Chapter 2
Two
Kira
Trusting Finn to report the intruder and their subsequent encounter with the palace oshota to Isla and her companion, Kira and Raider entered the room.
“What set you off?” Kira asked.
She’d always been curious what an angry Jin would look like. The answer was disarmingly adorable. His childlike size contrasted with the out-sized emotions written all over his face.
“You were going to tuck tail and run, weren’t you?” Jin jeered.
“Me?” Kira pointed at her chest, pretending surprise. “Absolutely not.”
Liar. She absolutely was.
Kira let her gaze linger on his features. Somehow, she’d almost forgotten what Jin looked like when they were young. The distance of time blunting her memories of the boy he’d once been.
Maybe because of that, this version of Jin seemed different than she remembered.
In her dreams, he’d been older. His hair shorter. His body less breakable and not as thin as it was now.
But his eyes—those were exactly as she remembered.
Kira turned her attention to the rest of the room, finding quite the crowd lying in wait.
A trio of oshota, all of them wearing the matte black synth armor that designated them as the emperor’s, stood rigidly at attention in front of Jin.
Beside and slightly behind them were a pair of inquisitors whose presence had Kira immediately bristling.
“Here I was thinking we’d seen the last of you,” Kira drawled as Finn rejoined them.
She swept a disdainful glance down the length of the silver eyed male inquisitor, almost sneering at the high collared, knee length jackets he and his companion wore.
A brooch marking them as members of a special order tasked with eliminating all soul bound glinted at their throats.
Its design a flower with horns jutting out of the top.
“What do you want, Jarek?” Kira demanded impatiently. “You have no authority over Jin. His soul no longer resides in the machine.”
If he even thought about harming her friend, there would be no one to stop her from eviscerating him this time.
The entity that resided within pressed against her skin as its thirst for blood swamped her for a second before she shoved it back down into its cage.
Kira’s alternate form, the primus, was a coldly pragmatic and utterly merciless killing machine. Created for battle, it was stronger and faster than her. It also lacked those pesky emotions like remorse or empathy, making it a danger to everyone around it.
Strangely enough, it was considered an asset to a House. Their military strength often hinged on how many they had in their ranks.
Of course, a primus was a double-edged sword since they were as likely to cause collateral damage to their own side as they were to the enemy’s.
Right now, her primus would have loved nothing more than to rip Jarek’s head from his body and use his entrails as necklaces.
Tempting—but not helpful.
“Heir of Roake, how I’ve missed these conversations of ours,” Jarek drawled.
Kira’s lip curled. “That’s not an answer. I’ll ask again. Why are you here?”
Last time they’d met, he tried to execute Jin for the simple fact that he existed. She held grudges for things like that.
Stupid man—he should have steered well clear.
She’d managed to talk herself out of assassinating him until now, knowing that she would be the first person looked at as the killer. But maybe she needed to revisit that plan.
Zealots like him didn’t change.
Better to eliminate the threat now.
Jarek considered Kira from beneath lowered eyelids, his impassive expression giving nothing away.
Their stare down was broken as his companion stepped forward to give Kira a pompous smile. “You’re interrupting important matters. If you’d step outside, we’ll finish up here shortly.”
Kira’s eyebrows climbed toward her hairline as she looked from the woman to Jarek. “Does your order practice being assholes or does it just come natural?”
Maybe they recruited based on personality. The more arrogant and pretentious, the better.
Raider fake coughed into his hand to hide his amusement.
“I believe it comes naturally,” Jarek replied easily.
Oh ho. Look who had a sense of humor now. Maybe the loss of rank and privilege had loosened a few screws in his head.
“Who are you?” Kira looked away from Jarek to the woman at his side. Before she could answer, Kira made a sharp gesture to cut her off. “Never mind. I don’t care.”
Jarek’s companion wasn’t important.
No, the person with real power in the room was the woman seated at a small table in the corner, sipping tea as she watched the show.
The woman set down her cup, reaching for the pot beside her. “Don’t mind me. I’m just here as an observer.”
Unlikely, Kira thought with a snort.
The woman gave off a regal feeling that Kira recognized belonged to someone in a position of authority. She had her suspicions regarding the woman’s actual identity but no real way of confirming them.
At least today, the woman wasn’t wearing a diadem. Unlike the last time they had met.
Her mass of wavy brown hair flowed unobstructed down her back. She was dressed simply, but even that couldn’t hide the inherent power and wealth that imbued every gesture and graceful movement.
