There was a long silence as Alma considered her words.
"There would be Luathan casualties," Alma said, her words slow.
"That would be regretful, but if it means a stronger Luatha overall, I feel the loss worth it," the woman said.
Kira strained her senses, trying to pick up on anything from the second speaker. The voice was familiar, but the hushed murmur made it hard to place. She caught no trace of Tsavitee, which meant both speakers were Tuann. She wondered which of them had already made the deal with the Tsavitee.
"And they would kill the mongrel and her Curs?" Alma asked.
"They might take care of the commander and the envoy for us as well," the woman said in amusement.
"Alright, I'll get the codes. You do the rest," Alma said, sounding resolute. "I want the half-blood dead before the night is through."
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Kira's muscles tensedin anticipation as she wavered on the cusp of attack. Her entire being begged her to rip out this threat at the root and crush it before it could do harm.
Two things stopped her. The first—while she was nearly positive she could deal with both women, there was always the possibility she'd fail before she succeeded in neutralizing them. Her death here would leave the rest in danger with no one to warn them.
It was an unlikely scenario, but chance and luck played as much of a role in battle as skill and training. She'd seen elite soldiers lose to weaker opponents simply because of a stray shot.
The second was the possibility these two weren't the only Tuann involved in this plot. She could kill them only to find herself ambushed from behind by their co-conspirators.
If she acted now, she might lose any chance to ferret out all of her enemies at once. Reveal what she knew without a full proof plan, and they'd disappear into the woodwork faster than she could hunt them.
She refused to allow any to escape.
No, her best option was to secure the Curs—get them off-planet and to safety.
She just needed to convince Liara or Graydon of the conspiracy she’d overheard. Jin would have recorded the two as soon as he realized the significance of what they were hearing, but she didn’t know if it would be enough given the Tuann’s aversion to most human technology.
She flicked her hand at Jin, telling him to follow before she turned and headed down the hallway. She moved quickly and silently, not wanting to draw attention—now, more than ever. Jin glided after her without question.
Their path took them into one of the numerous carefully tended rooftop gardens. Only then did Kira judge it safe enough to speak.
"Tell me you located the Curs this afternoon," she said.
