Kira's lips parted. She held in what she wanted to say, unsure what words were fitting in the face of his very real pain, even after all this time.
She didn't know what that was like. She'd never had parents to miss. In the compound where she’d been held, such things didn't exist. By the time she was rescued by Himoto, the concept of parents and family seemed more fairy tale than anything else.
Still, she'd seen other families since, had friends who filled that spot in her heart. She knew what it was to lose those you cared about.
"I was luckier than Joule and Ziva, the overlord’s brother was a friend of my father. He took me in, trained me as my father would have," Graydon said.
"Why didn't you remain with him?" Kira asked.
A grin flashed. "I wasn't born to follow."
"That's obvious," Kira said. Graydon would always be the biggest, baddest thing in the room. She hesitated on this next question. “Did you know my parents?”
As the Emperor’s Face, he would probably have had contact with them at some point—unless his position was a more recent development. Two hundred might seem old to her, but for his people he was probably still considered young.
His thumb brushed the edge of her hand. Quiet stretched between them. “I was more of a passing acquaintance of them,” he finally said. “Your father is more familiar to me than your mother.”
“What was he like?”
Graydon paused as he considered the right words. “Kinder than you’d expect. He was an overlord, but he didn’t let that turn him cruel. He was playful, but when he was mad, he was scarier than even alu-ongmother protecting her unhatched eggs.”
That sounded like more than passing familiarity with her father. There was nostalgia in his voice, almost as if he missed him. Had Graydon been her father’s friend?
Sensing her eyes on him, he straightened and cleared his throat. “Anyway, the emperor noticed me during myadva kaand gave me a new path. It is a good one."
Kira let him change the subject. She knew how painful it could be to speak about the people you’ve lost.
“They call you the Emperor’s Face. Why is that?”
He was quiet as he thought over her question. She didn’t take offense, knowing he was struggling to put into words something their people intuitively knew.
“The emperor cannot be everywhere at once. This is especially true after the Sorrowing because his travel now carries an element of risk to it. And yet, being fully absent would invite strife.”
“I take it that’s where you come in,” Kira said.
He inclined his head as one corner of his lips tilted up. “Indeed. There are several Faces. I’m just one of them. A Face acts in the emperor’s stead. They forsake their birth House in favor of the emperor’s. For all intents and purposes, they are his face and if needed, they can guide or punish with the full authority of his name and might. They are both generals and mediators. Diplomats and warriors.”
His words stole Kira’s next question as she stared at him in shock.
“That’s a lot of power,” she finally got out.
“Yes, it’s why it’s rare for him to bestow that responsibility on another,” Graydon said. “I’m one of five current Faces.”
“Why accept a position as dangerous as that?” Kira asked.
“Our people have begun to let House loyalties divide them. It might one day lead to our downfall.”
“And you want to fix all that?” she asked.
He made a rumbling sound of assent.
“How noble.”
“What is your end goal?” he asked.
“Survival.”
He made a soft sound of skepticism. “Somehow I don’t see you being a salvager for long.”
