Either side could hold more weight with the emperor’s Justice.
“Alexander?” Jin said in surprise.
Kira looked up to find the path blocked by a tall man wearing a pair of wire-frame glasses that seemed out of place with the outfit he was wearing. Like Kira, his attire was more on the formal side. His hair styled back from his face, showcasing the sharp planes of his features.
Apprehension spread across Cora’s face as her back straightened. “I’m afraid you cannot be here.”
“It’s amazing how often I keep hearing that,” Alexander said before focusing on Kira and Jin. “I’m your representation when we enter that room.”
Kira frowned as she looked up at Graydon. “Is this also your doing?”
“Impressed?”
Kira grimaced. “That’s not the word I would use.”
Confused? Suspicious? Distrustful? All concepts that worked so much better to convey what she was feeling right now.
Alexander had never bothered to hide his disapproval of Kira and her choices. It was out of character for him to stand up now to defend her.
Graydon shrugged his massive shoulders. “He looked bored, so I thought I’d give him something to do.”
“How did you manage to convince him?” Kira asked.
Kira was no Selene. There was no love lost between them. She was pretty sure if she were ever drowning, he wouldn’t toss her a life preserver. Instead, he’d watch from the shoreline to make sure she didn’t drag any of the forty-three down with her.
That was the kind of man he was.
“We don’t need him,” Jin argued. “I’m enough.”
Alexander smirked, seeming genuinely amused. “Oh? If that were true, you would never have fallen into Roake’s trap. Tell me again how I’m unnecessary.”
A growl came from Jin as the artwork around them shook.
“He has a point,” Kira interjected before Jin could fling any loose items in the vicinity at Alexander’s head.
“Kira,” Jin whined.
“He’s more familiar with Tuann law than either of us.”
He’d demonstrated as much with how he’d handled Selene’s situation. If Selene hadn’t disrupted his efforts, he would have emerged victorious.
Kira hated to admit it, but in a situation like this Alexander was a handy person to have at her side.
“This is not—“ Cora started.
Alexander ignored the woman as he gave Graydon his attention. “I received the information you sent me. It should be enough for our purposes.”
Kira looked between the two.
“I exercised my authority as the emperor’s Face to procure the station feed and forwarded it to Alexander,” Graydon said, anticipating her question.
Kira patted him on the shoulder, absentmindedly. “Good job.”
The rest of her attention was on Finn who stood off to the side of the door Kira suspected was their end destination. His attention was on the ground, the gloomy aura that hung around him hard to miss.
“Where are you going?” Alexander asked as Kira moved toward Finn.
“There’s something I need to do.”
