Sariah drew a blade that was the length of Kira’s forearm and pointed it at her face.“Step away from the child.”
Kira flicked the inquisitor an irritated look, wondering what Sariah thought she was going to do with that toothpick.
More decorative than anything, the dagger had pretty swirls etched along its length and a lovely silvery shine.It was also obvious that Sariah had very little idea on how to properly wield it.Otherwise, she never would have held it the way she was.
“We don’t have time for this,” Kira said.
Sariah placed the tip of the blade against Kira’s neck, pressing just hard enough to draw a bead of blood.“Heir of Roake, I will see you pay for this attempt on the life of the emperor’s son.”
Raider gave the woman an incredulous look.“Did you not just see Kira pull his ass out of danger?He’d have a new hole in his body if not for her.”
Dylan squatted on the other side of Jin, forcing Sariah to move her blade or risk cutting him.
She chose the former.
The grizzled oshota set a hand on Jin’s chest, his touch far gentler than Kira would have expected.“How is he?”
“I don’t know.”
Jin’s convulsions had eased, but he was still unconscious.
“What are you doing, Dylan?”Sariah protested.“We need to take her and the others into custody.It’s your duty as the emperor’s oshota.”
“Not very bright, is she?”Kira observed.
It was easier to focus on Sariah than on the fact that Jin wasn’t waking up.
“She’s new and thinks she has something to prove.”
“A deadly combination,” Kira noted.
Dylan’s expression remained neutral, showing neither agreement nor disagreement.
“Put that away, child,” Jin’s maybe mom ordered as she rose from the table and glided over to them.
“Lady Amaris—” Sariah objected.
Jin’s maybe mom shut Sariah up with a look.“I will not ask again.”
Reluctantly, Sariah withdrew her blade and sheathed it.
Amaris’s gaze dropped to her son.
Kira didn’t know how to describe the emotions playing over the other woman’s features.There was concern, definitely.Distress and a mother’s heartache that made Kira’s own emotions fluctuate before she clamped down on them.
Amaris’s gaze lifted abruptly to snare Kira’s.“You’re the only one who can help him.”
“How?”
“Your bond.Use it to show him his way back.”
Kira lifted her gaze to scan the room, finding Jin’s mini-mes scattered everywhere.Some had fallen to the floor when Jin had, like puppets whose strings had been severed.Others were frozen in mid air, their anti-gravs keeping them afloat.Then there were the ones that clung to the walls or hung upside down from the ceiling.
Now she saw what Amaris meant.
In his panic, Jin had defaulted to his old way of handling things.He’d reached for his mini-mes and they’d become his arms and legs.Only he was no longer the drone.Spreading his consciousness into so many pieces had put an incredible strain on his mind.
It retaliated with a seizure.
