Threshold of Annihilation (The Firebird Chronicles #3) - T.A. White Page 0,125
“You were somehow involved in her Ascension, weren’t you?”
Yukina collapsed onto the opposite end of the couch from Graydon, some of her arrogance dimming.
“I don’t know if I’d go that far,” Kira started.
“If we were, we had no idea,” Jin added.
At the dubious looks that asked how that was possible, Kira said defensively, “When we knew her, Tierni wasn’t royal.”
Yukina reclaimed some of her poise. “We’re listening.”
“I don’t know if you realize, but Tierni is blind,” Kira started. “She was born with a rare genetic mutation. Essentially the optic fibers that pass through the back of the retina didn’t develop in a way to translate sight.”
“I’ve heard of this. Only one in several million are born with this condition,” Yukina said. “Tierni caused quite the stir during her Ascension. Most born with the mutation are given to the Vertier order to raise.”
“Yeah, I’ve met some of that order.” Kira’s lip curled as she snorted, scorn and derision written on her face. “They’re little more than exploitative assholes.”
The order was considered sacred among the Haldeel. Those who joined were kept cloistered, spending their time in meditation and service—at least that was what was written on the brochure.
Those of the Vertier that Kira had encountered were little more than abusers and bullies, content to prey on those who’d been entrusted to them for their own greedy purposes.
“Not all. I’ve known many who embodied the ideals of the order,” Yukina murmured. “But what you said is true enough. There are some who abuse their position at the expense of those who rely on them.”
“When we first met Tierni, she was on the run after her creche gave her over to them,” Kira said.
On a human world, the act held some similarities to adoption. Only instead of being able to age out of their care, she’d be a permanent dependent. The order would assume responsibility and authority over her for the rest of her life whether she wished it or not.
“Lieven got her out, and the two were on the run until we—"
"Excuse me," Jin interrupted.
"I," Kira corrected, “interfered.”
"She means to say she picked a fight with the order," Jin said in a chipper voice.
Kira grimaced. That was an accurate assessment.
A million ways she could have handled it and she’d chosen the most explosive.
It was about half a year after she'd woken up from a several years long coma. The war was over. Her remaining friends scattered, most of whom no longer held favorable views of Kira.
She still hadn’t known about Elena, Jin judging her mental state as too fragile.
To say she was looking for a place to die wouldn't be out of line. The only thing that kept her from doing anything she couldn’t take back was the knowledge of how her fallen friends would be disappointed in her if she took the quick way out.
"I was occupying myself in the gauntlet of the stratagem." It was a series of round-robin challenges. It wasn’t usually considered deadly unless you were on a perimeter planet not exactly known for having peacekeepers of any sort.
Kira's smile was self-deprecating. "I ran across Tierni and Lieven there."
"And you interfered," Graydon guessed.
Kira nodded. "You could say that."
"If by interfere, you mean she scuttled two chariots in the process," Jin added.
Kira sent him a cool look.
"What? They said they wanted the truth," Jin argued.
Kira shook her head, aware of how the rest of them stared at her like she’d sprouted two heads.
"I didn't know a Haldeel chariot could be destroyed. That class of ship is said to be indestructible,” Wren said.
"Not if you work from the inside,” Jin said. “And if you want to get technical about it, we only destroyed one. The second simply got too close to the first."
Jin said it like it was no big deal, but they’d barely escaped with their lives.
The chariot class ship had earned its reputation. Both had belonged to a faction in the Vertier order. When they’d taken Tierni, Kira had gone and gotten her out.
She’d bitten off a little more than she could chew, but the ending had worked out, even if it was a bit flashy for Kira’s tastes.
“I don’t know how she ended up a royal or when her Ascension was,” Kira confessed.
That hadn’t been anywhere on their radar then.
After they’d destroyed the ships, they left Tierni and Lieven somewhere safe and skedaddled for fear the Haldeel would try to arrest them for wanton destruction of property.
Yukina’s head lifted. “Eight years ago? In the Fieri sector?”