Threshold of Annihilation (The Firebird Chronicles #3) - T.A. White Page 0,88
looking like she was taking mental notes.
Joule's eyes widened in understanding and alarm. He, more than his sister, knew what Kira was capable of.
"Someone sure is brave," Kira said in a silky voice.
She'd tried to be kind. Everyone had seen it.
She'd let him off without extracting even the tiniest bit of revenge, but did he learn from his experiences? Did he appreciate her leniency?
No. He did not.
He just had to go and show his ass. Now it was time to learn what happened when you mooned a predator more dangerous than the ones he was used to.
"Kira, do not kill him," Jin warned.
Kira padded closer to the dead man walking.
"I mean it," Jin said when she didn't answer. "Roake is not going to back us in a blood feud if you nuke the oshota of another House."
"Are you sure about that?" Maksym asked.
Blood lust rose off him, matched only by the intensity of his companions.
Auralyn looked at the oshota and those behind him as if they were dog shit she'd found under her shoe. Simply scraping them off would be too kind a fate. Only complete annihilation would do.
Kira noted all this distantly, too fixated on her prey to care.
For the first time since she'd donned the inhibitor, she could feel her primus form crouched in her psyche. A solid wall separated her from it, but that didn't stop the lust for vengeance from seeping through.
The other wanted to rip and tear and, then, howl its supremacy to the sky. It wanted to teach these lesser beings to fear where it trod.
The concept of right and wrong was hazy for that creature. All it cared about was protecting those it considered theirs.
Power flushed through Kira's veins as the primus pressed against the barrier. Pain followed swiftly on its heels; Kira's body unable to withstand the influx.
The inhibitor contracted around her wrist in warning, sending jolts of agony up her forearm.
Sensing the shift, Elena's attention shot to Kira, a cautious look entering her expression. "Auntie. No."
Kira stopped, taking a deep breath to compose herself. Elena was right. Losing herself to the primus would be self-indulgent and reckless.
Only when the pain abated and her ki settled did Kira focus on the oshota again. It was his lucky day. He got to live.
Raider threw himself forward as Kira started to speak. He hammered a punch into the other man’s face.
Not content to end it there, Raider snapped a kick against the side of the man's knee. The man fell to the ground, catching himself with one hand. Raider didn't give him time to recover, kneeing him in the face.
The man's companions stepped forward with the intention of assisting their friend.
Kira bared her teeth at them. "Do it. I dare you."
She couldn't be sure if they backed down because of her or if it was the way Maksym and Zoella shifted in defense of Kira. Even the oshota who'd been guarding Elena earlier made clear his intentions. If there was a fight, it wouldn't only be Kira and Raider against the other House. Wren's oshota would bloody their hands too.
"Bullying children. I didn't realize House Remie had fallen this low," Wren observed. "I will be sure to let our Overlord know so we can cut ties with such a weakling."
There was something in the way Wren stood that whispered if Raider hadn't acted, he would have.
It was confirmation of what Kira already suspected. Wren considered Elena his, and like all Tuann he protected his own.
What confused her was the fact he'd let Raider act before him. It showed restraint and consideration for the human.
Had the relationship between the two changed so much during her absence?
It wasn't outside the realm of possibility. No one was more acquainted with Raider's abilities than Kira. If the Tuann ever got past their superiority complex, they'd realize not all humans were weak.
Raider was a wolf. People remembered the Phoenix, but Kira would never have accomplished all she had without Raider and the other Curs.
If Wren acknowledged Raider's skills, that would be the best outcome for both Raider and Elena.
"That's enough, don't you think?" Wren asked emotionlessly.
Raider paused, his fist still upraised as he thought it over.
"Any further and you'll kill him." Wren's statement held no judgment. Rather he was making an observation.
Kira was impressed.
Wren already understood the secret to Raider. Try to force him and he'd balk. Persuade him with sweet words and he'd turn those words around on you. Meet him with logic and he'd cool down.