“I feel it too.”
As did many of the rest in the rotunda.
Joule glanced in her direction. She shook her head at him, motioning for him to stay where he was.
Oshota appeared from the walls, stepping out of them like they were ghosts.
Those who hadn’t had any prior warning of their arrival startled as the oshota herded them toward the tree.
Kira and Raider didn’t move, having already anticipated their arrival.
She was interested to see there were a few others, Asanth’s first arrival and the wanderer among them, who showed little reaction at the oshota’s sudden presence.
Graydon stepped out from the oshota’s midst, his arrival causing a silence to fall.
Selene and Alexander moved smoothly across the ground, stopping not far from where Kira and Raider waited by the tree.
Graydon scanned those present, his storm-colored eyes pausing on Kira for a moment before moving on.
“On behalf of the emperor, I welcome you,” Graydon started.
Raider frowned at Kira as she jerked, something catching her attention.
“What are you doing?” he hissed, trying not to move his lips as the nearby Tuann glanced in their direction before focusing on Graydon and his speech.
Kira didn’t answer as she listened, trying to catch the sound she’d just heard.
There. There it was again.
A voice. Tinny and indistinct crackling through her comms.
Kira stiffened. She knew that voice as well as she did her own.
“Oh no.”
Raider glanced at her, his gaze seeming to tell her to stop acting crazy and pay attention to the instructions Graydon was giving.
She’d like to. She really would, but there were more pressing matters to attend to.
Kira searched the ground as the voice grew more distinct, developing an almost sing song quality as its owner continued to broadcast.
“Kira? Phoenix? Nix? Nixxy poo? Lovely lady who forgot to take me with her. Where are you?”
“It’s not forgetting if I deliberately leave you behind,” Kira declared through gritted teeth.
“There you are,” Jin said at the same time she spotted the flicker of light shimmering against pink crystal.
The lu-ong/snake lookalike made a beeline straight for Kira.
“That little—“ Kira cut herself off as she drew attention from those around her.
The last thing she wanted was for someone to see her dumbass friend in what was probably the grossest security violation the adva ka had ever seen.
She gave them a stiff smile that probably looked as awkward as it felt.
“I’ve been calling you forever. How dare you leave me behind,” the source of their future doom exclaimed as he slithered over the tops of shoes and in-between legs.
Raider’s angry exhale told Kira when he spotted Jin a second later. The warning look he shot her was pointless. Did he really think she wasn’t aware of the shitstorm Jin’s presence had landed them in?