Kira glanced uncertainly at Jin, wondering what the best way to handle this was.
If it wasn’t for the fact that she very much suspected this woman was Jin’s mother—not to mention Torvald’s empress—she would have already called her on her bullshit.
At the very least, she would have dragged a name out of her.
“What?” Jin asked, seeing Kira’s look.
She pinched his cheek. “Careful—you don’t want your face getting stuck like this.”
Jin batted away her hand. “You do know I’m not an actual child, right? The tricks you used to make Elena behave won’t work on me.”
Kira hummed noncommittally.
They’d see.
Jarek’s companion chose just then to interrupt. “Aza, as I said before, this matter does not concern you. I’m afraid I must insist you leave.”
Well, that was just about as polite a “fuck you, get out” as Kira had ever heard.
And she’d heard her fair share.
Even the address of aza, the Tuann equivalent of sir or ma’am, couldn’t quite hide the woman’s antagonism.
Kira raised her eyebrows at Jin as if to ask if this person was serious.
“You see what I’m dealing with?” Jin demanded.
“I do.”
Kira owed him an apology. He’d shown great restraint so far.
Raider snickered softly as he settled in to watch the imminent explosion. “This should be good.”
Kira stared the other woman down, letting her primus surface just a bit. “I’m going to give you one last chance to try that again.”
Hearing her tone, Finn’s gaze snapped toward Kira.
Irritated, she ignored him. He could stop drilling a hole in the side of her face. She wasn’t going to do anything to the inquisitors.
At least not unless they attacked first.
Then, she would just have to be sure to finish what they started.
Genuine puzzlement reflected in the female inquisitor’s eyes. “I’m unsure which part of my statement was unclear.”
Kira blinked at her before giving Jarek an incredulous look. “This is who they replaced you with?”
“She wasn’t my first choice either.”
Kira almost felt sorry for the man. It had to gall for someone as arrogant as Jarek to play second fiddle to a woman who was so totally clueless.
The woman sent Jarek an icy look. “Watch your tone, inquisitor. In case you’ve forgotten, I’m your superior now. You will show me respect.”
Jarek gave her a mocking bow that might have made Kira like him just a little if not for their history.
On that note.
“Everything regarding Jin is my business. There will never be a time when that won’t be the case,” Kira said, tiring of the conversation.
To quote an old, somewhat outdated term, they were the ultimate BFFs. Best friends forever. Each other’s ride or die. Soul mates of a platonic nature.
There was no Kira without Jin and vice versa. Something the Tuann continually failed to understand.
She’d been patient. She’d let them keep Jin in the Shining Palace despite their bond and her need to have him close. She’d understood the emperor’s desire to reconnect with his long lost son.
With this, however, her patience had finally reached its end.
Kira’s smile was as pretty as she could make it as she prepared to fuck up their plans in that way only she could. “Well, this has been fun.” Not. “Jin—get your shit. We’re leaving.”
She no longer cared what they’d done to set Jin off. They’d upset him. That was enough.
Jin whooped. “About damn time. What took you so long?”
“I was trying to be polite.”
“Why bother? It doesn’t suit you.”
Kira let out a heavy sigh. “I can’t believe I missed this.”
This time Jin’s smile was real. “Face it, you would be bored without me.”
True.
He put the color into her life. It would be bleak and dreary without his antics.
Jin glanced at Raider. “Come on, Meat Sack. Help me carry my things. It’s moving day.”
“Sure thing, Tin Can,” Raider drawled, moving toward him in a lazy prowl. “I’d be simply delighted to help you pack up your toys.”
The woman watched with mounting anger as Jarek looked on placidly.
“You can’t take him,” the woman insisted.
“I can’t?” Kira tilted her head. “Funny—it doesn’t look that way to me.”
For all their bluster, no one had actually tried to intervene. Not the woman standing in front of her. Not Jarek beside her. Not even the nearby oshota.
Kira kept expecting that to change.
She studied the oshota, her gaze blatantly challenging.
She wasn’t sure about the female at the end, but the scarred one in the middle looked like he’d seen some shit. Having also seen some shit, she recognized the look in his eyes. If there was a fight, he would be the one she needed to look out for.
Kira could tell the female oshota beside him was new. She had that nervous look that made Kira wonder if this was her first day on the job. She didn’t quite know just yet how to act or what to do with herself.