The emperor’s Justice stirred, a statue come to life as the room quieted.
Jarek strode onto the center of the floor, bowing slightly to the emperor on his throne, Devon at his side, and then Eurus.
He shot Kira a quick glance. “Since she’s already pled guilty, there is little need for a trial. Although I admit that the actions of this soul bound do not seem to hold much in common with those from our stories, it does not change our laws. Any time a soul bound is encountered it is to be destroyed. It is the only merciful thing to do. As much pain as that fact might bring to others.”
A man spoke from behind Kira, his voice coming from the vicinity of the Overlords. “Danai is in agreement with the inquisitor.”
“Asanth agrees as well,” another man said.
The crowd stirred.
Kira put her back to Jin’s cage as she faced down several Tuann who encroached on the floor. Terrel was among them, his face an ugly mask as he pushed his way forward.
A concussive wave came from behind Kira, a wall of ki picking up those who’d trespassed on the amphitheater floor and throwing them back into the stands.
“I am the only one who can pass judgment in this room. Another display like that and you will be the ones facing punishment.” Eurus’s powerful voice echoed throughout the room, cutting off the chatter.
Danai’s Overlord sat back in his chair, crossing his legs. He was undaunted in the face of Eurus’s anger. “Then hurry up and do so. You have your confession. What more do you need?”
Kira’s hands trembled as she clenched them into fists, hating how helpless she felt in all this. A pointless bystander, unable to do anything but stand there.
Eurus was still for a second before he glanced in Torvald’s direction, the two trading a long look. At Torvald’s side, Devon made an aborted motion and took a step forward to face the emperor and Eurus.
“You can’t kill him. He’s saved my life twice. That must count for something,” Devon pleaded with a beseeching look.
Kira stilled, for a moment feeling hope as Devon fought for his brother.
A hope that was dashed by Torvald’s unyielding expression. He was going to do it. He’d let their enemies destroy Jin.
It would kill him, but he’d do it for the good of his people—everyone but Jin.
Kira was already in the process of moving, whirling to face the barrier. Before she could touch it, a clap of sound rocked the chamber.
A rip tore through the fabric of time and space a few feet away from her. A black gash from which stepped a wanderer and another.
“See, I told you, you didn’t have to worry. We made it just in time,” the wanderer said, removing his hand from Alexander’s shoulder.
Alexander was hunched in on himself, his expression slightly sick as he tried to keep from throwing up.
The wanderer clapped his hands in glee and stepped forward. He was a stranger. Likely one of the ones who’d accompanied the wanderer Kira had met in the adva ka.
“Who are you?” Jarek demanded as the stranger looked around, his face still covered by the helmet of his armor. “What are you doing here?”
Kira fought the urge to take a step back as the wanderer changed direction toward her, his arms open as if to embrace her.
Kira slid away from him. There was only one person she knew capable of doing what he’d just did and who would also be in the company of Alexander.
And that person was someone she usually went out of her way to avoid.
“Not him. Any of the others but him,” Jin pleaded as Jarek motioned for the oshota surrounding them to remove the wanderer from the floor.
Alexander finally straightened, sending a glare at the oshota to warn them off. “I wouldn’t.”
The wanderer reached up to remove his helmet, revealing a face that made Kira want to curse as he gave her a cheeky grin. “Hey there, little sister. Miss me?”
“Not even for a second, Pallas.”
The man’s head was shaved on both sides, his hair long on top. It gave him a roguish look that was compounded by the trim beard along his jaw and the piercing through his eyebrow. Metal glinted from the rim of his ear where there were several more earrings. Like Kira, his ears had been docked, but unlike her, one was missing a sizable chunk from a fight of some kind.
