Aeron walked away without looking back, the initiates he'd surrounded himself with looking confused as to what just happened.
Joule joined Kira, watching him go. "You're better at this than me. I don't know how you can let their remarks pass by when you've proven yourself equal to even the Emperor's Face."
"Don't let her fool you," Blue cautioned. "She got in more than her fair share of fights when she was coming up in the ranks."
Kira thought about protesting but shrugged instead. Blue was right. She had. She'd been younger than everyone else, at least in appearance. Sometimes the only way to establish dominance was by beating it into people.
Joule stared at her in consternation. "What happened to being the person who didn't care what others thought?"
"I don't. Now."
Once, though, she'd very much cared what her fellow soldiers thought. However, she'd never let that control her. You give people the power they wielded over you.
She'd learned very early not to set too much stock in what others thought unless it got in the way of doing her job. When people failed to obey her orders because they thought she was inexperienced, she'd felt obliged to teach them otherwise.
Joule's expression remained unconvinced.
"The one thing you learn if you survive long enough is what to give head space to and what to ignore." Kira looked away. "That boy thinks he's hot shit, but he's only started on his path. There are much more dangerous things out there than him."
"Also, he sounds like a tiny, yappy dog trying to threaten a wolf," Raider said. "It's cute and all, but we know who will come out the winner in that scenario."
*
Graydon made his way toward Roake's Nexus, knowing Harlow would already be there.
The Overlord had called a war council, and there was no better place than the Nexus for a meeting. It was the battle center of the House. All data flowed through it. There, Harlow could tap directly into the Mea'Ave, boosting his capabilities.
Graydon knew that this thing with thelu-ongdisturbed Harlow as much as it did him. The implications were disastrous. Worse, Kira's question about the link between the Tsavitee and the Tuann’s old enemy had gotten him thinking.
Graydon stopped in front of a smooth section of stone, barely taking notice of the four oshota standing guard on either side. The camouflage Roake was known for using in their synth armor, and adding to withkimanipulation, made them impossible to see except to those like Graydon who could usekito sense another's presence.
Graydon held his palm to the wall, flexing hiskiand rearranging the molecules of the door. He stepped through the opening into a room bustling with activity.
Graydon wasn't the first to arrive. The rest of the council, with a few exceptions, were already there.
Caius stood to one side, his hologram folding its arms. "So glad you could finally join us."
Graydon ignored him, moving toward where Harlow studied a display. The settings for the security of the oceans surrounding thelu-ong’snesting waters scrolled through thin air.
"How is my niece?" Harlow asked, not taking his eyes off the information.
"Better than she has any right to be," Graydon said. "That stunt would probably have killed most."
"What happened?" Caius asked.
Makon was the one to explain as Graydon took in the settings. Nothing seemed amiss, which made events all the more concerning.
Caius whistled. "Brazen thing."
"It was reckless," Loudon said, having entered sometime in the last few minutes.
"You can't argue with her results," Maida said. "Had that child died, it could have had repercussions for all of us."
She didn't have to expand on what those would be. All those present, understood how close they'd skated to danger today. Thelu-ongwere powerful. They were the reason the Tuann had survived their old enemy. A massive debt was owed to them.
They would have forgiven Graydon for killing a mad member of their kind, as had nearly happened on Ta Da’an. It was rare alu-onglost itself in madness—usually only when they were ready to end their very long lives. But if his actions had resulted in an offspring’s death? No.
Thelu-ongwould have sought revenge for that.
