Kira sent a respectful nod at the boy next to Ziva. “Joule. You couldn’t have talked her out of this?”
There was a maturity to Joule’s face that had been lacking the first time Kira met him. He’d lost some of the softness of youth, his features thinning out a bit. Weeks of intensive training had added a little muscle to his frame.
Outwardly he looked around fourteen years old, but the Tuann grew slowly, taking decades to mature.
Kira herself was ninety-two though she appeared in her mid to late twenties at the most.
“She was most insistent,” Joule explained.
Kira grunted. “That seems to be going around.”
Kira hated to admit it, but she saw a lot of herself in the girl. They had the same stubbornness that masked their heartbreak and loss. The regret that came with being the one left behind. It made them all the more determined to succeed at any cost.
Kira could already see it. Ziva would eventually wear her down.
Decades of training and experience on the battlefield would be nothing in front of the child. Her reputation as the Phoenix would go down in flames. All because a little girl turned out to be more obstinate than her.
Kira ducked out from under the ship, ushering Ziva and Joule in front of her to where a pair of oshota from Luatha waited on the walkway.
They were Ziva’s escort while on the station.
Though both children came from a fallen House, their former House had sworn loyalty to Luatha. As such, Luatha was now responsible for their wellbeing until they came of age and left to pursue the adva ka—as was the case with Joule.
Ziva was still too young for such an undertaking—hence her escort.
Dozens of ships surrounded the Wanderer. They were arranged in neat little lines that extended the length of the massive dock. Many lacked the crests of one of the five major Houses, proclaiming them as belonging to a minor House.
“Do you know what’s going on? Why are there so many people?” Kira asked, studying the swarm of activity.
There were far more ships and Tuann present than she’d ever thought possible. The station practically bursting at the seams.
She’d always gotten the impression that not just anyone could visit Ta Sa’Riel or call it home. Certainly not the invasion force currently on the station.
She counted at least fifteen other Houses—and that was in her immediate vicinity. Berthed ships extended as far as the eye could see. That didn’t account for those ships that had already come and gone while Kira was working on the Wanderer.
For this many Tuann to be heading planet side, something had to be going on.
So many bodies in one place made Kira itch to disappear to a far corner of the universe where no one would find her.
“It’s the adva ka. Word is that it is set to open in the coming weeks,“ Joule explained. “Any Tuann hoping to embark on the rite has flocked to the planet. It’s the only time so many different Houses are welcomed at once.”
The adva ka was one of the most sacred rituals of the Tuann. A rite of passage considered necessary to be viewed as an adult—with all the rights and privileges that came with.
It didn’t matter how old you were. Ten years or a thousand. Or if you had fought on countless battlefields. Until you went through the adva ka, you were considered a dependent of your House.
“Adva ka, huh? Graydon and his people must be going crazy.”
An influx of that size would pose security issues. From verifying the identity of those traveling to the planet, to ensuring they don’t sneak any nasty surprises to the surface.
It was the perfect opportunity for Elise—or anyone hoping to cause trouble—to infiltrate Ta Sa’Riel.
Maybe Aeron hadn’t been talking out of his ass about Elise’s next destination after all.
Kira slapped the panel to extend the Wanderer’s boarding ramp.
Joule’s sideways glance held a touch of wryness. “You know it’s unlikely they’ll let you participate, right?”
The ramp lowered.
