She wondered if an etheiri would have formed for Rothchild if humanity had something equivalent.
She'd like to think so.
They’d saved an entire planet. A whole race, if you included the treaty the Haldeel signed with the Consortium after. That was the kind of thing that should be remembered.
Kira kept her gaze trained on the sky. "You know about the burst, don't you?"
He'd sent Baran to human territory to gather information on her. Even though the records regarding that ability of hers were considered top secret, she didn't think that would have stopped the oshota.
"We call it the Heaven's Wrath," Graydon said.
"What a busy little bee Baran's been."
Himoto would have killed for an agent with his investigatory abilities.
Kira finally looked at Graydon. "Is that ability from my heritage—or Jin's?"
Graydon didn't have to speak for her to read the answer on his face.
"Another thing I snatched from him," Kira whispered in defeat.
Graydon took her arm. "That he gave you willingly."
Kira looked away, knowing he had a point. She'd be spitting on Jin's sacrifice if she continued feeling this way.
"I still don't understand how things happened the way they did," Kira confessed.
By rights, it should be her soul bound to that drone. Not Jin's. She'd been the one mortally injured.
"I heard about Jarek reading your memories and think I have a theory to explain what happened," Graydon said.
Kira's attention swung back to him, her eyebrows climbing.
Graydon held up a small pebble, its color the deep blue of a sapphire. "Do you remember this?"
Kira took it, surprised when a sensation ran up her fingers. "Is this a testing stone? Where did you get this?"
She seemed to remember another stone like this. It had been part of a set in Quillon's possession that was meant to determine the affinity of a person's ki. Those traits and abilities that were naturally suited for their soul's breath.
For instance, Joule tested as Earth Class. A shielder, specifically.
That meant he had an aptitude for defense and why his shields were naturally better than Devon's, whose affinity lay in a different direction.
It didn't mean that Devon couldn't create a shield with the same strength as Joule's. Just that he would have to work considerably harder.
That was the thing about these tests. Aptitude was only part of the equation. Dedication and hard work were the other parts.
The problem was that some Tuann didn't see it that way. They thought an affinity determined a person's potential. It was why Joule had faced difficulty when he first arrived in House Roake. His peers had thought his affinity would limit his usefulness.
Dumbasses.
Anybody with half a brain knew a strong defense was priceless.
His problem was compounded by the fact that traditionally those hoping for a shot at becoming their House's Overlord possessed those affinities seen as more powerful. Such a mindset pointed to how inflexible the Tuann's thinking could be.
Aptitude didn't define potential. And any tool in your arsenal could become a powerful weapon when utilized correctly.
However, there were certain affinities that were rare and unable to be replicated unless you possessed them. That was the case with Kira's burst, or the Heaven's Wrath as Graydon called it.
