Chapter 10 #2
“People change. They break. They adapt. They become something new.” Auralyn touched the spot where her arm had once been with a poignant look on her face. “Learning to accept that—or not—is an inescapable part of life.”
And the only way to do that was to have the conversation.
“There’s nothing to say it all needs to happen at once. The years are long. Plenty of time to rebuild what was destroyed,” Auralyn added.
Wise words.
Kira should remember them for future times when the walls felt like they were caving in.
Auralyn nudged Kira. “While you’re out there, be sure to send your seon’yer on his way. His lurking is irritating me.”
Marching across the platform, Kira avoided the puddles of water from the ocean spray, careful not to slip on the slick stone.
Too soon she was steps away. The reunion she’d both dreaded and anticipated for over a decade looming large in front of her.
And still, she had no idea what she was supposed to say.
In the periphery of her vision, she saw Wren silently excuse himself to give them privacy. He grabbed Fyr on his way by.
The general bristled, baring sharp canines.
Wren cut him a simple glance that had Fyr closing his lips over those sharp teeth of his. But not before he shot Kira a fierce look.
“We need to talk,” he said.
“Later.”
He looked like he wanted to argue, but another quick warning glance from Wren shut him up before he was dragged away.
The silence was stifling as Kira took Fyr’s place beside Elise.
They listened to the crashing waves. The sound oddly mesmerizing.
In the end, Elise broke first.
“Pippy bunny.”
The heartache in the way she said that nickname made Kira’s throat tighten.
She forgot her anger.
More accurately, she set it aside.
This moment; their reunion. It was important.
The past was a closed book. But the future? It had yet to be written.
They decided what came next. Not the Tsavitee or the Osiri. Not even the Tuann. Only them.
Kira and Elise.
“Sunshine,” Kira murmured with the same ache in her voice.
Elise was in her arms the next moment. Tears wet Kira’s shirt as her friend’s shoulders heaved.
Kira’s own eyes pricked with tears as she stared out at the waves. Just holding Elise.
“I’ve imagined this moment a thousand times,” Elise whispered into Kira’s shoulder. “Every time they inflicted pain in hopes of breaking me. Every night I slept, praying this was a simple nightmare that would vanish when I woke.”
Kira smoothed the hair away from Elise’s tear stained face. “I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner.”
Elise’s clogged laugh contained a surprising amount of levity as she drew back. “Please—you did what I couldn’t. You got them out.”
“Not soon enough.” Kira regretted that. “I didn’t believe you when you told me about them.”
If not for Elena’s intervention, she still might not.
“I gave you plenty of reason not to,” Elise admitted with an edge of self-deprecation.
Kira forced a smile but the expression fell flat, disappearing before it had fully formed. “I love you, Sunshine. You fill a hole in me that no one else does.”
This next part was hard.
“But I don’t think I’ll ever trust you again.”
Kira could have waited for this conversation. It probably would have been kinder.
But Elise needed to know. And Kira needed to be the one to tell her.
“Why would you?” Elise asked, sounding amused.
Kira’s gaze jumped to hers.
Elise’s expression was soft and relaxed as she gave Kira a bitter smile. “I’m quite aware of most of what I’ve done. Some things are still a little hazy and out of order. But I knew what I was risking when I made those decisions.”
Her gaze wandered to the window in the cliffside that overlooked the platform and ocean. It blended almost perfectly with the rest of the rock face unless you knew it was there. From this angle you couldn’t see if it was occupied, but Kira was betting the eldest was still there—watching.
“I can’t even be in the same room as some of them without causing extreme anxiety and fear.” Bitterness crept into Elise’s voice. “So, I understand how you can want something so dearly and yet be powerless to change it.”
Kira didn’t try to evade as Elise reached for her hand, gripping it tightly.
“It’s okay, little ember. I know what I sacrificed.” Elise playfully flicked one of Kira’s curls with her other hand. “Just like I know what I’ll do to reclaim everything I lost.”
There was a resolve in her face as she glanced back at the window.
“After all, I have nothing but time in front of me now.”
Citing exhaustion not long after that, Elise returned to the fortress in the company of Auralyn.
Kira remained at the platform’s edge, needing the solitude to get her head on straight after all that heavy emotion.
She was still trying to compose herself when Wren re-joined her.
“I’ve always liked this spot,” Wren said, apropos of nothing.
That surprised a smile from Kira. “I particularly like the illusion it’s hiding behind.”
By this point, she’d flown over every inch of the coastline around the Fortress of the Vigilant and its surrounding areas. This platform wasn’t visible from any angle.
