Trials of Conviction, page 33
"I didn't know he was capable of the islax," Pallas said with a tight expression.
Translated, that word meant 'the madness.' An interesting name considering what they'd just witnessed.
Graydon swayed.
Kira hurried forward, catching him. "I've got you."
Graydon put his hand over hers where she had placed it on his arm. "I'll be alright. I just need a little rest."
Kira glanced from him to the destruction he'd just wrought. No kidding. Something like that had to take it out of him. Her burst did and this was on a similar level.
"How long have you been able to do that?" Pallas asked as they made their way to the ship.
"Worried that your forty three missed something?"
Pallas's rigid expression made it clear Graydon's guess was on the mark.
Graydon's chuckle was tired. "You should be careful about that pride of yours. It might one day be your ruin."
Kira helped Graydon into the ship, keeping a careful eye on Pallas.
Thankfully, her brother let the subject go, turning on his heel and disappearing inside.
Kira jerked her head at Brie to get in. "You too."
Brie licked her lips as she stared at the tree line, her desire to return to her unit making her stubborn.
"You'll be dead before you make it half a mile," Kira said.
She could already hear the sound of more Tsavitee moving toward them, drawn by the explosions. Soon, this entire area would be crawling.
"That doesn't mean I shouldn't try," Brie argued.
Her loyalty would be admirable if it wasn't going to get her killed.
"This is part of Diesel's plan," Kira responded in a harsh voice. "He wouldn't have sent you with me otherwise."
It had been his way of giving Brie the best chance to survive this battle.
"Dead—you contribute nothing. Alive—and there's a chance you can make a difference down the road," Kira told her, stepping up into the ship. "Consider this adapting to the changing conditions of the battle landscape."
It was a necessary trait for a soldier who hoped to survive any length of time against what was coming.
Kira waited to see what Brie would decide. Whether she was going to throw her life away or make the smart choice.
To her relief, Brie didn't waste time. After one last look in the direction where the rest were fighting, she climbed into Pallas's ship.
Kira released the breath she was holding. Good choice. She'd have hated hitting Brie over the head after everything they'd just survived.
Twenty Two
Kira turned to find Pallas watching her with an enigmatic expression. "What?"
"Oh, nothing. Just admiring your hypocrisy."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Pallas patted her on the shoulder, leaning down to speak into her ear. "Just that we both know that in her shoes, you would have gone back. Certain death or not."
Pallas straightened, reaching around her to pull the hatch shut. As he did, she thought she heard him mutter something under his breath.
Something to the effect of, "That's why I had to do what I did."
Kira couldn't be sure though.
"Lathan, let's get this ship in the air," Pallas called as he wandered in the direction of the bridge. "We don't want any more guests."
Brie glanced at Kira before taking a seat in the corner of the hold.
Everyone looked exhausted. Most especially Graydon. The journey and the losses they'd sustained along the way having taken a toll.
Like Brie, Odin had found a place to sit. She rested her head against the wall with her eyes closed as she fought to control her fast breathing.
An athlete Odin wasn't. The majority of the Sye’s time was spent in a hacker’s chair. It didn’t leave a lot of room for physical fitness.
Hearing Kira's approach, Odin cracked her eye open to look up at her. "I can't tell you how uncomfortable it makes me to be on a ship with that psycho."
"Get over it," Kira said, glancing at the J1N as it made a circuit of the room. "We don't have another choice at this stage."
The forces below weren't the only ones they had to worry about. There were still the three Tsavitee ships making their way through the solar system to consider as well. When they reached Rothchild, this place would become hell.
Putting Odin out of her mind, Kira stopped next to where Graydon leaned tiredly against the wall.
"That was quite a show you put on." Kira touched his arm. "How long have you been able to do that?"
Graydon lifted his head off the wall. "Pretty much since I woke up from the coma."
That must be nice. To receive a massive power up rather than be reduced to his weakest state. Why couldn't she get something like that?
"My efforts all these years have paid off," he told her, seeing the question on her face. "It left me with a new set of marks and a few abilities to go with them."
Kira scanned his body. "I didn't notice."
His smile was brief. "You were a tad distracted."
Kira shook her head, fighting her own smile. "You're awful."
His chuckle was husky as he pulled her into his body. "But you love me anyway."
Kira let her weight rest against him, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I'm glad we survived."
It had been a little too close for comfort.
He kissed her temple. "Me too."
The ship rocked from the force of an explosion.
"What was that?" Odin asked, coming alert.
Kira didn't answer as she pulled out of Graydon's arms and started for the ship's bridge.
Pallas's whistle greeted her as she stepped through the hatch. "Looks like someone is playing for keeps."
"What happened?" Kira asked.
The giant crater where the Vega had once been made Pallas's answer unnecessary. Smoke still billowed from the rubble. The trees all around it had been flattened in the blast, leaving nothing behind.
"I think someone triggered one of my booby traps," Odin said, coming up behind her.
Kira's eyebrows climbed to her hairline as she pointed at the crater in disbelief. "This is you?"
