Kira
Someonewasshakingher.
Kira really wished they would stop.Her head hurt enough without their help.
There was a ringing in her ears that overrode everything else.Even her groan as someone rolled her onto her back.Debris and stone slid off her.Kira got the confusing sensation of someone lifting her.A second later, she was laid in what she thought might be a lap.
Deciding it was time she figured out what was going on, Kira blinked open her eyes.
Finn hovered over her, blood trickling from a cut on his forehead.Just over his eyebrow.Dirt coated his face.His synth armor looked like he’d been dragged through a pasture, the grime dulling its normal dark blue.
Kira tried to push away his hands, losing strength halfway through the attempt.“What happened?”
It felt like she’d gotten the stuffing kicked out of her, but she didn’t remember the fight.
She did remember Jin, however.
Kira jackknifed to a sitting position, immediately regretting it.She cradled her head, wishing she’d moved a little slower.
Finn touched her shoulder.
She thought he was saying something, but she couldn’t make out what.
Seeing her confusion, Finn pointed.
She followed his finger, finding Jin unharmed, if a little shellshocked.
Actually, he looked better than Kira and Finn combined.Except for a little ash on his face and the armor he was suddenly wearing, he was the picture of health.A second later, she saw why as one of his spawn peeled away, collapsing onto the ground.
A closer examination revealed the presence of many, many spawn.Some only half assembled.More metal parts than actual miniature robots.They’d plastered themselves over his upper body, taking the brunt of the concussive wave somehow.
“Bomb?”she asked.Or maybe shouted.With her hearing loss, it was hard to tell.
Finn grimaced and nodded.
Kira looked around in confusion.There were no signs of an explosion in their immediate vicinity.The bomb would have to be pretty massive to be capable of tossing her around like a rag doll from that distance.Add in the ash still softly drifting down despite her being unconscious for who knew how many minutes, and Kira had a guess as to what happened.
“We just lost the world gate, didn’t we?”Kira asked.
It was the only structure of note close by.
Finn pulled her into his shoulder, but not before she caught the grief playing over his features.
Kira slumped against him, the strength leaving her.“Damn it.”
Maksym.That poor fool.Wren sent him to protect them.Not die a pointless death.
Finn let her cry.He didn’t give her useless platitudes or try to convince her that maybe, just maybe, there was a chance Maksym and the other two had survived.They both knew that was impossible.A blast that size would have vaporized everything in its vicinity.Nothing would have been left.Not even a Tuann.
After a while, humming filtered into her muted world.A comforting lullaby that helped soothe her raw edges.
“You have a nice voice,” Kira said, drawing back.“Why didn’t I know that?”
Actually, there was probably a lot she didn’t know about Finn.She was familiar with some of his history.For instance, the fact he’d had two swords before her.The first being her father.The second a woman he didn’t like to talk about.His character was also something she’d never questioned.He’d die protecting her.Would bleed to ensure she and hers stayed safe.But the little things—like his hobbies and interests.His likes and dislikes.Those were still much of a mystery.
“It’s the Luathan blood in me,” Finn explained.
House Luatha was home to some of the best artisans in the Tuann empire.Singers, dancers, architects, and the like.If it required an ounce of creativity, it had a home in Luatha.Her mother’s side was probably where Kira got her own singing abilities.
