Jin went limp in her hold, his chest heaving from the emotional overload.
Why is being a biological so hard?
Kira stiffened at the tiny whisper in the back of her mind.For a moment, she thought she might have imagined it.But no, she’d definitely heard him for the first time since he’d taken possession of his body.
Excitement briefly rose before she suppressed it.
She could examine the why of everything later.Their connection was healing.That was all that mattered.
Dropping her hand from Jin’s shoulder, Kira shot a hard look at Danai’s Overlord.She found it strange that he knew who Jin was to the emperor.
Helena hadn’t.
Kira was betting the rest of the Overlords didn’t either since Torvald never got around to announcing Jin’s identity publicly.
It looked like someone had been speaking out of turn, Kira realized as her gaze drifted toward Sariah.
The inquisitor stared back at her with a gloating look that spoke volumes.
Yup, definitely that someone.She wasn’t even trying to hide it.
Torvald rubbed his forehead.“Elias, leave the boy alone.”
“I cannot.I believe your judgment is clouded,” Elias declared hotly.“Otherwise, why else would you allow the woman who facilitated an assassination attempt on the emperor’s first born to attend this meeting.She deserves to be thrown into a cell and left to rot.”
Torvald lifted his head to pin Elias with an unfathomable look.“Where did you hear that?”
Elias waved his question away with a dismissive hand.“I have my sources.”
“Well then, you should reconsider their veracity.Roake’s heir and her companions were instrumental in protecting my first born from the assassin.”
Kira glanced at Torvald, surprised at the use of singular rather than the plural assassinsthat it should have been.He must not want the Overlords to know about the breach in his security.Bad enough that the Caius lookalike had made it all the way to Jin’s wing.If the Overlords found out that his people had also been impersonated, the uproar that resulted would make their current hysteria seem minor in comparison.
She wished Torvald luck.The likelihood of him keeping this from them was low.Not with someone running her big mouth all over the place.
Then again, Sariah had already proven to be someone whose perception of events was less than trustworthy.Look at the way she’d instantly jumped to the assumption that Kira had tried to kill Jin.The woman was crazy.She might choose not to mention the impersonated oshota’s presence simply because it didn’t fit her narrative.
“An assassin that came from their own House,” Elias argued.
“Again, wrong,” Torvald rumbled, looking at the end of his patience.“The assassin had no connection to Roake.They weren’t even Tuann.”
Kira sensed the surprise that filled the room at that revelation.
“My source says otherwise,” Elias insisted stubbornly.
Dylan stepped forward to flank Jin’s other side.“Roake’s heir placed herself in danger to protect the emperor’s first born.Her actions were heroic and befitting of one of the emperor’s own oshota.I can also confirm the assailant wasn’t Tuann.”
“Shit,” Jin muttered, staring at Dylan like he’d never seen him before when Elias didn’t retort.
“Remember—you picked him,” Kira murmured.
“I don’t need you to point out the obvious.”
“Are you sure?”
It would be a shame if he forgot.
Jin’s irritated grimace brought a smirk to her face.
