Kira concealed her shiver as his breath whispered across the sensitive skin of her ear.
When he put it like that, how could she not?
For him, she’d try. A little.
“Sure. Why not? Escort away.”
Kira took a step forward only to be halted as Cora held up a hand with a regretful expression.
“Pardon me, Roake’s heir, but the summons is not just for you.”
Kira regarded her blankly.
“Your ‘friend’ is also invited.”
“What friend?” Kira asked, making a show of glancing at the empty room behind her and then up at Graydon as if to share her confusion.
His eyebrow twitched up as if to say he was as lost as her.
Mentally, Kira gave his acting ability a thumbs up.
There was a patronizing look in Cora’s eyes that said she wasn’t falling for it. “I speak of the one who has been hiding out of sight since our arrival.”
Would you look at that?
Cora could sense Jin’s presence. Mentally, Kira elevated her status from possible threat to a definite one.
“Ah. That friend.”
Kira had hoped to keep Jin out of this. Guess she was destined to fail from the beginning.
“Jin.”
Kira didn’t take her eyes off the three in front of her as Jin revealed himself, his engines whirring as he joined Kira and Graydon in the doorway. Kira caught the faint tightening in the faces of the oshota before they schooled their expressions back to neutrality.
“Finally, someone on this planet recognizes my greatness,” Jin grumbled. “It’s a refreshing change after Luatha and Roake.”
“I’m not sure that’s what they’re going for,” Kira responded.
Cora showed no outward reaction to Jin’s presence as she met Kira’s gaze with a faint smile. “Shall we?”
Kira grunted. Like she had a choice in the matter.
They moved through the empty hallways of the palace, their passage the only thing to disturb the quiet solitude. It was an imposing place. The hallways immense and the ceilings high. Masterpieces decorated the walls between the tall windows that allowed shafts of sunlight to play along the floor.
It was a monument to the emperor’s power, the beauty concealing hidden dangers. Fitting considering its owner’s personality.
“What can you tell me about what I’m about to face?” Kira asked, not bothering to lower her voice.
There was no point. Tuann hearing was better than a human’s. The oshota and Cora would be able to hear her no matter how low she whispered.
“Eurus, another of the emperor’s Faces, has been called to preside over this matter,” Graydon said.
“Will he be a problem?” Kira asked, recognizing the name from Cora’s introduction.
“Not necessarily. Eurus has an inflexible personality, but he is firmly on the side of justice.”
Kira wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing for them as her gaze drifted to where Jin floated beside her, humming softly to himself. She couldn’t argue that Jin’s existence violated the Tuann’s taboo. At the same time, he was nothing like their stories depicted.
