"I'm not going to reveal his presence to Roake," he said.
"Why?"
He shook his head. Oh no, she wasn't getting that. He might not want to see her pretty head separated from her body, but that didn't mean he was going to trust her.
"My reasons are my own."
Kira's eyes were steady as she held his gaze. "There are many things I regret in this life. Jin isn't one of them."
Graydon was starting to see that. Had the drone been flesh and blood, their relationship would be admirable. That he was a machine made her reliance on him worrying, but that was a problem for another day.
Graydon approached the bed, running a finger along one of the faint red marks on the exposed skin of her shoulder. Kira shivered, unable to hide her response.
"You took a chance with this," Graydon informed her.
Stubbornness filled her expression. "I couldn't leave Devon."
And that was why Graydon found himself breaking a law that had been in place for centuries. Devon hadn't been especially kind to Kira, yet she'd stayed and protected him anyway.
Her selflessness was inspiring. All the more so because not many would have bothered.
"No, I suppose you couldn't," Graydon agreed.
Graydon made to rise, Kira's gaze lifting to follow him.
"Make sure he stays out of sight," Graydon informed her.
"And this thing I owe you?"
His grin flashed. "You'll find out soon enough."
He suspected she wouldn’t be happy about the cost.
*
Kira waited until the door shut before whipping the nearest object at Jin. "What the hell is the matter with you? You told him?"
Jin spun out of the way. "What did you expect me to do? You were up against a primus. You might not know how terrifying it is to face one, but I do."
Kira's glare didn't ease. "You know he's going to use this as leverage to make us stay."
Jin let out a scornful sound. "Of course, he is. That's Tuann etiquette 101." Jin circled the bed, making sure to stay out of the range of any more missiles. "Just like I know you'll find a way to use this situation to your advantage."
Jin had a point. Some of Kira's anger drained away, and she slumped.
Graydon, for reasons of his own, had decided to keep her secret. It left them room to maneuver and plan.
A corner of her mind whispered she knew why he had chosen not to reveal Jin's presence. It was one she ignored.
As attractive as she might find Graydon, he wasn't for her.
Kira threw her legs over the bed, tentatively resting her balance on them until she was sure they'd hold her weight.
"What do you think about thetaladogs’ role in this?" she asked.
Jin snorted. "I think it's pretty convenient a nocturnal animal decided to leave its territory to hunt prey in an active section of the forest. They might be a deadly predator, but they don't normally challenge Tuann."
His assessment fit with hers.
