Facets of Revolution, page 41
But she wasn’t going to.
Joule was Ziva’s last remaining family. Watching him battle alone against their enemies would have been an unimaginable hell.
At least this way, Ziva would feel like she was doing something.
Sometimes that was enough.
“Life doesn’t always wait for us to grow up,” Kira finally said to Finn.
It hadn’t for Kira and Jin. Ziva and Joule shared that fate.
All she could do was give them the tools to carve their own path and provide guidance when possible.
Finn made an annoyed sound. “Sometimes I wish I’d told Graydon no when he first asked me to take you as my sword.”
He really should have.
Ziva’s small face wrinkled in confusion as she looked between them as if trying to understand a mystery. “I thought shields were supposed to be unquestioningly loyal.”
Kira and Finn stopped to look at each other.
“Am I wrong?” Ziva asked when neither of them said anything.
“Not entirely,” Finn started at the same time Kira answered, “Yes.”
“You are teaching her bad things,” Finn growled.
Kira chose to ignore him as she looked at Ziva. “A good oshota does both—supports and challenges their swords when they’re being idiots.”
Finn sent her a look. “Does that mean you acknowledge the fact you’re being unreasonable?”
Kira flashed him a sweet smile. “I never said otherwise.”
She knew perfectly well that what she was about to do was reckless. It was just that she didn’t care.
“You must be able to voice your opinion to your sword—especially when that sword is about to be dumb,” Kira instructed Ziva. “Just don’t be surprised if your sword still does the thing anyway.”
“There it is,” Jin crooned. “I knew there was a catch.”
Kira pretended not to see Finn’s scowl as she turned back to the stairs only to find her way blocked by an oshota wearing House Votair’s colors. A sickly yellow that was probably meant to emulate the emperor’s gold and failed miserably.
“The Overlord of our House has not invited your presence,” he informed her. “Please return to the arena below.”
Kira looked beyond him to Baran and a second of the emperor’s oshota. “Am I correct in assuming that none of their House can offer me violence?”
The question threw the two men off balance, their hesitation marked as Finn let out a weary sigh.
“You are,” Baran finally answered.
“Ah. Good.”
That simplified things.
Kira continued forward, trusting Votair’s oshota would move rather than allow her to bump into him. If that didn’t work, Kira was sure either Finn or Baran would move him for her.
Either way, he wouldn’t be able to stop her and judging from the sick look on his face, he knew that.
Bet he hadn’t ever seen an initiate use the rules in this fashion.
Jin’s giggles sounded through their comms as the oshota gave way, allowing Kira to step onto the level where the Overlord and his lackeys had made themselves comfortable.
Kira found herself the target of several hostile stares as she made her way to the Overlord’s side. There were none brave enough to obstruct her. Not with Baran and his fellow oshota shadowing her.
“This is not your place, Roake,” Terrel finally spoke. “Leave.”
There it was. A command.
He was stupider than Kira gave him credit for. Why he thought she’d listen to his orders when she hadn’t anybody else’s was beyond her.
“Nice view.” Kira whistled. “Much better than down below. Also, call me Kira. Roake sounds so impersonal.”
Kira flopped into the seat next to him, Finn moving to take a position at her back.
Ziva followed, squinting up at the oshota before adopting the same vigilant posture. Right down to the stoic mask he wore.
She was adorable. A tiny, fierce mini-Finn.
The Overlord aimed a pointed glance at the battle taking place on the arena floor. “I am surprised you have energy to waste up here.”
Kira pointed at where Joule was crouched behind his shield as his opponent hammered against it. Strain showed in Joule’s expression as his shield wobbled with each blow.
It looked like his opponent had an air affinity, striker class. The worst match up for Joule.
It wouldn’t be much longer until Joule’s shield collapsed.
“You mean because of that?” Kira asked with feigned surprise.
She pursed her lips as she stretched her legs out in front of her, crossing them at the ankle and relaxing into her seat.
It was a surprisingly comfortable fit, cradling her backside perfectly.
“Naw.” Kira poked at the cushion with a preoccupied expression before looking up. “He’s got this handled.”
A cry came from below as Joule’s shield collapsed. He burst forward, delivering a crippling blow before his opponent could recover from his surprise.
Another initiate stepped forward. “I challenge you.”
Terrel made a tsking sound. “Such a pity. It looks like your friend has angered a House he should not have.”
Kira didn’t let any emotion show as Terrel pretended at a sympathy that would have been more convincing if the boy who’d just challenged Joule wasn’t from Votair.
From underneath her sleeve, the lu-ong moved furtively. The blush color of its scales appearing as it stuck its head out from under her clothes.
Kira tensed, trying not to call notice to him as the lu-ong convulsed once and then again.
What the hell was Jin doing? Was he throwing up?
Impossible.
Though it certainly looked that way as the lu-ong continued to heave.
Kira fought to keep the disgust off her face as the lu-ong spat a thumbnail sized disk into her hand.
“I prepared a visual aid.” Jin sounded proud in their comms.
Kira unobtrusively wiped her palm against her pants, swearing in her mind. She couldn’t believe he made the lu-ong throw that thing up—and why was the disk covered in slime?
