“As long as Graydon is still in a coma, I have nothing to say to you.”
Elise caught her elbow again, her expression pleading. “You don’t know everything.”
Kira yanked her arm out of her hold. “Whose fault is that?”
Kira reached her hand out to Elena, the girl taking it as they turned their backs on Elise. Elena’s hand trembled in Kira’s, evidence her niece wasn’t as unaffected as she was pretending.
“I wasn’t willing at first,” Elise said in Japanese, her voice desperate. “They took my future. Pieces of me that I have to get back.”
Elise’s gaze dropped to Elena, a meaning in them that made Kira’s heart skip a beat.
No. Please no.
“She’s not the only one of mine,” Elise said.
Kira thought she would be sick. It was something humans had been doing for centuries to help couples unable to have children. The years since had seen an improvement on the technology. Made it less invasive. Upped the odds of success.
She was relatively sure the camps had used it on a few of the older female and male children. Those whose abilities and bloodlines they thought worthy of preserving to experiment with later.
She’d never been able to confirm that though.
“Your enemy’s children aren’t the only ones at risk,” Elise said. “In either case, I cannot walk away.”
If true, it would change everything.
The problem was Kira didn’t know if she trusted the words out of Elise’s mouth. She could be lying. She was good at that.
There was a reason the forty-three had chosen Elise to infiltrate the Curs during the war. The woman had always been a talented spy. A chameleon, if you would.
Raider shoved his way between Elise and Elena, inserting himself between them. “Step back.”
Elise’s face softened, unable to conceal her yearning. “My light.”
“You don’t get to call me that,” he told her in a hard tone that made Elise flinch. “We would have helped if you’d asked. You didn’t.”
And in Raider’s mind that was a betrayal.
Raider turned his back on Elise, dismissing her as if she was nothing to him. “Let’s go. The Tin Can takes priority right now.”
Kira’s nod was slow as she looked beyond him to Elise, catching the sorrow the other woman wasn’t quick enough to hide.
Elise’s gaze hardened. “You know I can’t leave them out there.”
Kira didn’t know anything anymore, and right now, she was too tired to figure it out.
A hand slid into Kira’s as Elena looked up at her, a question in her gaze.
Kira nodded, patting the hand in hers before taking a deep breath and striding forward. Her uncle met her at the door to the audience chamber.
“You came,” he said with a glint of approval.
Kira jerked a shoulder up. “I didn’t have anything better to do.”
He didn’t remark on that as his gaze dropped to Elena. “And you listened to none of my instructions.”
Guilt warred with stubbornness on Elena’s face as she lifted her chin at him.
Harlow sighed before nodding at Wren. Kira’s seon’yer allowed the emperor’s oshota to take his and Auralyn’s spot beside Elise as he held out his hand to Elena. “Come, di aloashka. You will sit with me during this, and I will make sure you cause no trouble.”
