to pause.
"Kira, your arms," Jin said softly.
She looked down hesitantly, blinking in blank surprise at the translucent lines and symbols etched on every inch of exposed skin.
How? What?
Fear grabbed hold of her throat. She panted in near panic at the first marker of her shift, fearing she'd somehow lost control of the monster inside.
This wasn't the first time she'd seen such marks, but it was the first time they'd displayed themselves when not called.
She suddenly understood Raider's fear. "It's not me. I'm not doing this."
He shook his head but didn't drop the weapon.
Blue pressed herself against the wall behind him, trying to get as far from Kira as she could.
Hopelessness choked Kira. This, this right here was why she left. It didn't matter how many people she saved or how many times she risked her life. Most humans would only see the monster.
His finger tightened on the trigger, and Kira steeled herself to act. Before she could move, Finn was there, his hand on the gun. He shoved it away, before grabbing Raider and tossing him back as if he was no heavier than a bag of feathers.
Raider landed with a thud, rolling and regaining his feet seconds later. He didn't take his eyes off Kira. He knew who the real threat was in this situation. His legs remained flexed, his posture defensive as he waited.
Kira touched the lines on her skin. It hadn't escaped her Finn lacked similar lines, his skin as smooth and unblemished as Raider's. It seemed even among her people she was a freak.
She turned from them and made her way to the other end of the hall.
"Kira," Jin called.
"Make sure Finn doesn't kill Raider," she told Jin, her voice flat.
Then she was gone, running as fast as she could for outside. The walls seemed to close in on her as she flew past startled faces. No one bothered her as she raced by.
Soon she found herself outside, the sun shining on her as her breathing slowed and calm gradually replaced the frantic need to escape.
She touched her arms, relieved to see no trace of the symbols. They were a part of her, but it was a part she feared.
For a brief moment in the hall of ancestors, she'd remembered what it meant to be the Phoenix, to be the person feared, even as people worshiped her as a hero. She'd spent the past several years burying that person, only to have her resurrected by a green light and a few lines.
She sighed. Sometimes it felt like no matter how hard she tried, the past kept dragging her back.
Her arm dropped to her side and she lifted her head to the sun. It didn't have to. She'd proven that. She was more than a weapon of war.
Her life might be small and meager to some, but it was hers.
Whatever the humans thought, whatever the Tuann believed, she knew who she was, and she wasn't going to let anyone take that away from her.
With that decision, it felt like a weight released from her and Kira began moving again, paying more attention to her surroundings.
The gradual sounds of laser fire coupled with laughter drew her notice and she walked toward the noise, the need for a distraction riding her.
The shouting got louder even as the high-pitched buzzing sound grew. Kira moved through the trees into a clearing as she followed a narrow dirt path to a fence that reached several handspans above her head and stretched on either side as far as she could see until it disappeared into the trees.
It was made from a material she’d never seen. Translucent and see-through, but impenetrable, as Kira found when she tried to stick her hand through it. Pillars were embedded deep in the ground at a set distance all along the fence, supporting it.
Beyond it, she saw the endless stretch of a shallow lake, with trees and rocks sticking out of the water, creating uncertain footholds for those brave enough to attempt crossing it.
Kira joined the crowd watching the event as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. All around her the crowd cheered and jeered, black synth armor mixing with green, Graydon's soldiers mingling among the Luatha.
Kira pushed her way to the front for a better view.
Inside the fenced-off arena, two people raced along the most extreme version of an obstacle course Kira had ever seen. Some of it looked natural—rocks and stumps showing just above the surface of the water the participants could