“Just a little insurance from prying eyes,” Wren said.
“Roake’s paranoia grows increasingly charming the longer I remain with them.”
“We do like to be prepared,” Wren observed.
The silence that descended was short and easy. The waves a soothing lullaby as the wind played among the rocks.
“What happens now?” Kira asked finally.
“We do what we’ve always done. We protect our own.”
Kira lifted her gaze to the storm forming on the horizon. “That might not be so easy this time.”
“It never is.”
Things were so messed up. For once, Kira didn’t know the right course of action to fix them.
“Have you talked to Harlow yet?” Wren asked.
Kira shook her head. “That’s my next stop.”
Wren clasped her shoulder. “Focus on what’s immediately in front of you. Auralyn and I will take care of the home front.”
“Thanks, but your concern may be unnecessary. The emperor ordered Roake away from this.”
“It’s refreshing how naive you are sometimes.”
Kira narrowed her eyes at her seon’yer. “What does that mean?”
“Do you really think Harlow will leave this alone?” A gruff laugh came from Wren. “Caius is his Jin. He will not abandon him. No matter what appearances suggest.”
Kira’s thoughts moved quickly as she considered his words. “You think he’ll send me after him.”
“What were the emperor’s exact words? Think about it. I bet Caius’s name never came up.”
Holy shit.
Now that Kira thought about it, Wren might be right.
How did she miss that?
Wren chuckled at Kira’s astounded expression. “You have a lot to learn about Tuann duplicity. We may not like lying but we’re very good at twisting our words.”
“I’m beginning to see that,” Kira murmured.
Wren’s smirk was brief. “Wherever he sends you, make sure to take Maksym.”
Kira grimaced. “Do I have to?”
Why couldn’t he send Zoella or Tavas instead? She had enough nosy people in her life right now without adding someone who acted like an honorary big brother.
“Yes.”
“Fine. If I go anywhere, I’ll take the ginger menace.”
Wren made a sound of approval before the smile fell from his face. “With the Nexus down and us unable to fully defend ourselves, all non-essential personnel of the House are being moved off world.”
“Elise and the children too?”
Wren’s expression was troubled. “They will not be going to the same place as the rest of the House.”
Kira didn’t like that answer, but she understood it.
For the first time in centuries, Roake was vulnerable. Since no one could predict what nasty surprises might be hiding in Elise or the children, it was best to distance them from the House.
“What happens to them now?” Kira asked.
“Auralyn reached out to her mother’s side. They’ve agreed to provide safe harbor.”
“Are we sure we can trust them?”
Kira didn’t like the thought of strangers taking in Elise and the children. There were alternative havens she could send them to if it came to it.
“There are none I would trust more with their care,” Auralyn announced from behind Kira.
“What if someone guesses you went to them for help?” Kira asked, turning to look at her.
“It’s not a well-known connection.” Auralyn’s lips quirked. “Furthermore, they’re known for their dislike of outsiders. Most Tuann are smart enough to steer clear.”
“All the more reason for me to be concerned.”
In Kira’s experience, isolationists weren’t so understanding of other people’s quirks. Of which the children had a surplus.
Auralyn frowned in confusion.
“An inquisitor questioned Pallas and Alexander’s lineage. She all but called them mutts,” Kira explained.
Understanding flashed across Auralyn’s face. “They’re not like that.”
“You say that, but how can I trust people I’ve never met?” Kira pointed out.
The glance Auralyn and Wren shared contained an entire conversation before Auralyn looked back at Kira. “You should know—the children and my mother’s people have a lot more in common than you might think.”
Kira frowned. “You’re suggesting they’re different.”
Actually, she wasn’t at all sure what Auralyn was saying.
“Humans aren’t the only ones who like to rewrite history,” Auralyn said. “The Tuann pretend we’re from a single source. In reality, the Osiri spent generations tinkering with our genetic code. Some lineages show those differences more easily than others.”
Surprise rendered Kira mute.
Auralyn grinned at her expression and tapped her on the nose. “The Tuann have as many secrets as you, young one. Never forget that. My mother’s cousins will protect us. The same way they have many others.”
“And Roake protects them,” Wren announced.
Auralyn nodded. “You see? Nothing to worry about.”
“Just in case though, I’ll leave you the location of a safe place should anything happen,” Kira said, surrendering.
Wren nodded in approval. “A wise warrior always leaves themselves several back up plans.”
Zoella’s arrival interrupted the rest of their conversation. “Heir, Luatha’s Overlord is waiting.”