“I’m sorry it’s not what you wanted to hear,” Kira told him.
If she thought sparing them the pain of knowing what their lost ones had gone through would work, she never would have revealed what she had.
Edris straightened. “Pain is sometimes necessary for healing to begin.”
The other two were quiet as Boden took Tinsley’s arm to usher her away.
Tinsley yanked herself out of his grip as she whirled to face Kira. “I’m not giving up.”
Kira’s eyebrows rose. “I hope you don’t.”
She really did. She could think of no better person to show the forty-three what they’d been missing all these years.
“Fight like hell to drag them out of that darkness when you finally find them again,” Kira told her. “Make them remember that there were once people who loved them.”
Maybe then the forty-three could start living again.
Tinsley squared her shoulders as her chin lifted. “I’m embarking on the adva ka this year. Will I see you there?”
Kira’s lips quirked. “It’s possible.”
Tinsley gave Kira a jerky nod. There was nothing of defeat in her posture as she stalked away, Boden and Edris bringing up the rear.
“What are the chances her sister survived?” Harlow asked.
Kira considered him with a side long look, unsure whether she should answer his question or not.
“We don’t know,” Jin answered for her. “If the forty-three know which Houses they belonged to, they haven’t informed us.”
Another reason Kira couldn’t have helped Tinsley even if she wanted to.
“Your best guess.”
Kira lifted a shoulder. “If her sister was special in some way, her chances are better than most.”
“What does that mean?” Wren asked.
“Those who survived either held affinities that were unique or were able to make the ones they held different in some way,” Jin answered.
Kira’s eyes flickered. He was straying dangerously close to the truths Kira had carefully avoided.
“As the child of an Overlord, she will likely possess powerful ki. There’s a chance she survived,“ Wren said to Harlow.
“If she did, would you be pleased or see her as a political hindrance?” Jin challenged.
Harlow’s gaze was probing as he studied Kira. “What do you think?”
Kira was calm as she returned his stare. “It doesn’t matter one way or the other. None of us will raise our hands to the others.”
It was a vow they all respected.
Even if the forty-three returned, the Tuann wouldn’t find obedient children who’d help them make war on their fellow Houses.
The forty-three would be neutral.
Harlow’s nod was pensive as he glanced in Graydon’s direction. “I’ll leave the rest in your capable hands.”
What was that supposed to mean?
