Her mouth snapped shut. His look was confirmation enough of her suspicions.
On the ground, Aeron wheezed as he struggled to breathe. With the rest distracted, Kira crawled over to him, her touch fleeting and tentative as she examined the wound. It was clean. Almost surgical.
If Aeron got medical attention, he would no doubt live.
"Lothos told me you'd kill me if I accepted this position," Aeron gasped. "Looks like he was right."
"You’re not dead yet," Kira told him as she pressed her hand to his wound to stem the blood.
His laugh was clogged and pain-filled. "They call you the Savior. Always whispering of your existence—but you never came for us. We weren't good enough for you to save. You saved all of them, but never us."
His gaze moved over the ceiling, fear of death on his face. Right then, he was a boy despite his form being that of a general, with the same fears the rest of them had.
"Did it ever occur to you to save yourself?" Kira asked.
He scoffed. "Someone has to protect our young from our masters. If we don’t, they’ll do terrible things to them."
"I know," she said sadly.
“We never were the favored children,” he ground out. “Seems not much has changed.”
Graydon appeared over Kira’s shoulder. "Why are you here?"
Aeron shifted, an agonized groan leaving him. "The masters want their toys back."
Graydon looked over Kira's head toward Harlow. "Confirmation."
Harlow nodded, looking grim.
"Get him medical attention and then fit him with a disruptor," Harlow said. "It stands to reason if the disruptor works on our criminals, it'll work on one of them too. The emperor will no doubt want him interrogated."
Harlow's oshota were gentle as they shuffled Kira to the side, reaching down and securing Aeron.
"See you soon, Phoenix," Aeron said over his shoulder as he was carried away.
"You'll never get close to her again," the oshota carrying him snapped.
Harlow crossed to Loudon, grief and betrayal written on his face as he stared at his friend. Makon and several others stood in a semi-circle around the man, making sure the Tuann wouldn't try to run.
Loudon struggled to focus on the approaching Overlord.
His armor had clamped down on the flesh above the arm, creating a tourniquet and preventing him from bleeding out. It didn’t stop him from going into shock, however.
"I always thought there was a traitor, but I was hoping it wasn't you," Harlow informed him.
Loudon was quiet.
"Why did you do this?" Harlow asked.
Still, Loudon didn't speak.
"If I had to guess, it's because of the role he played in my parents' deaths. He was the mole, the person who made everything that happened possible," Kira finally said, coming to stand beside Harlow's side.
She crouched so she could stare Loudon in the eye. "I'm betting when the Tsavitee approached him before my arrival, he tried to refuse. Only the Tsavitee don't like being told no. They probably threatened to reveal the role he played in the Sorrowing if he didn't help."
Loudon glared at her.
"Tell me I'm wrong," she told him.
