themselves on a planet without the Mea'Ave, however."
Kira twisted, her hair sliding out of Graydon's grip. "Why is that?"
Graydon reached for her hair again, playing with the ends as he sent ki through the strands. "They're linked through a symbiotic relationship. If one were to disappear, the other would decline as well."
It wasn't a far jump from there to realize hurting the lu-ong would also cripple the Tuann.
No wonder they were so sensitive when they found some of their own hunting them.
It made it all the more curiouser for a lu-ong to expose its presence like that to save Kira and Devon.
"Your father's family and the lu-ong have always been intertwined," Graydon said, guessing where her thoughts had gone. "There has always been a representative of the lu-ong choosing to act as an intermediary between their race and ours."
Kira looked out the large windows into the night beyond, her forehead creased in thought.
From what Harlow had told her, her father had also shared a connection with the lu-ong.
Nearly a century had passed since then. That was a long time to go without a connection between the two.
"The lu-ong are even more long-lived than the Tuann. The passage of a few years is a blink in the eye for them," Graydon explained.
"You're saying they went out of their way to save me." Not Devon.
Kira twisted in Graydon's arms to see him better.
His expression was complicated. "That does seem to be where this all points."
"You don't look happy about that," she observed.
"That's not the right word for it," he said after a moment. "More like it worries me that after being content with the seat empty for so long, they're suddenly driven to fill it."
"Almost like they know something is coming and are busy fortifying their defenses," Kira said softly.
Graydon nodded, his eyes not leaving hers. "And I suspect you're the lynchpin behind their plans."
Kira's frown was troubled as she stared beyond him, barely noticing when he resumed playing with her hair.
The room was silent as they each descended into their own thoughts.
It was several minutes later when Kira slid him a look. As important as this information was, it didn't demand his presence here.
No, he was after something else.
A look at his intent face had Kira revising that statement. Perhaps more than one something else.
Their gazes met, anticipation descending.
Kira was the first to break the stare, looking down and fiddling with the edge of her robe. "I know you didn't come here just to tell me all that."
Graydon’s fingers moved to the hair at her temples.
Kira closed her eyes under his ministrations, the gentle combing turning into a scalp massage.
Lethargy stole through her limbs as she leaned toward him, feeling like a stray comet caught in the gravity well of an inescapable star.
Her eyes snapped open, and she sat back.
He smirked but didn't pursue her. "I wanted to know what else you were holding back."
Kira had a feeling it was something like that.
In their short acquaintance, it had become clear that Graydon knew her better than those who'd been with her far longer.
Kira lifted her chin. "What makes you think there's something else?"
Graydon's smile was sly. "Isn't there?"
Kira turned her head, giving him access to a new section of hair.
A few weeks ago, she would have kept Elise’s possible capture a secret.
She would have gone it alone.
No Raider.
No Graydon.
No backup except for Jin.
"The person the Haldeel caught—she wears Elise’s face."
Graydon's hands paused.
"You sound uncertain," he resumed his slow, careful movements.
Kira shook her head. "The only thing I'm sure of is that underestimating the Tsavitee would be a mistake."
"Wise words." He nodded. "Does this mean you don't think it's actually her?"
"I want it to be," Kira admitted. It would mean an end to all these years of struggle and uncertainty. "It's all I've thought about since I realized she survived Rothchild."
"But you're scared at the same time."
Kira set her chin on her knees.
He'd caught the crux of her problem.
"The Tsavitee are skilled at making you think one thing when another is true," Kira said.
Who was to even say this woman was the one she'd been looking for?
"It could be a clone," Graydon allowed.
While the Haldeel, Tuann, and Consortium had strict laws against such things, the Tsavitee weren't constrained by the same ethics.
Cloning and genetic manipulation of sentients was considered old hat for them.
It was impossible to tell what could come out of their labs. Kira only knew it was rarely good.
"What if Elise isn't Elise anymore?" Kira whispered.
It was her biggest fear.
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