Nothing.
Kira mentally cursed as she kicked the nearest tree. Damn his short attention span and propensity for boredom. She'd hoped the excitement of what they'd done would distract him. No such luck.
Kira started for the archway and the gate that would lead to Roake's fortress. Her tussle with the younger initiates would have to suffice as a workout for the day. She had a drone to corral.
"You'd better not have put one electrode out of that room, buddy, or I'm going to turn you into a pile of scrap metal," Kira threatened.
A hint of a presence tugged at her senses, and Kira went still, suddenly aware Finn wasn’t her only companion in the forest.
Graydon glided out of the trees with a dangerous prowl.
Adrenaline flooded Kira as she calculated the chances he'd heard her. Graydon was the last person she wanted overhearing her. If so, any hope of keeping Jin's presence a secret was up. Graydon wasn't the type to write off the unexplained. He'd ferret out the information with a bloodhound's obsession until he knew every last detail.
Kira considered and discarded several responses before settling on, "I could have handled the puppy."
Graydon didn't even pause as he approached. "Of that, I had no doubt. Your way of solving the challenges your friends have been fending off was a creative one."
Kira grunted, unsurprised he'd guessed her motivations.
"Walk with me," he invited.
Kira reluctantly complied, despite the sense of urgency pressing her to find her wayward friend and anchor him to her room.
She shot a look over her shoulder, trying to find Finn. Maybe he could do what she no longer could. The effort was in vain. Catching his eye proved impossible.
The only bright spot in this was that the direction Graydon had chosen led them directly to the gate.
"Fine group of sharks, you've landed me among," she told him.
He paused. "That is a large water predator, is it not?"
She hummed an agreement.
Graydon's expression was considering. "That is a surprisingly apt description. We've always been a predatory race. Jockeying for position and status is as natural as breathing to us. There is always a drive to achieve more."
They reached the gate, and Graydon stepped up to it. The pathway opened, and he walked through, Kira following. His oshota and Finn kept a respectful distance, allowing them the illusion of privacy.
"That's one thing I can't get used to," Kira said, watching them. "You're never alone."
"Not always," Graydon aimed a roguish smile at Kira.
She rolled her eyes at his innuendo. Nice try, but she wasn't falling for it.
The difference in power between them was too stark. Trying to hold onto Graydon would be like grasping a balloon while standing outside in a category five hurricane—an exercise in futility that would only end in disappointment and heartbreak. Yet, it didn't stop her from wondering about what was beneath his synth armor, how his skin would feel against hers, his limbs tangled with hers during passion.
Kira pushed the thoughts away. She had no business thinking about that right now.
Instead, she focused on their surroundings. He'd brought her to a section of the fortress she hadn't explored yet. By her estimation, they were several stories below the surface, but it didn't feel like they were underground. Long narrow windows looked out on more walls. Light reflected from above.
The room was a cavernous chamber, the floor rough-hewn and uneven. Like the rest of Roake, the walls were black.
Along one side of the room, life-sized statues of Tuann clad in synth armor holding various types of weapons stood sentinel. Kira noted a lance and mace among them, along with several weapons that had a more futuristic look.
"We recognize there is strength in numbers," Graydon explained as they moved through the length of the room. "Even the strongest warrior can fall when faced with a big enough force. My oshota have my best interests at heart, and they will always come to my defense should I need it. Their loyalty is assured; they won’t divulge anything they learn in my company, not even to the emperor. To do so would be to betray one of the founding tenets of our society."
"Even if they thought you had lost your way?" Kira asked.
Many would have pushed her question to the side, saying such an event would never occur. Not Graydon. He gave it the serious contemplation it deserved.