Terrel was still talking. Just chattering away not realizing Kira had stopped paying attention several minutes ago.
Finn did, though. His glare was hot enough to burn a hole into the side of her face.
Ziva looked confused.
“This has grown boring,” Kira declared, interrupting Terrel’s monologue.
Affront pulled his eyebrows down into a frown. “I beg your pardon.”
“He should,” Jin grumbled. “He’s annoying.”
“Do you know what I admire most about humans?” Kira asked. “They’re amazingly adaptive.”
Kira lifted the disk, hitting a button at the center and expanding the screen until it was a several inches wide.
“They have to be. They don’t have ki to make their lives easier. As a result, their creativity far outstrips that of the Tuann.”
Kira finished fussing with the disk as an image formed.
“For instance, this tiny device can pick up any feed that is streaming within a certain radius.”
A man standing behind Terrel started. “That’s the Dauntless.”
Kira pretended to be surprised. “That’s strange. I wonder why an image of your ship is being broadcasted for anyone to intercept.”
The man’s face closed down, but his gaze didn’t move as the image started to play.
Kira let out a low whistle as the camera moved over the ship, showing the fancy exterior of one of the newest ships in House Votair’s fleet.
The angle widened until the insignia of the House appeared.
“What is the meaning of this?” Terrel demanded.
“I wonder,” Kira chirpped in a sugary sweet voice.
“Stop this,” the man behind Terrel urged. “If you do anything to that ship, House Votair will seek recompense from Roake. You will start a war. Are you prepared for that?”
“I’m not afraid of war.” Kira relaxed into her chair. “Besides, for your Overlord to declare war on mine, he will need evidence. And as you can see, I am seated right next to you. I suspect you won’t find a scrap of evidence linking me to this. Though you’re welcomed to try.”
With a whoosh the interior of their flagship caught fire. Within seconds, it had turned the ship into a funeral pyre, flames licking up the side.
A pained sound escaped Terrel.
Lovely.
As always, Jin had given her a masterpiece. She knew without having to ask the accelerant would only affect the flagship. Any other ships in the vicinity would escape unscathed.
“Oof,” Kira pretended to wince. “That’s got to hurt. How much did your House spend on that ship? I hope it wasn’t much.”
Jin snickered. “Oh, it was. Most interestingly, it was bought with a recent influx of cash I’m having trouble tracing. What do you want to bet it comes from House Danai?”
Kira couldn’t have picked a better target if she’d tried.
Terrel’s body was shaking as fury poured off him. “You will pay for this.”
The levity dropped from Kira’s face, all the rage she’d been suppressing replacing it. “Like I said earlier, prove it.”
“You’re gloating,” he snarled.
“That doesn’t mean I’m guilty. Isn’t that right?” Kira tossed a look at Baran. “I’m simply a concerned citizen going out of her way to share intel with you.”
Quiet descended as those nearby stared at Kira with something approaching shock. She was sure none of those present had considered that angle.
She had, though. As did Jin. It was why they’d chosen this avenue of attack.
Jin hadn’t been idle while Kira was training. He’d spent the time looking into everything surrounding blood feuds and vendettas. One of the things he’d noticed was that clear evidence of fault was needed to spark a blood feud that involved the entire House. Let alone draw punishment from the emperor’s Justice.
That was a lot of wiggle room for someone as creative as Jin.
“My hands are clean,” Kira spat.
And they’d never prove otherwise.
Terrel and his companions were speechless as Baran stirred. “Her assessment is correct.”
On screen, the image reformed. A second ship took shape.
Terrel made a pained sound in the back of his throat that was music to Kira’s ears.
That’s it. That’s the reaction she was hoping for.
She didn’t know what it said about her that she was enjoying his pain, but she reveled in it. It was satisfying on a whole other level.
“You shouldn’t have touched the kid,” she told him.
Now, he had to pay. That’s just how it was.
“What do you want?”
Kira tapped a finger on the arm of her chair as she considered the fight taking place below.
Joule was still holding his own. His expression focused and intent as he fended off his opponent’s blows.
“So many things,” Kira said.
If it were up to her, the man beside her would lose a ship for every bruise or scrape Joule received.
Sadly, it would be unwise to take this too far.
Himoto taught her that a cornered beast was unpredictable. She needed to leave Terrel with an avenue of retreat or risk retaliation outside her expectations.
“But in this case, I’m sure you can guess,” Kira said with a sidelong glance.
His chin lifted. “If I refuse?”
On screen, the second ship caught fire.
Kira smiled. “I guess you’ll lose the rest of your fleet.”
It might take Jin a while, but eventually, one by one, every single ship belonging to his House would go to a fiery grave.
Below, Joule knocked his opponent unconscious.
An initiate stepped forth, his mouth opening.
Terrel exploded to his feet with a roar. “Enough!”
Kira uncrossed her legs and rose. “I thought you might see things my way.”
She sauntered toward the stairs.
“This isn’t over,” Terrel snarled.
