Kira waited, not taking her eyes off that spot. Her patience was rewarded when the shadows stirred. One separating from the rest as Ryan moved to their very edge. The low light allowed Kira to just barely distinguish the outline of his body while casting his features completely in darkness.
"You never told me they were so theatrical," Graydon said in a low voice.
"They've only gotten worse over the years. You get used to it. Eventually."
Sometimes she wondered if they'd spent the first few years after their escape watching every holovid humanity had ever created and taking notes on how to be unnecessarily mysterious.
Graydon raised his eyebrow at the stands. "I wonder where they picked that trait up. It's not Tuann."
Kira sent him a sidelong look. "Are you certain about that?"
Because she could think of several encounters that made her question that statement.
Graydon's lips quivered as he suppressed a smile, keeping his gaze trained on Ryan and the audience stands.
"Thank you for joining us, Kira," Ryan rumbled.
"Not like I had much of a choice."
And boy did she have a bone to pick with them about that. But first she'd see what they wanted.
Her retribution could come after.
Someone in the stands raised their hand. "Is anyone else curious as to why she has a companion? I thought this was invite only."
"Yes, Pallas. Do tell," a woman in the very back purred.
Kira looked over to where Pallas sat in the front row, his feet propped up on the railing as he cleaned the knife he'd withdrawn from his mismatched set of armor.
At the question, he looked up with a mad grin. "What can I say? I found the way he clung to Kira’s coattails simply adorable. It seemed rude to kill him after all his effort."
Bullshit. Pallas didn't go after Graydon because of Selene and Alexander.
Thea leaned over Pallas's shoulder from behind, hanging almost upside down. "When have manners ever stopped you from murder?"
Pallas's knife paused. His expression blanked. He flipped the knife in his hand, shifting his grip on the hilt. He jerked his hand up and across, slashing the blade across Thea's throat an instant later.
There was a shocked pause as everything in the room stopped.
A gurgle came from Thea, loud in the silence. The choked sound cut off, changing to a quiet giggle. Loud laughter replaced it, echoing from all over until it was difficult to know where the source originated.
Thea's body burst into hundreds of tiny, fluttering insects that looked like a cross between a dragonfly and a praying mantis. They reformed at the back of the stands.
Pallas stabbed the dagger's point into the stone seat next to him. "I've warned you about using your illusions against me."
"You're more sensitive than usual, brother dearest," Thea drawled. "Is it because the emperor's Face beat you at your own game? The great and powerful Pallas brought down by a mere Tuann."
Graydon lowered his head to speak into Kira's ear, watching Pallas and Thea with fascination. "The dynamic between your siblings is an intriguing one. I can't decide whether they love or hate each other."
"Let me know if you figure it out."
Even all these years later, she still didn't understand the forty three.
Kira eyed Thea unhappily, less than pleased about her sister’s actions. It was almost as if she was looking to cause trouble.
No surprise there. Thea always was an agent of chaos. Happy to cause mischief wherever she roamed.
Pallas yanked the dagger out of the stone, coming to his feet with a reckless smirk. "When you put it like that, it feels like I have something to prove."
