remaining. All emotion was gone, leaving only a blankness his oshota would have envied.
"How do you know about the woman?" Kira asked in a careful voice.
"The Haldeel are as paranoid as we are. But unlike us, they have no sense of privacy and have installed surveillance on all public areas of the city. Let's say I found the video of your battle illuminating."
Interest threatened to crack Kira's mask. "I'm surprised they let you see that."
"Who said I asked for permission?"
A glimmer of respect appeared before it was gone. Her forehead wrinkled. "If they have surveillance on all areas, how did a swarm grow that big?"
"That's what they'd like to know as well."
Kira's expression turned troubled as she fell silent. "The Haldeel have a leak."
Graydon inclined his chin. "That is the likely conclusion."
Kira met his gaze. "This is big. That means the Tsavitee have their hooks in all three races. The Haldeel were the only ones who managed to avoid that fate during the last war."
"That you know of," Graydon corrected.
Kira conceded his point with a thoughtful frown.
"The Haldeel also have a crack in their armor they didn't have last time," Graydon pointed out.
Kira's head lifted. "You're talking about the human refugees."
"Humans do have a history."
Kira slanted him a sharp look. "So do the Tuann."
Everything in Graydon went still as he finally realized the true reason behind her departure from Ta Sa'Riel. He had no problems believing Elena was the architect behind their escape. It was too reckless, even for Kira.
There was no way they would have been able to guarantee they could take Graydon, let alone Harlow, off guard. Add in the obstacle of the defenses, and Graydon didn't think Kira would risk her niece in that manner.
But that didn't explain why she hadn't contacted them to return or why she had chosen to disguise her identity.
She believed there was a mole still in Roake. In the Tuann.
The realization gave him insight into what drove her. For a protector like Kira, no amount of trust or desire would allow her to be reckless with her niece's safety.
In her mind, there was no need to adapt because her niece had already gone this long without an immediate threat. Only by putting Kira's back to the wall and forcing her hand would Graydon have any chance of slipping into her guard.
"She's no one," Kira lied. "Just someone I met."
"You and she seemed pretty familiar for new acquaintances," Graydon said.
It was there in the way they'd fought, as if they'd done this before. The other woman hadn't been flashy, lingering toward the back and only acting when absolutely necessary, but she'd held herself with a readiness that said she was prepared to intercede if necessary.
You didn't get that sort of teamwork without a history together.
There had also been that small interchange at the beginning where Kira had stopped the woman from doing something.
Using ki was Graydon's bet.
Kira lifted her chin as if daring him to keep pushing.
Far be it for him to disappoint. "She was very careful not to use ki after you warned her."
As if on cue Kira's expression hardened even as her guard snapped up.
"Coli, sometimes you are so predictable," Graydon said in a gentle voice. "I have no intention of forcing your friend into the light unless it becomes clear she is in danger." Graydon turned resolute. "But we will intervene should we feel the situation is dire. The emperor has decided to listen. For now. But the Tuann will not suffer the loss of another child."
Graydon waited until Kira met his gaze, letting her see how serious he was. The emperor was giving her and the others a chance to prove this could work in the hopes of bettering the relationship between them, but there were limits to his magnanimity.
To the Tuann, the children were theirs, regardless of what said children thought. If the Houses learned the emperor hadn't moved the stars in an effort to reclaim their progeny, there would be war.
The only reason they were considering letting the children come to them was because Kira was more than anyone had expected. She could take care of herself and held a maturity not seen even in some who had completed their adva ka.
There was also the tiny fact that her escape from Ta Sa'Riel—abetted though it was by Graydon—made it clear they couldn't keep her unless she wanted to be kept.
No one wanted to see what would happen if Tuann who held Kira’s same level of skill but