Graydon's eyes had narrowed to slits as he took in the damage, his body going rigid with the knowledge that it could have been him and Kira caught in that blast if Pallas had decided to go exploring a few days ago.
"You didn't think I'd abandon Yggdrasil without ensuring it couldn't be used against me, did you?" Odin looked out the window with a frown. "Though the extent of damage is considerably greater than I anticipated."
Kira made a choked sound of disbelief as she stared at Odin.
"It's Diesel," Brie interrupted. "His plan was to fall back to the Vega when they were overwhelmed and lure the Tsavitee inside."
“You're saying he was in the ship when it went up?”
Brie shook her head. "I don't know."
"Kira, he may have been able to use my escape tunnel," Odin said, attempting to offer hope where there was none. "He knew they were there because he helped me build them."
Kira motioned sharply, cutting Odin off. "I can't."
She just couldn't right now.
She still hadn't dealt with her anger at Diesel for what he might have done. Adding the possibility of his death or survival was too much. She had already grieved his loss once. She wasn’t ready to do it again so soon after getting him back.
Composing herself, she looked at Pallas. "You need to get us out of here. There are three Tsavitee ships inbound."
The ship banked sharply, flying away from the crater and arrowing upward.
Kira caught the back of a seat, Graydon steadying her as gravity caught them. It wasn't long until the ship breached the boundary that separated the planet's atmosphere from space.
"I hope you got what you came for," Pallas said tightly as the trio of Tsavitee trips came into view. "Because we might not be making it out of here in one piece."
"We don't know that they're here for me," Kira said, analyzing the flight pattern of the three ships.
They were coming in fast. On an interception course.
Rothchild's fighters swarmed the ships, unloading their payloads in an effort to hamper their progress.
Pallas snorted as their ship broke off, attempting to place the moon between them and the Tsavitee. "Don't lie to yourself. They're here for you. Someone leaked your location. Again." He shot her a sarcastic glance. "It's almost like humans have a pattern."
"It wasn't us," Brie said, speaking up.
Pallas didn't respond as he focused on dodging any debris still in orbit. His silence, though, expressed his disbelief quite loudly.
Outside, the Tsavitee ships changed course to follow them.
"There—you see. Just like I said. You’re their target."
Kira bit back her retort, glancing at Graydon instead. "I don't suppose you can do what you did down there again."
Graydon shook his head. "It'll be hours before I can summon even the faintest whisper of my soul's breath."
Kira's shoulders sagged. She'd had a feeling that would be his response.
"What about you?" Pallas asked, his eyes on Kira.
"No," Graydon said emphatically, his voice overriding Kira's. He glared at her, looking angrier than she'd ever seen him. "You can't."
Kira’s expression was reluctant. "Let's leave that as a last resort."
"Sure thing," Pallas agreed sarcastically. "It's only all of our funerals."
"I don't think it will come to that, seon'yer." Lathan hit a few buttons and then nodded at the screen. "Look."
A fleet of ships came into focus.
"I don't believe it. They belong to Centcom," Brie said.
As they watched, several ships broke off to engage the Tsavitee fleet.
Pallas frowned as the last of the ships headed in their direction. "What is Centcom doing here? They're supposed to be setting up a defensive posture on one of their more populated planets."
"How do you know that?" Kira asked.
"I have my ways."
Sure, he did. Just like Odin. And Graydon. It seemed only Kira was consistently out of the loop. She might need to fix that sooner rather than later.
Centcom’s ships began firing on the Tsavitee. The barrage was quick and furious, resulting in one demolished Tsavitee ship before too long.
"We're being hailed," Lathan announced.
Pallas looked at Kira. "Did you know they were coming?"
"No."
There was distrust in Pallas's gaze before he turned back around. "Answer it."
Lathan hit a button. Raider appeared on screen.
Surprise rendered Kira nearly speechless.
"Raider?"
"The one and only."
Jace moved into view. "Just so you know, he's not alone."
Kira shot Raider a hard look. "I thought you were avoiding him."
"Let's just say we ran into some trouble ourselves."
Jace moved out of the range of the camera, but Kira could hear him calling commands to his subordinates.
She lowered her voice. "What about the package? Is it safe?"
"As safe as we could make it," Raider responded. "How about you? Did you get what you were looking for?"
Odin moved into view and waved.
He nodded, his features loosening with relief. "That's good. That's very good."
"What about Wren and the others?" Graydon asked.
"They're here too. Along with a few friends I wasn't expecting when I began this journey," Raider said with a pointed look at the emperor's Face.
Graydon suppressed a smile, his expression the picture of innocence when Kira looked at him.
Spotting Pallas to the side, Raider arched an eyebrow at Kira. "You left him alive. That's surprising."
"Be careful of your words, boy." Pallas's grin was nasty. "I don't share her attachment for your kind. I can and will kill you if I get bored."
"Why is each of your siblings crazier than the last?" Raider complained.
Kira rolled her lips between her teeth at Pallas's furious expression. There was something satisfying in watching Raider get under Pallas's skin so effortlessly.
