"There are reasons we leave the training of the young for their House. My interference might make it harder for him to find his place later," Graydon said.
Kira shrugged. "He can make the decision of whether to take the risk or not."
"I would," Joule burst out. "I definitely would. My parents started me on anoshota’straining."
"Perfect. It's settled. I won't say anything about your real purpose for being here. You don't say anything about mine, and we both carry on like nothing happened," Kira said.
Graydon gave her a veiled look, his expression turning slightly smug. "Very well. You have a deal."
He started along the path again, turning the corner as they stepped down several weather-beaten stone stairs into an orchard of carefully manicured trees.
It was pretty, but tame. Kira preferred the wildness of the forest outside the Citadel.
"Why go so far for them?" Graydon asked.
Kira fell into step beside him, brushing one hand against the trees they passed. She didn't have to ask what he meant. "One of my first memories is watching a boy have the flesh whipped from his back."
That boy had been Jin. He had committed some infraction neither of them remembered anymore. Their keepers had punished him severely for it. It hadn't been the first time, nor had it been the last.
Kira ignored Graydon as he stopped, his expression severe. Dark emotion rolled off him.
"My next memory is having the same done to me," Kira said. "Say what you want about the humans and their motives, but they saved me from that fate."
And for that they would have her undying gratitude. If Himoto hadn't arrived when he did, it was likely Kira would be dead. Or worse, turned into a merciless weapon with no concept of morals or ethics. Just a tool someone pointed and fired at the enemy.
She could never repay Himoto for saving her from that fate, though it hadn't stopped her from spending half her life trying, even when it broke her to do so.
Liara and Graydon hadn’t asked many questions about her childhood in the camp. Partly because it hadn’t been Graydon’s place, and Liara hadn’t had enough time with Kira to broach the subject.
She knew both half-suspected humans had been involved. It had taken her a while to get to that conclusion, but now that she had, it made sense. It explained their dislike of humans if nothing else.
How would they react if they found out their suspicions were only half of the puzzle? The question haunted Kira and was one reason she refused to let herself get too invested in the Tuann.
Because humans hadn’t overseen that camp or the countless others she’d tracked down in secret through the years. Tsavitee had.
Graydon's body became a tightly coiled spring with no outlet for the tempest of emotions she could see moving across his face. He didn't speak for a long moment, his gaze growing distant as if he wrestled with some great inner turmoil.
He drew her to a stop, his expression inscrutable as she stared up at him, waiting patiently. She raised her chin.
She didn't often share her past with others. She hated the looks of pity and sympathy, or worse, the judgment that came when they found out about what she'd done in the name of survival.
She wasn't ashamed of her history. She'd survived it and wore its scars like the badge of honor they were.
She'd decided giving Graydon a piece of what she'd endured was necessary for him to understand how deep her loyalty to the Fleet and the Consortium went. She wasn't a child clinging to the familiar. She had history with them, the sort not easily untangled to make room for something new.
He touched a sore spot on her cheek where a bruise must have formed. His fingertips were almost unbearably gentle as his eyes became soft and searching.
Lyrical words came from him, the promise in them almost tangible.
There was a slight gasp of surprise from Joule behind her, hinting more was happening than a simple expression of sympathy for her beginnings.
Kira stiffened, her expression becoming guarded and watchful.
The moment was broken by rustling in the branches next to them. Both of them froze, realization they were being watched sinking in.
Kira flicked her eyes to the right and down, asking if he was ready.
He gave her a careful nod, his hand dropping, so his thumb could skate across her collarbone in a delicious caress. Shivers skated over her skin despite the tense moment.
