"What are you doing?" he asked as she squeezed the lizard.
"Concentrating," she told him.
It'd been a long time since she'd done something like this.
The lizard heated up, ropes ofkispiraling out of it to curl around Kira's hand. Sweat popped up on her forehead as pain hammered her temple.
Wren sucked in a breath. "Don't. It's forbidden."
"I figured."
Things as dangerous as stealing the essence from something and giving it to someone else always were.
The lizard melted until Kira held a handful of silver liquid. She slammed it into Wren's wound. An agonized scream left him.
She thrust her face close to his. "You want to meet your daughter again? You stay alive. She's not waiting for you on the other side. She's here. So, keep breathing."
She didn't wait for his screams to abate, standing and racing away in the direction she suspected the traitors had taken.
The others wouldn't thank her for this if they ever caught wind. Her lifestyle choices and her decision to help the humans hadn't made her popular. If she revealed the survival of the other children who were with her in the camps to the Tuann, they wouldn’t be happy.
Kira couldn't bring herself to care. She'd never been good at letting honorable people die. Wren didn't deserve for this to be his end.
If she were lucky, the pain from what she’d done would have distracted him and he wouldn't remember her confession. If not, she'd deal with that if she survived the coming encounter.
TWENTY-FIVE
Kira raced through the labyrinth of hallways. Abruptly, she found herself in a large chamber, the sound of water all around. She stopped, gazing at the darkness pressing close.
Gradually, her eyes adjusted. What she'd at first assumed was black was a thin sheet of water reflecting the stone.
Light glimmered in its depths, reflecting off hundreds of standing sheets of mirrors that reminded Kira of liquid water.
She paused, taking in the impossible scene before her gaze snagged on Devon, his expression startled as he glanced over his shoulder from where he kneeled like a supplicant in front of one of the mirrors, water seeping into his pants. His chest was bare, as were his feet.
"Kira? What are you doing here?" he asked.
Kira started toward him. "Devon, I don't have time to explain, but we need to get out of here."
He rose. "I can't leave yet. I'm still in the trial."
Kira struggled with her impatience. "That'll have to wait. There are people who want to kill you in here. That's a little bit more important."
Life first. Passing the trial came second.
Devon took a step away, frowning in suspicion.
Kira jolted forward, before forcing herself to remain where she was. If she scared him and he ran, it would delay them further.
"I know you have no reason to trust me, but I won't hurt you." Kira held out her hand.
Devon stared at her, those familiar eyes that tugged at her memories shadowed and distrusting.
Kira held still, wrestling with impatience. Loudon and Aeron had left before her. It was a miracle she'd made it here first—one she didn't trust.
Devon's lips parted, and he looked on the verge of reclaiming that step he'd taken away from her when a voice intruded.
"You really should have listened to her," Aeron said, stalking into the room.
