Before Kira could recover, Elise yanked her hands out of the force cuffs and hit the deck.
Kira reached for herkias a warning screamed across her instincts.
An explosion ripped through her world, sending her body spinning. She crashed into the window behind her, cracking it.
Darkness slammed into her brain.
TWENTY-THREE
THE CONCERN ON hisFirst's face pulled Graydon's attention from the tedious boredom of the conversation he was currently trapped in.
It wasn't like Solal to interrupt during a gathering as influential as this one.
Solal was the first oshota to pledge himself to Graydon. As a result, the two knew each other better than anyone else.
Whatever had put that look on his face was important.
With a conciliatory smile at the Haldeel in front of him, Graydon excused himself.
Solal stepped up to his side and bent his head toward Graydon. "There are concerning reports from our ships. Unknown transmissions have been detected on Almaluk and surrounding space."
"Inform our people," Graydon ordered, sweeping his gaze over the crowd. "Assign Cord and Isla to escort Yukina and her oshota to their ship. I want them off the station as soon as possible."
It should be extraordinarily difficult to penetrate Haldeel space, but nothing was impossible.
The quorum had opened a hole in Haldeel defenses. A wise foe would seek to take advantage of the influx of people to stage an attack.
Graydon's face grew grim at the possibilities.
Just then, his attention landed on Jace as he leaned down to speak into Admiral Himoto's ear in much the same fashion Solal had with Graydon.
Himoto's expression didn't shift, remaining stoic. He turned his head, hiding his mouth. Jace nodded at whatever he said before straightening.
Not looking left or right, Jace moved away at a quick clip. When he was gone, Himoto stood and made his way over to Graydon.
Curious, Graydon waited for him.