"I'm sending you some coordinates," Raider said as he ignored her brother. "They're about half a day out. It's an abandoned combat outpost from the last war. Rendezvous with us there. I'll explain the rest when we're face-to-face."
"Understood," Kira said as Raider vanished from the screen.
Pallas sniffed. "I don't know what Elise ever saw in him."
"Next time you see her you can ask her."
Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too long now.
"Why would Centcom have a stronghold so close to Rothchild?" Brie asked with some confusion. "Our planet and this section of space doesn't have any known strategic value."
"It's Himoto's secret base," Kira answered.
Sometimes it was scary how prescient her former mentor had been.
"I have the coordinates," Lathan said, speaking up. "Should I plot a course?"
Pallas twisted his chair to face Kira. "I don't know. Should we?"
"They did just save our asses," Kira said mildly, ignoring the challenge on his face.
Pallas reclined in his seat. "Yes, because walking into another den of humans after barely escaping the last one with our lives seems like such a great idea."
"You were in danger? It looked to me like you cleared out when you caught wind of something going down."
Then returned at the most opportune moment for him.
"I thought it best to move the ship out of harm’s way. Good thing too. Or it may have been the one targeted by that city breaker."
Kira bit back her words, settling for glaring at him instead.
Pallas swiveled his chair to face front, saying over his shoulder, "Seeing as I've agreed to follow your lead, I can be magnanimous this once."
"How kind of you.”
"I'm aware. Just don't get used to it. Next time we're going with my plan."
"You mean the one where you kill everyone involved?"
His smile was slow and wicked. "Exactly."
Elena - Tsavitee Planet
"Nothing to say to me?" Elise asked, fiddling with one of the utensils Elena had sharpened into a fine point. "That's fine; I have plenty."
Elena was quiet, watching her egg donor carefully. The sleeve of her shirt shifted as Uncle Jin unwrapped himself from around Elena's bicep before working his way up to her shoulder.
Elise's face hardened as her gaze shifted to him. "I entrusted her safety to you. How could you let her be so reckless?"
"You don't get to talk to him like that!" Elena flared up.
Uncle Jin was one of the three people who had helped raise her in the egg donor's absence, contributing both time and attention to her development. He'd earned his place as Elena's guardian through countless hours spent at her side. Teaching her. Caring for her. Just being there when she needed it.
Who was Elise to her? A stranger. Someone who'd abandoned her at birth.
"I'm your mother."
"You're an egg donor. Aunt Kira and Aunt Selene are my mothers. They were there when I needed them. You weren't."
Elise's face went blank.
Elena tried not to feel bad, sensing her words must have hurt the other woman on some level. That reaction, the way Elise's face emptied of all emotion, was a self-defense mechanism that Elena had noticed a lot of the forty three shared.
Aunt Kira and Aunt Selene were the same. The stronger their emotions, the more expressionless they became. As if they were afraid the things they felt would be used against them.
Aunt Selene was the worst about it. Her emotions almost always tamped down and controlled except for the rare occasion when she let herself go around the children. They always cherished those moments, competing to see who could make her the most expressive.
One time Tommy even got her to laugh. Not a snicker either. A full belly, tear forming laugh.
Aunt Kira was different. It took a lot to get her to retreat to that state. Elena thought that had something to do with the fact that Aunt Kira had spent more time interacting with humans. She was more used to wearing her expressions on her face.
But even she would occasionally get that flinty look in her eye. Her expression made out of stone. As if nothing in this world could affect her.
Elena hated when she looked like that. Hated it more seeing the same expression on her egg donor's face now and knowing she’d put it there.
Elise looked down at her hands. "I deserve that."
"Yes, you do."
"Elena," Uncle Jin chided softly.
Elena's flinch was tiny. She steadied herself, projecting a bravado she hoped would conceal her guilt.
"You're lucky it was me who ran across you," Elise said, seeing right through Elena's facade. "If it had been anyone else, it would be a very different story right now. They would have turned you over in a heartbeat. I can promise you wouldn't have enjoyed your time in the Osiri's care."
An uncomfortable feeling rose in Elena's chest at the rebuke. "It's not like I meant to wander into that place. It was an accident. That's all."
"You can't afford 'accidents'. A single mistake and you're dead. I thought Kira and Jin would have taught you that."
"What do you care?" Elena shot back, the words out before she could stop them. "You abandoned me, remember? It's too late for you to pretend to care now."
"Is that what you think? That I deserted you? Because I didn't care?" Elise didn't hide her shock or distress as she looked from Elena to Jin. "That's not what happened."
Elise rose to kneel in front of Elena, reaching for her hand. Elena pulled back, but she wasn't quick enough. Elise caught it and cradled it gently in hers.
"I left you behind, not because I didn't love and want you, but because things were happening that I wasn't certain I could protect you from."
The sincerity on the egg donor's face felt genuine. Sincere enough that it was hard to remember that Elise was considered a master of manipulation.
Despite everything she knew about the woman, Elena found herself wavering. She wanted so badly to believe in her mother. This hero of her childhood. The person she'd yearned for despite the love and approval she'd received from her aunts and uncle.
