Kira dismissed him from her mind as she focused on the cage of light in the center of the floor. Jin hovered inside it, careful not to brush against the walls.
The cage sat directly in front of the bench where the emperor’s Justice sat.
Eurus looked even more like a vampire lord today. His hair braided back from his face to expose the points of his ears. The high collar of his jacket framed the pale column of his neck.
His red eyes were expressionless as Kira reached the bottom of the stairs.
Two oshota appeared from nowhere to block Finn and Raider’s path who had accompanied Kira in her descent.
“She must go alone from here,” the oshota told them.
Raider’s protest cut off when Kira glanced at him.
“We’ll be right here if you need us.” He gave her a look filled with meaning before glancing up at Finn. “Isn’t that right?”
Finn didn’t hesitate, his gaze landing on hers. “For once, the human is not wrong.”
The responsible thing to do would have been to tell them no. To not get involved if things went south.
Kira didn’t have it in her to do that. She’d need their help if she really had to fight her way out of this place, a prospect that was looking slimmer and slimmer by the second from how many oshota were gathered along the edges of the room.
“Understood,” Kira said, stepping past the oshota and crossing the floor toward Jin.
She stopped in front of his cage, lifting a hand to touch the energy barrier. Lightning speared through her as it zapped her fingers.
Kira’s expression didn’t change as she considered the red marks on her skin from contact with the barrier. It seemed they weren’t taking Jin lightly.
Her arm had gone numb all the way up to her elbow from a second’s contact with the barrier.
Extracting him would be difficult. Perhaps impossible.
“You okay?” Kira asked.
“Never better. Who wouldn’t want to experience the joy of imprisonment?”
Sarcasm. He couldn’t be too bad off if he was still capable of snark.
Kira cleared her throat. “They hurt you?”
“You know they didn’t. Devon made sure they couldn’t touch me.” Sadness tinged their bond along with grief. “You should have run.”
Kira couldn’t quite manage a smile. “Where would I go without you? You know what sort of trouble I’d get into. I wouldn’t even make it a month.”
“True.” Jin moved closer to the barrier where Kira stood. “I’m sorry I got us into this.”
“Does this mean you regret saving your brother?”
Jin’s instant denial filtered through their connection. “Of course not.”
“I don’t either.” The edges of Kira’s eyes crinkled as she gave him a tiny smile. “There’s never been a need for apologies between us. Let’s not change that now.”
Jin should never have to hold himself back for her. He’d made the correct decision in sacrificing his possible safety to help Devon. He wouldn’t have been him if he’d made any other choice.
“I’m with you to the end.” No matter what that entailed. “You’d do the same for me.”
Kira looked up at Eurus’s impenetrable face. Truly, the man was beautiful. Almost otherworldly.
“Should we get started?” Kira challenged.
