In some ways, she saw echoes of Jin when she looked at Devon. If her best friend had been allowed to grow up among the Tuann, would he also have done this well?
She smirked. What was she thinking? Of course, he would have. He’d probably have given her a run for her money—if he didn’t set up a trap somewhere to give himself a head start.
Kira didn’t move from her place in the tree as Devon stuck to the edge of the room. His posture that of someone waiting as he leaned against the wall and folded his arms across his chest.
The Tuann below were playing nice for now as they eyed their competition, but Kira was interested to see how long that would last. Especially as the Tuann began to trickle into the rotunda faster than before.
Not all of those who entered were warriors either. Their physiques were a little bit softer, pointing to pursuits that had nothing to do with violence or weapons.
It reinforced the Tuann’s claim that not all those who undertook the adva ka were required to be adept at fighting. These would be those Tuann interested in becoming masters of their craft. Adults with a voice aimed at shaping their House’s future.
Kira wished them luck. She had a feeling this experience would be more difficult for them than it would be for those who’d trained in the art of war since they could walk.
The change in the room’s atmosphere was gradual as more and more bodies occupied the space. The distance between initiates began to disappear as more aggressive arrivals stalked the edges of the unspoken territories that had been established.
Votair’s initiates, all of whom entered through Danai’s door, were among the worst offenders. They skated Luatha’s border, heckling those across from them.
See—this was why Kira avoided the benches.
Roake’s door opened to admit another group.
Raider stalked into view, the armor Wren had gifted him smeared with mud and other plant matter. Joule trailed behind him, looking similarly disheveled.
Their arrival sent ripples of awareness cascading through the room as whispers containing the word “human” followed.
Raider ignored them as he scanned the room, his gaze almost immediately locking on the tree where Kira sat.
It wasn’t surprising he had figured out her position within seconds of arriving.
If anyone could, he would. Raider had always understood the way she thought, in part because he thought the same way.
Joule said something to Raider’s back as the human started toward the tree. Receiving no answer, Joule shook his head before heading over to where Devon waited.
Raider stopped under the tree, exasperation on his face as he set his hands on his hips.
A Tuann from a house Kira didn’t recognize shoved his shoulder into Raider’s in deliberate provocation. “Watch it, human.”
Older than most of those present, there was a jaded look on his face that made Kira think this wasn’t the first time he’d been through the adva ka. He was one of those Finn had warned her about. Someone who had no intention of passing the adva ka and made it a practice of targeting newbies with the goal of knocking them out of the running.
“What are you looking at?” the Tuann barked when Raider’s response was to roll his eyes at Kira.
If the Tuann had bothered looking up, he would have easily spotted her hiding spot. Instead, he was too busy picking a fight with Raider to wonder why the human was less concerned about him and more interested in what waited at the top of the tree.
Kira supposed that was her cue for a dramatic entrance.
She wrapped her legs around the branch of the tree, falling sideways and letting gravity claim her until she was hanging upside down.
“Hello,” she said.
The Tuann screeched and leapt sideways, ki scorching the air.
Kira’s amused expression changed to a serious one as she caught his wrist, shoving his arm down as her legs let go of the branch.
She flipped in midair, her grip on the man sending him face first into the trunk of the tree as she landed on the ground.
A groan left the man as he jerked away from the tree trunk, holding his nose.
Kira grimaced at the blood and snot he’d left behind on the bark of the tree. “Eew.”
