Elena wouldn't need a caretaker because she'd have her mother.
Kira could finish what she'd started on Roake.
Kira reached the tunnel and hesitated, some part of her remembering caution. Even if this were Elise, there was a good chance she wouldn't be the Elise Kira remembered.
She'd been in the Tsavitee's grasp for a long time. Long enough to be brainwashed and have her loyalties changed.
Kira stretched her senses into the tunnel. Thekishe'd begun to experiment with floating before her. Nothing seemed amiss except a few racers lingering off to the side where they were tinkering with their boards.
Kira stepped inside, keeping one part of her attention on them in case they presented a threat and the rest on the tunnel ahead of her. A tunnel that held no sign of Elise—or the woman Kira thought might be Elise.
Where did she go?
Kira hurried forward, staying alert.
She glanced into bay after bay, noting the ones with the privacy screen activated. Nothing.
It was possible the person Kira was looking for was in one of those bays. If Kira had the time, she could try to hack them. As it was, Baran was only seconds behind her.
"Damn it," Kira cursed as the sound of running footsteps reached her.
Time was up.
She headed for the building's front entrance. It was the quickest way to the city. Perhaps she could lose Baran there.
Kira made it a half-dozen steps before a hard force latched onto her arm, yanking her into a room.
Kira shifted her balance, already preparing for a fight. The sight of Finn's serious expression stopped her from any reckless actions.
He held one finger up to his lips, a question in his eyes.
Kira didn't hesitate to nod.
He set a hand on her shoulder and closed his eyes. His soul's breath moved within his body, spreading out to hers and coating them both in a thick film, creating a barrier between them and the outer world.
Kira's senses dulled. Their surroundings drained of color, the sounds muffled, until it was the world that felt muted and unreal.
The racing footsteps came closer until Baran appeared outside the door. His pace slowed as if he picked up on the change. He glanced around him in suspicion, even going so far as to peer inside their room. His gaze moved over them like they weren't even there.
Kira held her breath, afraid the slightest disturbance would break the spell and draw his attention.
In the room across from them, a tool clattered to the floor.
Baran spun in time to see a figure that looked exactly like Kira race along the corridor.
Fake Kira disappeared into a hallway as Baran gave chase.
Only when the sound of their footsteps was long gone did Finn withdraw hiskiand release Kira's shoulder.
Kira didn't move, unable to put together what she'd seen. That fake had been an exact copy. Even down to what she was wearing.
She looked up at Finn in confusion. "How?"
Finn didn't seem to have any idea either, his expression as befuddled as Kira's.
A message appeared in her periphery vision tagged with the sender name—Allfather.
Kira hit play.
