had to phrase this carefully. For now.
“Think about it—why wouldn’t she care that Elena was on that planet?” Kira asked.
She saw the struggle in Raider as his desire for this not to be Elise warred with the body before him.
“She might not have known,” he said.
“She used House Remie to ambush us. She had to have some dealings with them. Wouldn’t they have told her about the preteen with me? They saw Elena with me on multiple occasions. How could she not have known?” Seeing he was starting to think again, Kira inched closer. “Elena is the answer to years of research. Why would they risk destroying that?”
The answer was they wouldn’t.
If the Tsavitee and their masters had any inkling of who Elena was related to, they would have sacrificed even Kira and Jin to obtain her.
Kira leaned closer, dropping her voice so only he could hear. “She didn’t know the third code.”
Raw emotion stared at Kira through Raider’s eyes.
She nodded again. Now he saw it.
Shouts came from Amila and the rest of the oshota as they closed protectively around Kira and Graydon.
A ship burst through the membrane of the dock seconds later. It scraped along the tops of the landed ships as it swung wide, its cannons pointing toward them.
“Auntie, your reinforcements have arrived,” Elena yelled through the ship’s speakers.
Kira blinked dumbly at the Wanderer, where it hovered menacingly over them. “What is she doing here?”
Moving quickly, Raider snagged a nearby Tsavitee body, dumping it onto the fake Elise to hide her face.
Finished, he regarded the ship with a bit of humor. “I’m beginning to be grateful she’s been your responsibility all these years.”
Kira didn’t have time for a sharp retort as Auralyn and Wren dropped from the belly of the ship. They landed in a crouch; their en-blades drawn.
Torvald lifted a hand and waved. “Welcome to the party.”
Seeing him and Graydon, the two momentarily froze before relaxing. They straightened from their crouch at the same time.
Kira stood and glared at the bridge of the ship. “I thought I told you to stay put.”
“Um—I thought you could use the help,” Elena said guiltily.
Kira raised her eyebrows and then swept her gaze over the many dead bodies surrounding her with a pointed look.
“My bad. I’ll be over here.”
The Wanderer retreated, landing on the end of the walkway several feet away.
Kira glared at her seon’yer and Auralyn. "How did she get you two to agree to this?"
Wren straightened, not deigning to answer before he moved toward Torvald.
Auralyn’s murderous expression thawed. "She's quite persuasive when she wants to be.”
Kira scrubbed at her forehead. "She gets that from her mother."
Reaching Torvald and Graydon, Wren didn’t salute, but judging from the stiff way he carried himself, Kira could tell he wanted to.
“The forces we had waiting outside the system have arrived along with ships from the Haldeel and the Consortium,” he reported.
“They’re late,” Torvald grumbled.
Wren remained composed as he finished relaying his information. “They’ve targeted the Tsavitee warships. The royal’s guards have begun sweeping Almaluk to dispose of the last of their forces.”
“Tierni’s okay then?” Kira asked.
Wren’s attention shifted to her. “As far as I know. Several of her guard, including the one you know, took injuries. A few are dead. The humans will face repercussions for this attack.”
“The Tuann were part of it,” Kira said.
Graydon shook his head. “House Remie and its allies only attacked you as far as we know.”
“A case could be made that it was an internal matter among the Tuann,” Torvald said idly.
From his expression, Kira could tell that was exactly the argument they’d make to the Haldeel, leaving the Consortium out on the ledge by themselves.
Raider’s hands clenched, his disquiet mirroring Kira’s.
They didn’t know all that happened, but judging by the androids involvement, Zepher and the faction supporting them likely had a lot to do with the attack.
As distant as her relationship had become with the Consortium and humans, Kira had no interest in watching them fall.
Even if there weren’t still some among their ranks she cared about, she felt they were essential for the coming war.
A war the Tsavitee had just demonstrated they were already preparing for.
Kira stiffened as Lorcan wandered into the shipping dock.
“Graydon,” she warned quietly as his oshota let the man pass. “He was with Remie when they attacked us.”
Hearing her words, Lorcan’s smile widened. “Such a stiff greeting for someone who saved your ass.”
Kira’s mouth snapped shut as her hands flexed. Reaching for her primus or ki was out, but that didn’t mean