He couldn't know the truth. He couldn't.
It would ruin everything.
If he knew, there would be no stopping him. Patience wasn't in his makeup. He'd charge head first at the Tsavitee, undoing years of work in the process, likely getting himself killed along the way.
For Elise to have a chance, she needed something to come back to. A big part of that something was Raider.
Too much time had passed for her to deny it, Kira realized. Nothing she said would make him believe her.
"Consider this a warning from an old friend—your secrets won't be yours much longer. I'll be right behind you from here on out. Everything you've done finally makes sense."
Kira was mute as she gazed up at him. There would be no swaying him. Not with subterfuge or deception. She doubted he'd let himself be blinded by any of it.
His smile, when it came, wasn't particularly nice. "Brace yourself, Phoenix. I'm your new battle buddy. Through thick and thin. You won't be able to drive me away a second time."
The words read like a threat and a promise.
She couldn't argue, not with Graydon watching them with interest.
Kira gathered her board and stood, giving herself time to think. To plan.
It wasn't enough.
Her composure was shaky as she rose. By the time she straightened, her expression was a mask of calm again, no hint of the turmoil within marring its surface.
The oshota’s take off saved Kira from having to form a response. She stepped on her board and hit the turbos, shooting straight up after them.
"You're going to have to do something about that," Jin murmured.
"I know."
For now, though, she needed to focus on the task at hand. Raider's threat wasn't going anywhere. She could deal with it and its ramifications later.
She'd been a little enthusiastic in her takeoff, piling too much momentum in it so she soared higher than the others.
Cannons came online, tracking her.
She tensed, bracing to dodge if it became necessary. When they did nothing, she bent her knees and piled on the speed.
Wind snapped the hair around her face as she arrowed toward the rest.
Himoto had always said he could read Kira's mood in the way she flew—happy, sad, angry, or a combination of the three.
If he'd been there today, he would have read her desire to run. It seemed the closer she got to her goal; the more things fell apart.
She took a deep breath, letting the board and the wind work some of the anxiety out of her soul. She performed loops and jumps in midair, taking her time as she got the knack of riding in gravity again.
She'd missed this.
No matter how many times she flew, it was like the first time all over again, when she was an angry, scared girl, outraged at the wrongs done her and painfully aware of the differences between her and her saviors.
The moment she stepped on a board, all those feelings vanished, leaving only Kira behind.
It was the same now. Freedom and control, even as she pushed the boundaries of what was possible.
Up here, power beneath her feet and wide-open space all around, nothing and no one could touch her.
Only when the last of the initiates had made it into the air did she join the rest.
