Kira glanced at Graydon. "Call your minions from their hiding spots. They can be useful and act as punching dummies."
Graydon's expression was inscrutable as he held her gaze. After a long moment, he gave a nod.
Two of his soldiers materialized in the middle of the courtyard as if stepping out of thin air. One second she and Graydon were alone with the children, and then suddenly they weren’t.
Handy trick that. She’d give her left arm to learn it.
Kira watched them, not particularly surprised at their presence. Given Graydon's insistence she be accompanied by Finn at all times, she'd assumed they’d be around somewhere, hidden but close, in case of need.
"I thought so," she said. They were good. She'd barely detected their presence and she knew the woman hadn't.
Nor had the children, if their wide eyes and exclamations of surprise were anything to go by.
Kira clapped her hands. "Alright, let's get started."
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The afternoon was surprisinglypleasant as Kira ran the two through a set of drills to discover what they already knew and what they thought they knew but had applied incorrectly.
Their base was good. Much better than Kira would have assumed given their ages.
She straightened from where she'd been showing Joule how to set his feet, as Finn strode out of one of the alcoves leading to the Citadel, his expression thunderous.
"Where have you been?" he spat.
She cocked her head. "Around."
"I left to sleep for two hours and you were gone when I returned," he ground out. If he'd been a dog, his ears would have been pinned against his skull and his teeth bared.
"You've found me now," Kira said.
"Several hours later. Do you know what could happen to you?" he said.
"No, but I have a feeling you're going to tell me," she said.
"You could have been kidnapped. Not to mention killed ten times over in the time you've been wandering around unprotected," he spat. "How would you feel if someone tortured you for that length of time? I promise you a minute can feel like hours if the right technique is applied."
