“Are you sure you wouldn’t like my help?” Talon asked.
One of his hands rested on the bar while the other waited out of sight. It didn’t take a genius to know he had a weapon stashed somewhere. There was a readiness in his stance that suggested he’d be up and over this counter in the blink of an eye.
“Do you think you could take her? She’s pretty dangerous,” Kira asked, unable to help her curiosity.
Talon bared his teeth in a fierce smile, not taking his glare off Selene. “So am I.”
Kira glanced in Selene’s direction, noting the other’s poise. You’d never know from looking at her that she’d managed to put three elite oshota out of commission with little effort.
A part of Kira was interested to see how Talon would fare against her friend—but then she wouldn’t get that information she needed.
“I’ll be fine on my own,” Kira pushed away from the bar to pause in front of Finn. “Sorry about this.”
His incredulous expression asked if she was really going to be this stupid.
The answer was yes. She really was.
“Come find me when you’re out,” Kira instructed before ambling toward where Selene waited in front of the pair of glass doors that led onto a patio and a set of stairs descending to the city below. “Let’s get this over with.”
The two were quiet as they crossed to the stone steps and started down.
The Sirav Rytil was located on a small hill, the fortress less than a quarter mile behind them. It left most of the city to their front.
“Did you know?” Kira asked as they wound their way toward the streets below.
The stairs were uneven and old. Moss grew between the cracks while wildflowers bloomed along one side.
“You will have to be more specific, little sister. I know many things.”
Fine. If she wanted to play games, Kira would humor her.
“Did you know about Elise?”
That she was working with the Tsavitee. That by doing so she was betraying everything they’d fought for. That she’d voluntarily abandoned Elena and Raider—and Kira.
Sadness showed in Selene’s face.
Kira’s heart clenched. “You did.” They must have all known. “This is why none of you would help.”
When she’d been so certain they would.
Elise was different than Kira; she was one of them. It was why their decision to leave Elise to her fate never made sense to Kira.
Until now.
Of course, they would’ve refused. Kira would have too if she’d been in their position.
“We suspected.” Selene’s admission was the last nail in the coffin. The final cut that snapped the frail tendril of hope Kira had hung onto until now.
Kira slowed and then stopped as Selene continued downward. She stared at the distant horizon feeling numb.
“How?”
How did they see what she missed?
Selene reached the bottom of the stairs and stopped to look up at Kira.
“Because of this.” She tapped the side of her head with a sad smile. “After our escape, we made a pact never to allow ourselves to fall into the hands of our former masters.”
