Only then did Kira step into the tunnel, heading toward the race’s start line where her waveboard and the rest of her pit crew, such as they were, waited.
The transition from tunnel to track was seamless, her eyes adjusting quickly. The starting area teemed with bodies as the competitors conducted last-minute checks.
Kira skirted the edge of the crowd as she headed for her team's designated area.
Though it was only a semifinal, you wouldn't know it by the crowd in the stands. Today, the number of spectators wearing synth armor had nearly doubled from her previous race with Roake and Luatha dominating. Despite that, Kira caught the synth armor of numerous other Houses and knew news of her participation in the races had spread.
No doubt, the other Houses were here to investigate this strange child of Roake and Luatha and see how she measured up to their own offspring.
"This is quite the crowd," Kira said as her gaze caught on familiar faces.
Liara, Roderick beside her, watched Kira with a focused intensity.
"You don't know the half of it," Jin said over the comms. "Look to your right and up."
Kira followed his direction, scanning but not finding anything that stood out to her. She didn't have Jin's abilities to parse thousands of pieces of information in a single second or a camera for eyes that enabled him to blow up even the smallest of images for study.
"Not yet. Keep going," Jin said without prompting.
Kira looked up and up. Past the common spectator stands to the private boxes. Unlike the one she'd stood in last night, these were on a whole other level. Several of them hovered several feet above the top of the stands.
"Is that a royal?" Kira asked.
"It would seem so."
"What is one of them doing here?"
Haldeel royals were different than human royals. They weren't decided by birth but rather by achievement. The tests to join were rigorous and quite dangerous. Assassination attempts and sabotage were considered par for the course and not illegal. It was a vicious fight to the top, and one not many humans knew about.
Most humans assumed the Haldeel weren't violent, and this was true for most aspects of their society. They relied on technology to gain an advantage over their enemies. However, succession and social advancement was as bloody as any struggle of the same on old Earth. The Haldeel were just a little more civilized about it.
They'd stab you in the back with a smile while thanking you for being their stepping-stone to the next level.
It was a dichotomy that had always fascinated Himoto, who likened it to the power struggles in the ancient empires as families fought for supremacy.
As a result, the royal family was not related to each other by blood, but by shared experiences.
Humans assumed because of that they would be easily divided.
Surprisingly, that wasn’t so. The Haldeel empire was tens of thousands of years old. They would never have lasted that long with a system that had such obvious flaws.
To be honest, Kira hadn't thought she'd see one of them until the finals. While it was normal for the royals to watch the events of the quorum, they usually only made their presence known for the latter half when the stakes were higher.
Even more concerning was the presence of Graydon and Yukina in the royal's box. The royal in question was keeping a low profile. From where Kira stood, she couldn't see their face.
"I don't know, but you have more pressing concerns right now," Jin responded.
At his words, Kira headed in his direction.
Finn's large body was easy to spot even with the number of people between them. It was only when there was a brief lull in the crowd that Kira saw what Jin meant.
Odin bent over the monitors, making last-minute adjustments to her board.
Kira's pace sped up as she made a beeline for him.
Odin’s eyes narrowed as he looked up.
His features were more feminine than the last time she'd seen him. Gone was the shadow along his jawline.
