That could be placed directly on her shoulders.She was the one that gave Jace the information about the pirate hideouts.By now, he’d be busy running them down and in no position to help Titan.
“They’re hailing us,” one of the crew announced.
The captain glanced at Graydon, letting him make the decision.
“Put it through,” Graydon said, his eyes on Kira’s.
She reached for his hand to give it a comforting squeeze.
At the end of the day, Graydon’s duty to the emperor demanded he prioritize Jin’s survival over everything else.Including the three million souls who didn’t deserve to be placed in the middle of this.
If it came to it, they would flee.But first, they’d try negotiation.
“Damn it, this sucks,” Jin complained, likely understanding the stakes as well as Kira.
“It always does, Tin Man,” Kira said as Sariah appeared in hologram form.
The inquisitor had a bruise on one side of her face that detracted somewhat from her conceited expression.
“I thought we settled this last time,” Graydon purred.
“Things have changed.”
“I can see that.”Graydon swept a gaze over the assembled ships.“Tell me—since when have you been working with the rebels?”
Kira glanced at Dylan to find him giving her a tiny nod of confirmation.
Well, damn.When Sariah went dark, she went pitch black.
“I’ve done no such thing,” Sariah declared hotly.
“Those are their ships you’re on,” Graydon corrected.
“Who does this woman think she’s fooling?”Jin muttered.
At his voice, Sariah’s gaze jumped in his direction.“We are loyal to the emperor and his cause.Even if he doesn’t see that right now, I’m sure he will soon.Hand over the emperor’s son and submit yourself for execution.”
“Does anyone else think she sounds crazy?”Jin asked.
Kira held up her hand.“Me.I do.”
Although—Kira wouldn’t discount this as a viable option.If she could get close enough under the pretense of surrender, she could do a lot of damage in a very short time.
Jin looked like he was considering the same.
“I will enjoy silencing you forever,” Sariah spat.
“You may, of course, try,” Kira murmured demurely.
In fact, she looked forward to the attempt.
“Captain, several more ships just popped up in our vicinity,” the Tuann from before murmured in a low voice.
Sariah looked off to the side as someone informed her of the same.
“How did you miss that?”she demanded.
“Looks like someone used the same trick of hiding in the debris field,” Jin gloated.
