to undertake this course of action. Raider was the only one, other than her, crazy enough to even make the attempt.
The antigrav fields met, clinging together. Even with her inertia dampening shields at maximum, she felt the jolt in every bone in her body.
Her quads and knees buckled, threatening to give out. Kira flooded the muscles with ki, strengthening them the slightest bit. Enough so that she didn't destroy her legs.
"Here. We. Go," Raider snarled, wrenching them sideways and aiming Kira in the direction of Devon.
He stomped on his thrust, sending their balance out of whack. Like a cannonball fired from a cannon, the polarity reversed, firing Kira at Devon.
The board under her feet flexed, bits of its exterior breaking off as the forces of gravity threatened to snap it in half.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Raider recover. Seconds later, he shot toward Skye.
"Your trajectory is good," Jin said. "Prepare for collision in ten. Nine. Eight."
Kira braced. This was going to be rough.
"Four. Three. Good luck, Kira," Jin said. "Brace, brace, brace."
EIGHTEEN
"FIND ME THE location of that attack," the za na ri na ordered, looking at the master of her guard.
Unlike other Haldeel, this man wore clothing appropriate for a warrior. His garment fit closely to his upper torso, faithfully outlining his chest before stopping at his shoulders. It left his forearms and biceps seemingly bare, exposing the violet markings set against skin as black as ink.
At his waist, the garment fell in a series of panels that resembled a skirt. Only unlike normal skirts, the slits in the bottom half would allow his lower prehensile appendages complete freedom of movement.
Such a consideration would enable him to use those appendages as a weapon against an enemy.
It was lucky for the rest of the galaxy that not many Haldeel chose the warrior’s path, preferring disciplines linked to intelligence instead. Those who did were exceptional even by Tuann standards.
Their prehensile appendages could grow back, giving them a considerable advantage. Couple that with their tendency to wind their appendages around the limbs of their opponent to immobilize them, and they were a headache to fight.
"Security has been dispatched to the origin of the attack," the Haldeel Master of the Guard informed the royal. "In addition, I've instructed the remainder of our force to spread into the surrounding city to lock down potential conspirators. Anti-ballistic systems have gone online and will shoot down any further attacks."
There was no explanation of how a rocket had managed to slip past their defense system in the first place. This incident would tarnish the perfect reputation of the Haldeel.
Above, the two lead racers managed to veer to avoid the rocket, crashing into each other instead. The resulting uproar from the crowd nearly drowned out the za na ri na's next statement.
"Deploy our recovery forces."
The Master of the Guard's expression tensed. Seconds later, he glided forward, bending to whisper in the royal's ear.
"What?" she asked, sounding shocked.
One racer fell, their body limp in a way that signaled unconsciousness. The other spun into the updraft of the tower, hitting it before careening wildly in the opposite direction.
The oshota standing behind Yukina took a step forward.
The atmosphere around him warped.
Graydon moved quickly to intercept, putting his hand up to stop the other man. "If you go there now, you will create an incident."
Whether he successfully saved Devon or not, it wouldn't matter. There would be consequences.
The rules under which the Tuann had to abide while on Haldeel territory were very strict. Intervening without permission would be considered a violation.
That wasn't the only danger. The man's simple presence here would cause an uproar even Graydon and Yukina would struggle to contain.
Yukina stood in a graceful movement, her robes settling around her. "Little storm is right, Torvald."
The oshota turned his head slightly, a flash of gold shimmering in his eyes before disappearing again.
"You know what I will do if he dies."
"I do," Graydon responded.
The man before him had already lost one child. If he lost another, the universe would be bathed in blood.
"Then I will wait—for now."
The atmosphere around the man settled. The warping of before was gone, as if it had never been.
"What is the child doing?" Yukina asked, sounding puzzled.
Graydon looked up to see Kira speeding toward another racer in what looked like a headlong collision.
He blinked, expanding the scene. He recognized the racer Kira was charging. Raider.
"She's trying to save him," Graydon said in realization.
"How?" Yukina asked.
"I don't know."
To most in the audience, Kira's actions seemed