Threshold of Annihilation (The Firebird Chronicles #3) - T.A. White Page 0,133
Jin's welcome would have been much different.
It was likely they both would have been arrested and tried before being sentenced to death.
Graydon exhaled softly. "Despite what our records indicate, I see no sign of madness or cruelty in Jin."
The tight feeling Kira's chest loosened at that statement.
Jin was her dearest friend. She wasn't sure what she would do if there was a serious threat to his wellbeing.
She did know she wouldn't walk away from him. If the Tuann and Roake couldn't reconcile themselves to his existence, there would be no future for Kira among them either.
"How did it happen?" Graydon asked.
Kira shook her head. "I don't know."
To this day, she wasn't exactly sure how Jin's soul had ended up in a machine. Her memories of that night were hazy and indistinct.
She remembered almost dying. Then the next thing she knew she woke up in Himoto's arms, Jin clutched to her chest.
It took her days to realize the drone she'd refused to let go of was the boy she thought had perished.
They'd been inseparable ever since.
"That's interesting," Graydon said, his thumb drawing soothing circles along her shoulder blade.
"Why?"
"To my knowledge neither the line of Roake nor Luatha possesses the ability to draw out the true essence of something and insert it into another material."
Noting the look on Kira's face, Graydon went still. "What?"
"My line might not possess that ability, but I do."
Graydon sat up, taking Kira with him. His gaze was penetrating. "That's impossible."
"It's how I saved Wren."
He'd been mortally wounded. There wasn't enough time for help to be summoned, so she did something she’d thought she'd never do again.
She took the destroyed form of Jin's avatar and broke it down to its base self. Only when she'd extracted the essence did she insert it into Wren, using its energy to repair the extensive damage to his body.
Graydon's eyes widened. "Only one line possesses that trait—the emperor's."
Kira didn't need him to tell her how bad it would be if news of this ability got out.
"Kira, you can never do that again," Graydon warned.
Kira didn't answer, pressing her lips together instead.
His hand caught her chin, raising it, so she met his eyes. "I mean it. They will execute you. I won't be able to stop them."
Knowing he wasn't going to drop this until she conceded, Kira nodded.
"Do you know why I can do this?" Kira asked.
"I have a few theories," he said in a grim voice.
So did Kira, and they started and ended with Jin.
TWENTY-ONE
SUNLIGHT STREAMED INTO the bedchamber, summoning Kira from sleep.
Her eyes still closed, she stretched, enjoying the feel of the sheets against her skin. Her bare skin.
Her eyes popped open as the memory of last night came to her.
Kira tensed then relaxed when she found herself alone in the bed, Graydon’s side long cold.
It would be easy to have regrets about last night. Letting Graydon breach the diamond-hard walls she’d kept around her innermost self made her vulnerable in a way that she hadn’t ever been before.
Still, Kira couldn’t quite bring herself to feel that way. What they’d done felt as necessary as breathing
He’d lit a soft flame inside that no amount of pragmatism could extinguish.
Come what may, she was glad they’d had that moment.
She was even open to experiencing it again.
He made her feel safe and filled with possibility. Both things she’d thought she’d lost long ago—if she ever had them at all.
However, as nice as their interlude had been, she needed time to process those feelings.
She’d been solo for so long. She didn’t know if she knew how to take someone else into account—or if it was even possible.
A flashing beacon on the nightstand caught her attention. She reached over, the system responding to her movement.
Graydon’s disembodied voice came over the line, bringing a smile to her face. “Kira, I had to attend to some matters. Breakfast is on the table.”
Kira climbed out of bed, snagging the robe from where she’d tossed it last night. She drew it around her body, securing it at the waist before making her way to the table.
An energy field covered the plates of food, keeping it at the perfect temperature. It powered down at her approach, the tantalizing smells that escaped making her stomach rumble.
The cup of chai caught her eye first, steam still rising from the frothy goodness.
“How in the world did he know?” she murmured, touching the mug gently.
The breakfast was a thoughtful action. Even more so with the addition of the chai.