Elena in my business."
Ten
The silence that answered her question dragged on for what felt like an eternity. The shadows Ryan was using to hide, deep pools of impenetrable black.
Kira waited, not taking her eyes off that spot. Her patience was rewarded when the shadows stirred. One separating from the rest as Ryan moved to their very edge. The low light allowed Kira to just barely distinguish the outline of his body while casting his features completely in darkness.
"You never told me they were so theatrical," Graydon said in a low voice.
"They've only gotten worse over the years. You get used to it. Eventually."
Sometimes she wondered if they'd spent the first few years after their escape watching every holovid humanity had ever created and taking notes on how to be unnecessarily mysterious.
Graydon raised his eyebrow at the stands. "I wonder where they picked that trait up. It's not Tuann."
Kira sent him a sidelong look. "Are you certain about that?"
Because she could think of several encounters that made her question that statement.
Graydon's lips quivered as he suppressed a smile, keeping his gaze trained on Ryan and the audience stands.
"Thank you for joining us, Kira," Ryan rumbled.
"Not like I had much of a choice."
And boy did she have a bone to pick with them about that. But first she'd see what they wanted.
Her retribution could come after.
Someone in the stands raised their hand. "Is anyone else curious as to why she has a companion? I thought this was invite only."
"Yes, Pallas. Do tell," a woman in the very back purred.
Kira looked over to where Pallas sat in the front row, his feet propped up on the railing as he cleaned the knife he'd withdrawn from his mismatched set of armor.
At the question, he looked up with a mad grin. "What can I say? I found the way he clung to Kira’s coattails simply adorable. It seemed rude to kill him after all his effort."
Bullshit. Pallas didn't go after Graydon because of Selene and Alexander.
Thea leaned over Pallas's shoulder from behind, hanging almost upside down. "When have manners ever stopped you from murder?"
Pallas's knife paused. His expression blanked. He flipped the knife in his hand, shifting his grip on the hilt. He jerked his hand up and across, slashing the blade across Thea's throat an instant later.
There was a shocked pause as everything in the room stopped.
A gurgle came from Thea, loud in the silence. The choked sound cut off, changing to a quiet giggle. Loud laughter replaced it, echoing from all over until it was difficult to know where the source originated.
Thea's body burst into hundreds of tiny, fluttering insects that looked like a cross between a dragonfly and a praying mantis. They reformed at the back of the stands.
Pallas stabbed the dagger's point into the stone seat next to him. "I've warned you about using your illusions against me."
"You're more sensitive than usual, brother dearest," Thea drawled. "Is it because the emperor's Face beat you at your own game? The great and powerful Pallas brought down by a mere Tuann."
Graydon lowered his head to speak into Kira's ear, watching Pallas and Thea with fascination. "The dynamic between your siblings is an intriguing one. I can't decide whether they love or hate each other."
"Let me know if you figure it out."
Even all these years later, she still didn't understand the forty three.
Kira eyed Thea unhappily, less than pleased about her sister’s actions. It was almost as if she was looking to cause trouble.