“I think it is.” Kira paused at the top of the stairs to shoot a teasing smile his way. “If I’m wrong, that could be fun too.”
Finn and Ziva brought up the rear as Kira took her leave, departing from the box and descending toward the arena floor.
“This is disappointing. I was hoping he’d hold out for at least one more ship,” Jin whined. “I had a whole thing planned. It was going to be beautiful.”
“I would have liked to have seen that,” Kira said, reaching the floor of the arena.
She stepped onto the sands, advancing toward where Devon was congratulating an exhausted Joule. Raider and Elena had a head start on Kira and were already halfway across the sands.
Ziva stopped a few feet onto the arena floor. “I recognize that man.”
Kira looked back to find a serious look on the girl’s face. Ziva’s forehead was wrinkled in a frown as she stared down at the sands.
“My father, the Overlord of our House, and his First met with him several times right before.” Ziva stopped speaking, her expression threatening to crumple in a way that made any need for clarification unnecessary.
Before her House’s fall. Before her parents’ deaths and the loss of her world.
Ziva lifted her gaze to meet Kira’s. “My parents were always very angry after meeting him.”
Kira looked at Finn to find the oshota with a dark expression on his face. “Could Terrel and Votair have had anything to do with House Maxiim’s fall?”
As far as she knew, they’d been nearly wiped out by pirates. An admittedly unusual happenstance given the strength of the House but still within the realm of possibility.
Finn hesitated, his desire to deny her suggestion warring with the things he’d learned since being in Kira’s orbit. Things like how the Tuann weren’t immune to betrayal from within.
The faintly ill look on his face told Kira all she needed to know.
“I picked up a few interesting tidbits of information on Terrel and Votair while I was snooping,” Jin said. “From what I’ve gathered, Terrel is ambitious. Very ambitious. Word is he’s been trying to raise his House’s standing from that of a middle tier House to reach the power and status of one of the five Majors.”
“That’s not easy to achieve,” Kira guessed.
Finn shook his head. “No, it’s not. While Votair is considered a large House, I wouldn’t go so far to say it is close to becoming a major power.”
“How so?” Kira asked, not quite understanding how a House became a major one.
Finn paused to consider how best to explain. “If we were to judge based on the merit of numbers or size of territory, Votair would be considered more powerful than Roake.”
Kira blinked as she took that in. Was Roake that small? Or was Votair that big?
“Papa said to be considered a major House you had to be more than just strong,” Ziva chimed in. “You had to offer something that no other House had.”
Finn nodded. “It comes down to influence. Luatha is known far and wide as having the best artisans. Roake, the strongest warriors. Each of the Houses has something that sets it apart. Whether that is in the affinities of their bloodlines or the niche they’ve carved out for themselves. In that respect, House Maxiim was far closer to stepping into the ranks of a major House than Votair.”
Ziva’s nod was sad. “We were known for our ships.”
“Both the design and their ability to fuse the House’s shielding ability into its defenses were highly coveted among the rest of the Tuann,” Finn agreed.
That made their fall to space pirates more suspicious than it already was.
Kira had the fortune of meeting what remained of the House’s oshota when she’d saved Joule and Ziva. Though their warriors weren’t as highly trained as Roake’s, they were still skilled. A House filled with them shouldn’t have fallen so easily.
Unless things weren’t as simple as they appeared.
Movement behind Ziva attracted Kira’s attention as Selene and Alexander crossed the sands toward them.
Kira frowned. There was something her senses were trying to tell her that she wasn’t picking up on. At least not enough to understand this unsettling feeling that was growing by the second.
A looming disaster she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
Did it have something to do with what Ziva and Finn shared?
Terrel and House Votair were at the center of things. That much she could be sure of.
While Kira was thinking, she caught sight of Terrel making his way down the same stairs Kira had a short time before. Instead of descending all the way to the arena floor, he stopped at the landing where the wall that separated the floor from the stands lay.
Rather than the defeat and anger she expected to see, Terrel seemed almost gloating. Victorious as he lifted his hand and set something on the wall.
At first Kira didn’t understand. Not until a low hum went through the arena as a force field rose from the wall all the way to the ceiling, cutting off those below from those standing above.
Baran and a few other oshota frowned and stepped forward, banging at the wall.
All the while Terrel smiled, his gaze moving over Kira’s shoulder to something behind her. She spun, scanning the arena floor.
The initiates hadn’t realized anything was wrong yet. Some cheered. Others were dissatisfied at Joule’s win.
Kira dismissed them, focusing on the single point of utter calm. Out of place in a sea of movement as the initiates milled around, chatting.
Renata’s features were perfectly blank. Eerily so. At least until a smile formed. Unnatural as the muscles in the rest of her face refused to move.
Her eyes were empty. A void where Renata’s personality should have been.
And it was hungry.
The thought triggered something in Kira, calling half remembered knowledge to the forefront.
Of a creature her fellow soldiers had once treated as myth. Stories of a bogeyman whose existence was proven only by the utter lack of survivors every time it was thought to have stepped onto the battlefield.
A class of Tsavitee Kira had thought was a hoax right up until the moment it almost killed her.
