"Thanks." Kira's voice was soft, picking up the two halves of Jin’s sphere before turning back to the boy. "This is going to work. Do you understand, Jin? Otherwise, I'll never let you hear the end of it."
Beads of sweat dotted Kira's forehead as she concentrated, pulling out the drone's essence. Jin's soul with it.
"There you are, my friend. Time for a new chapter in our story."
Kira slammed Jin's soul into the boy's body.
Thirty
Jin’s confusion and terror buffeted Kira, amplifying her own emotions as his soul threatened to slip away.
The new vessel wasn’t acting like the anchor she’d thought it would be. Without her there to hold the soul in place, it would escape. Eventually dissipating.
Kira refused to let that happen.
Unfortunately, her energy was flagging as she faced the realization that she didn’t have enough left in her to do what needed to be done.
A sob left her.
"No. Please."
She slumped, her forehead touching the boy’s chest. This couldn’t be the end. It couldn’t.
Graydon’s arms came around her, his hands cupping hers as his front cradled her back. "Together, cheva nier."
Power splashed against her defenses. As comforting as a hot bath on a cold and damp winter's day. Painless, unlike that of the lenacht and lu-ong’s.
"Use me," Graydon urged.
Kira did, weaving Jin into his new body with Graydon's power and the little bit of ki she had left. Little by little, Jin’s soul settled into its new home.
"We did it," Kira gasped.
At least, she thought they had. Jin's presence in their bond was scarily silent. To the point, she couldn’t be sure if what she felt was really him or a figment of her imagination.
Graydon caught her as all the strength left her body. "It's time to go."
"How did you find us?" Kira asked as she felt him turn her to face him.
"Coli, you sent up such a big signal."
Kira studied the gaping hole the lu-ong had torn in the ceiling during its escape. "I suppose I did."
"I would have been here sooner, but I had to find my yer’se first."
Kira's eyes fluttered closed.
Graydon’s lips pressed against her ear. "Thank you for staying with me."
Kira gave him an exhausted smile, unable to find the will to open her eyes as he lifted her.
"Tend to the injured. Anyone who can't walk, we'll carry them out," Graydon was ordering as Kira drifted off.
Graydon
Graydon felt the moment Kira went limp from unconsciousness. Her body loosened, her head resting against his chest.
He adjusted his hold, ensuring she was as comfortable as he could make her.
Solal nodded at the bank of cryopods and their inhabitants. "What about them?"
Elena's gaze flitted from one face to another. "You can't leave them behind. They're of my mother. That makes them my siblings."
Solal looked over her head at Raider as Amila moved to tend to Finn's wound.
The oshota's face was dangerously pale from blood loss. If they didn't get him to a healer soon, he might not make it.
Raider stared at the six unconscious children; his expression shuttered.
"Someone will need to take responsibility for them," Graydon said.
Elena scowled. "What does that mean?"
Raider knew. Graydon could see that from the way the human rubbed the back of his neck as he stared at the unconscious children. He understood the same way Graydon did that they couldn’t release these children into the universe without someone there to guide them.
Elena tugged at Raider’s arm, her expression pleading. "Dad?"
Raider nodded, his gaze finding Graydon's. "I'll do it."
"Are you sure?"
It would be less complicated for everyone if the children disappeared.
He'd made a promise to Kira though. And his own conscience wouldn't allow him to order their elimination. Not without knowing whether they could be more than their masters made them.
That was what the lu-ong had offered the Tuann all those years ago. A chance at something different. It would be hypocritical now to judge these children for being in the same position they’d once been. Weapons and monsters—but not because of a choice they made.
Graydon wanted to hear Raider’s answer. Whether the human would prove worthy of the woman Devon had just carried out of the shadows and set beside Jin's cryopod.
Raider's gaze lingered on his former lover. "They might not be mine the same way Elena is, but Elise wanted them. She thought them worth saving. That's enough for me."
Good answer.
With that, Graydon gave his people a nod.
Solal and Devon headed for the cryopods as Amila lifted Finn, supporting the majority of his weight as they hobbled toward the rest. The oshota too proud to let anybody carry him.
Pallas knelt beside Jin with a look of wonder. "Little brother, I can’t tell you how good it is to see your face again."
Graydon pretended not to notice the emotion on the other man's face as he reverently cupped the top of the boy’s head.
A moment passed before Pallas rose. "Take care of them."
Lathan headed toward them, the body of a woman carried over his shoulder.
"As if I would ever do anything else," Graydon said with some amusement.
Pallas took the body from Lathan, holding the woman against his chest.
Graydon didn’t understand the flash of anger and disgust in the other man’s face. Especially when compared to the gentle way he handled her.
"Lathan will remain with you. You'll have need of him," Pallas said.
"And where will you be?"
A void of black yawned beneath Pallas's feet. "I have business to take care of."
The rift swallowed Pallas and the woman, leaving no evidence of their passage.
"Will he be alright?" Graydon asked Lathan.
The wanderer's face remained calm as he moved over to help Solal and Devon lay out the children. "He will grieve. And then he will kill."
Graydon glanced at the spot where Pallas had just been. "How very Tuann."
Lathan's smile was soft. "Yes."
There was a commotion as his oshota found a boy lying on the ground, just returning to consciousness. A general who looked confused as he took in the semi-destroyed state of the room.
"What happened?" the boy asked.
Raider whipped up his rifle, aiming it at the youth’s head. Graydon's oshota unsheathed their en-blades to point them at the boy.
Elena threw herself between them and the general, her hands held out placatingly. "Don't hurt him. He's with me."
"Not you too," Raider groaned, his rifle lowering slightly.
Elena looked puzzled for a moment before her face brightened. "Auntie is working with them, isn’t she?"
The general held still, aware that his continued existence hinged on Elena’s actions.
Smart. Maybe he could be of some use after all.
Graydon prowled toward him, stopping just out of reach. "You’re in luck. I’m going to offer you a choice. I suggest you consider it carefully."
The general’s gaze lifted to Graydon’s, a question in them.
"You may come with us—or stay here."