Threshold of Annihilation (The Firebird Chronicles #3) - T.A. White Page 0,156
the brash words, Kira knew she was in bad shape. She suspected she had a concussion and judging by the sharp pain anytime she tried to move her left shoulder, her collarbone was broken.
Alexander looked up at the ceiling. "Do you know where she's gone? What she plans? How many of those monsters are with her? Who's helping her?"
There was nothing Kira could say to any of those questions. She didn't have the answers, and she wouldn't pretend.
She was still going.
"Stubborn as always,” Alexander said.
Kira took that to mean he wouldn’t stand in her way. A fact she was grateful for.
Every second was precious if she wanted to recover Jin. If Elise got off the station with him, her chances of ever seeing her friend again were nearly none.
Alexander was motionless as Kira started for the hole Elise had fled through. With the expectation he would let her pass, Kira dropped her guard, her mind already on what needed to be done.
It was why she didn't immediately react when he grabbed her shoulder and drove his fist into her stomach.
Kira curled in on herself, fighting to inhale against the sudden constriction of her lungs.
Fire spread through her, originating in the place where he'd hit her. Everywhere it touched, warmth followed.
Kira raised her head only to find Finn holding his en-blade to the side of Alexander's throat.
Alexander sent him a dangerous look. "Get that thing away from me."
"Finn," Kira cautioned, straightening gingerly.
To her surprise her injuries hurt much less now. Where before they would have been a seven or an eight on the pain scale, they were now a three or four.
Her shoulder moved easily, too.
The forty-three weren’t trained in ki in the same way as most Tuann, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t learned to use their innate abilities. From what Kira had seen in her short time with the Tuann, their methods of mastering their soul’s breath were different but just as impactful.
Unlike Kira, they’d had each other to learn from, sharing their discoveries along the way. Perhaps that was why they didn’t suffer ki poisoning in the same way she had. Perhaps it was because they’d formed bonds between themselves, keeping them from withering in the same way Kira had.
Or maybe it was neither of these things.
Kira had always been powerful—abnormally so when compared to the rest. She was stronger, faster, more intuitive.
Could be where their foundation could handle the influx of ki, hers simply couldn’t.
Whatever the answer, it didn’t matter now.
Finn sheathed his en-blade but didn't step back, hovering protectively near Kira as Alexander started for the door, the guard following him.
"Alexander—” Kira started.
"I didn't do it for you," he interrupted, not looking back. "I did it for her. She seems to find some meaning in the children you bring her. She'd be sad if that ended."
Kira snorted as he walked away. "As dishonest as ever."
Though it did answer the question of whether he knew about Selene’s extracurricular activities. From his actions, she could infer he had no plans of interfering or informing the rest.
When he was gone, Raider moved closer. "You going to tell us what that was about?"
"Nope, and you're not going to ask."
From the cautious way Finn looked from Kira to where Alexander had disappeared, she could tell he had his suspicions. As long as they remained just that, Kira could keep pretending.
Raider raised his hands. "You don't want to talk about it. That's fine. We can focus on what's important instead."
"I couldn't agree more," Kira said, crouching next to one of the androids to study it.
It was the one the guard had dismantled. Its eyes shifted to meet hers, making Kira pause in the act of reaching for it.
"Isn't that interesting," Kira said softly to herself.
"What is?" Raider asked.
Kira didn't answer, immersed in deciphering the energy she could feel pulsing in its chest. It felt similar to Jin's but more chaotic.
Kira's fingers hovered over the spot where that energy was anchored. Bracing herself, she bridged that last gap and immediately wished she hadn't.
She'd been mistaken earlier. This was nothing like Jin.
Madness and darkness lurked within, coupled with a powerful thirst to destroy everything. The only thing keeping it in check was a series of commands Kira couldn't quite decipher.
No wonder Jin said they felt creepy.
"You poor thing," Kira whispered.
She reached deeper with that same sense that allowed her to pull the essence out of matter, hoping for a connection that would lead her to the ones who'd taken Jin.