fifteen
They’d implanted kill switches into their brains to prevent them from falling into their former masters’ hands, Kira realized with horror.
It was a shocking revelation. Yet not truly since Kira had considered a similar method. A tiny poison capsule that would render her lifeless in seconds.
She’d never used it. No matter how dire the situation she’d chosen to hold on and continue, trusting she’d find her way out in the end.
But simply knowing she had that “out” was a comfort.
Silence descended after Selene’s confession. They strolled through the city streets. Past charming stone houses and through alleys, some of which were so narrow it was a squeeze to fit side by side.
They reached a main street, turning toward a wide-open plaza in the distance guarded by a ten-foot-tall statue of a Tuann woman. She wore a long flowing dress and held a spear. Her eyes seemed to follow them as they passed, entering the plaza where dozens of Tuann milled.
A tree covered in tiny white flowers grew in the center of the cobblestone space. A beautiful focal point against the gray of the sky.
The breeze picked up, rustling the branches.
“You could have warned me,” Kira complained, giving Selene a sidelong look. “A ‘Hey, just so you know, Elise let them capture her on purpose. We don’t know why, but we’re pretty sure she’s working an angle.’”
Kira wasn’t so naïve as to think that knowledge would have given her complete respite from the overwhelming guilt she’d felt at surviving Rothchild, but it might have taken the edge off.
Maybe reduced it from a ten to a nine point nine.
Kira was distracted from Selene’s response as a clump of Tuann caught her attention. Somehow, in the few hours since she’d last seen them, Joule, Ziva, and Elena had found their way out of the fortress and into the city.
Kira frowned, locating Auralyn posted under the branches of the tree a second later. Her arms folded as she frowned at the group across from the three. “What are they doing here?”
Heckling started as the tall Tuann across from Joule gave him a cocky smile.
Kira picked up her pace, not liking the look of that expression. Bad things happened when people were that cocky. Usually to them because she made them happen.
Joule’s eyes spat fire as he held onto his temper. He and Elena stood slightly in front of Ziva; their stances protective. Behind them, Ziva’s expression was set and guarded. The clenched fists at her side telling Kira that whatever the other group was saying it wasn’t nice.
Kira’s eyes narrowed.
Was this bullying she was seeing? Were these Tuann really so stupid that they thought they could get away with picking on her chickadees?
Kira started to stalk forward when Selene’s touch at her wrist brought her to a halt.
“You cannot intervene,” Selene warned her.
“Pretty sure I can.”
The Tuann in front of her three didn’t look so tough. Teaching them a lesson would be a matter of moments and require little effort on Kira’s part.
“We are being watched.” Selene’s gaze flicked up and to the left.
Kira held herself still, taking her time as she tried not to be too obvious as she scanned the surrounding area.
Kira found in seconds what she would’ve missed if not for Selene.
Oshota wearing a style of synth armor Kira didn’t recognize surrounded a man at their center whose attention was locked on her. The group was arranged on one of the balconies overlooking the plaza.
“You cannot give them a weakness to exploit later,” Selene advised.
“Too late.”
They’d already clocked her and her reaction to the impending situation.
