"You sound admiring."
Graydon let a thin smirk play along his lips. His old mentor wasn't going to get any heartfelt revelations out of him.
"She took out a Tsavitee war drone in a simulation within thirty seconds. She can hold her own against nearly all of my oshota," Graydon finished.
To say nothing of the lower form Tsavitee she'd cut a bloody path through during the battle in the Nexus.
Kira might not have been raised Tuann. She might be weakened from herkipoisoning and lack of training, but underestimating her would be a mistake. She was a force in her own right.
"Has the Little Storm found his calm at last?"
"Would you object if I had?"
That canny old gaze was assessing. The corners of Harlow's lips tilted up. The only expression on the otherwise somber face.
That's what Graydon thought.
Harlow thought he needed to save Kira, but from what Graydon had seen, she rarely needed saving. It would be best if Harlow learned that sooner rather than later.
"What is your assessment of my niece?"
Graydon considered his words carefully. "She's strong. Stubborn. In that, she's exactly like both her parents. She has a strong martyr complex. She'll sacrifice herself for her humans without a thought."
"Loyal to a level that can be a detriment to herself."
Graydon grunted an assent. "I'm not sure what happened in the human's war with the Tsavitee, but it's marked her. I get the sense from her friends she disappeared for a time and is only now reintegrating."
"We're not built for solitude," Harlow murmured.
No, they weren't. The Tuann relied on social bonds, needing a connection with others, both mentally and physically. It's why they lived in Houses. Without those bonds, they withered and faded.
When others learned of the years she'd spent with only a drone for company, they'd point to it as evidence of a sickness of the mind.
Only the wanderers roved alone. Most were thought to be slightly insane as a result.
Graydon made to stand. "Now that I’ve returned, my duties to the emperor will take priority."
Harlow reached for a small disk, no bigger than a fingernail, and handed it to Graydon. "About that, this came for you."
Graydon frowned, taking the disk. It carried the insignia of the emperor, marking it as an official message. While it would look like an ornate coin to some, heavy and solid in the hand, it was anything but.
Encoded to Graydon's DNA andki, it would open for no one but him. He pressed a finger to the top, unsurprised when the faint halo of the emperor's emblem flashed.
The message unlocked; he pressed the coin against a slot on the forearm of his suit. The emperor's message scrolled across his arm.
Graydon felt surprise spark through him at the information contained within.
"Interesting news?" Harlow asked, arching an eyebrow.
"When were you going to tell me the emperor's son was among the initiates?" Graydon asked.
"I believe I just did."
Graydon fought a growl. He'd forgotten how much Harlow liked intrigue. The disk on his arm drained of color, black spreading through it until it was no more than a lump of carbon again.
Graydon removed the disk from his arm and tossed it on the desk. “The emperor won’t want his son’s stay here advertised.”
Harlow had likely guessed that, but it bore repeating. The boy’s life couldn’t be left to chance.
