"Not even going to ask who I am?" Tawny, golden-colored eyes met hers.
Kira made herself more comfortable. "I know who you are."
The hair was a pretty good giveaway.
"And who is that?" the man asked calmly.
"The Overlord. My uncle."
And the orchestrator of current events. If not for him and this House, she'd be on her ship. Of course, she'd also still be slowly dying, so you couldn't win them all.
When he didn't speak, Kira continued, "Is this where you give me a speech about how you love me because I'm a child of your House and want only the best for me?"
Because if so, she'd pass.
"You're certainly your father's daughter," the man, whose name she still didn't know because he hadn't bothered to introduce himself, mused.
Kira didn't say anything, settling to watch and wait. Often people felt the need to fill the silence, their inane chatter revealing more than they wanted.
Kira preferred to let other people hang themselves with their words. Usually, it worked. Not so much on this man who seemed to have taken a page out of her rule book.
The silence between them deepened.
"You're certainly as stubborn," he observed. It didn't sound like a compliment.
"What are you here for?" Kira asked.
This Overlord would be more difficult to manipulate than Liara. He wasn't an untried youth. He'd held his House together in the face of tragedy. Trying to deceive him would be like dipping a bleeding finger into a tank full of piranha. Dangerous and liable to end with her missing an arm before the end.
No, this man had more in common with Himoto. Circling in the shadows, arranging and pushing until events took the shape he wanted.
"Don't bother trying to pretend it's because I'm the daughter of your brother, and you want to give me a good life." Kira was many things, but a fool wasn't one of them. She had a hard time seeing the man before her as sentimental. Those emotions were often the first thing to go when faced with hardship. She had no doubt he had dealt with his fair share of that.
"My brother was the most important person to me in this world. Ensuring his daughter has a future is the least I can do for his memory," the man said.
"If you really care about my wellbeing, arrange passage to my ship," Kira challenged.
His lips curved. "You know that's not happening."
Kira lifted a shoulder. It was worth a shot.
"How long do you think you can keep me here?" Kira asked.
"I've already beaten Luatha's record by several weeks. Most would agree I'm not doing too bad."
Kira's eyes narrowed. He had a point, but in all that time, he had not once made any effort to see her. If he really cared about her because of her relation to his brother, you'd think he'd want to introduce himself. Maybe try to get to know her.
He hadn't. So, either he was lying, or there were things she didn't understand.
"I’ve been thinking about why you chose the warrior’s path, and I think I understand now,” he said after several moments.
Kira waited.
“You think passing the Trial of the Broken will get you what you want,” he said.
“And what’s that?” Kira asked.
“The respect of the House and sponsorship to theadva ka,” her uncle said.
