"I didn't ask you to."
Lothos sighed. "Do what you can to appease them and hurry back."
Elise sauntered toward the door. "You don't have to tell me that."
Her hands moved briefly. A bare flutter of movement that was hardly noticeable. Only someone who'd grown up learning the self-developed sign language of the forty three would have recognized the motions as something other than a nervous tick.
It was a message. A brief one.
"Beware."
That's all Elena got before the wall reformed.
"She's hiding something," the second general announced in Tsavitee.
"Probably."
"What do you want to do?"
"For now, we'll wait."
"The girl?"
Elena allowed fear to form on her face. They'd expect a scared little girl so that's exactly what she'd give them.
The fact she really was terrified made the deception easier.
"Throw her to the pits," Lothos said after a moment of consideration. "We'll see if she survives long enough to be worth protecting."
Two
Kira – Ta Sa’Riel
A storm was forming off the coast. A harbinger of things to come. The wind and waves set to reshape everything that had once been. Already, thin ribbons of clouds partially veiled the night sky. Infrequent pockets appearing to offer a glimpse of the vast expanse waiting beyond.
Such a big universe. So easy to get lost in.
That was where Kira needed to be. Searching for her niece and Jin. Not on a planet with a sky that matched Kira's mood. A little bit dark. A touch forbidding. With the promise of misfortune on the horizon.
How very apt, considering her current situation.
Kira focused on the glass's reflection, her uncle's solemn face appearing over her shoulder. The resemblance between them was uncanny. A product of Harlow being her father's twin. Had her father lived, he would have looked exactly like Harlow. Minus the scars. One that bisected his eyebrow, narrowly missing his eye to carve a jagged line down his cheek. Another that followed the line of his jaw.
Like Kira, Harlow's hair was a deep burgundy red. A color their family line was infamous for.
Their features carried a similar stamp, pointing to a shared heritage even without the signpost of their coloring.
Their eyes were where things diverged; Kira's a grayish purple that were inherited from her mother's side of the family. Depending on the light and her mood, they could appear more purple or closer to the gray of those storm clouds outside. Harlow's were the golden color of a raptor. And like that bird, they held a piercing intensity that always seemed to see right through her.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Harlow asked.
There was a sense of disconnection as she faced her uncle. His expression familiar and alien at the same time. It felt like she should be able to understand the emotions on his face, but for some reason everything felt out of sync. Like a barely heard melody that was missing the important notes.
Kira rubbed her chest, the pang there taking her off guard. "You said the emperor is a reasonable man. I'm choosing to believe those words."
Harlow caught the small movement, his shoulders rising and falling as he took a deep breath. "This situation is complicated. There's no guarantee he will agree to your proposal."
"He will."
