"What happens if they catch us?" Raider asked.
"Arrest? Possible execution? Your guess is as good as mine."
The only thing Kira was certain of was that they'd be detained. Probably long enough to eliminate any hope of getting to Elena and Jin in time.
Resolve formed on Raider's face. "Kira."
"I know."
For all Kira's words before about not burning their bridges, neither were willing to let themselves be caught.
She reached for the hilt of the folded up akieri sword at her side. "Hopefully the emperor can forgive us for any concussions we cause."
"You can put your weapons away," Blue interjected. "They've arrived."
Kira's gaze dropped to the bottom of the door to find a small, bug-like creature that looked like a beetle with jeweled wings and an emerald body squeezing through the opening it had drilled into the wood. The edges around the hole still glowed white hot from its laser.
The beetle waddled toward Kira and Raider, followed by three other spawn. A cute looking crustacean and two tiny mammals that Kira had seen on Ta Sa'Riel during one of her runs through its forest.
They crawled toward the middle of the floor as Kira hung back to melt the metal in the doorknob and latch, turning it into a hunk of useless scrap that welded the door shut. It wouldn't hold long, but hopefully it would be enough.
"Like I said before, the window they create probably won't be very big," Blue warned. "My calculations suggest two feet by two feet is the limit."
Raider backed away from the door toward the spawn. "Plenty big enough."
"I'm also not sure what this will do to them. The power surge could destroy them."
Kira's stomach dropped.
"They're not him, Kira. They're not Jin," Raider said gently.
No, they weren't. And if they could aid in getting her even a little closer to her objective then their sacrifice would be worth it.
"Do what you have to, Blue," Kira instructed.
"Standby."
The same sharp buzzing that had come from the rods started. The spawn levitated off the ground as pressure built.
Raised voices came from outside.
"Looks like they're onto us," Raider said, glancing at the door.
"Come on, Blue," Kira whispered as the spawn emitted the same electricity as the rods.
The door rattled.
There was a crack as a sheet of blue burrowed into the stone. Raider raised a hand to shield his eyes as the floor grew transparent.
There was a violent heave from the door, dust particles exploding outward from the force.
"Time to go," Kira said.
"See you on the other side." Raider dropped through the floor as the door flew off its hinges. A woman wearing synth armor stepped into the room. Shock replaced her fierce expression as her gaze landed on Kira.
"Sorry about this, Amila," Kira said, offering her a wave. "Blue, self-destruct as soon as I'm through."
Ki gathering around Amila as she started forward. "Wait!"
Kira dropped. Her heart in her throat as she landed. The floor closed an instant later.
"Close one," Kira said, staring up at the ceiling.
If Blue's timing had been off, that would have cut her in half.
"It certainly was," a man rumbled, the familiar voice washing over Kira.
She froze, her gaze locked on the ground as her breath hitched. It couldn't be. He couldn't be here. He was supposed to be recovering. Not pulling guard duty for a Tsavitee general.
An eternity passed before Kira gathered her courage to turn. Her world tilted as her gaze locked on the man next to Raider.
Suddenly, she could feel everything. All the anger and pain she'd been suppressing. The rage that felt like it might incinerate her if she breathed wrong. The heartache of impending loss. A part of her already preparing for what might come.
The odds weren't in their favor. She knew that.
But if the Phoenix was ever to pull off the longest of long shots, she needed it to be now.
Kira wobbled as she rose. Her nerves raw and exposed, leaving her a little off balance. Uncertainty holding her in check. Even as his name fell from her lips like a benediction.
"Graydon."
Her lover. And the man who'd probably be arresting them in the next few seconds.
Four
Graydon
Harlow had downplayed Kira's state. She was much worse off than he'd led Graydon to believe. The cracks in her psyche from the soul bound's missing link were already starting to show.
She was like an abused etair, a creature the Tuann had used for eons to race with. Her agitated energy filled the room. Aggressive and snappish as it hunted for an opponent. This version of Kira was the one from the end stages of the war. The Kira who had lost too many friends and was little more than a walking corpse.
She hadn't quite reached that state, but Graydon sensed it wouldn't take much to push her over the edge. Tuann who got to that point rarely came back from it.
Kira had. A minor miracle Graydon wasn't sure they'd be lucky enough to repeat.
You could only get so close to the flame before it burned you beyond recovery. Kira had fractured before and put the pieces back together. Shattering a second time could make it so there was nothing to reassemble, the shards so small and numerous that it'd take an eternity to sort through.
He would have spared her this if he could. Even if her distress was what had summoned him back to himself. If not for their bond, he'd still be unconscious. Locked in his own body, aware of everything, yet unable to do anything.
Graydon's heart squeezed as she whispered his name, her face crumpling.
It'd been so hard not seeing her. Devastating to know she was so close yet unable to touch her.
But he couldn’t. The emperor had threatened to put him under house arrest if he couldn’t prove he was fit for duty. Graydon refused to let that happen. No way was he allowing Kira to traverse the universe in her current state without him.
He’d known there would be no stopping her. Despite what the emperor might think.
It was why he’d given his full attention to passing the battery of tests the healers and the emperor had thrown his way since waking. The fall out of which meant that he hadn’t had the time to check in on Kira.
He regretted that oversight now.
"Coli, I sleep for a few days and you plot treason. Whatever am I to do with you?"
Tears welled in her eyes a second before Kira threw herself at him.
Graydon barely had time to open his arms before her body collided with his. The force knocked him back a step.
"I was so afraid you weren’t okay," she sobbed into his chest.
Graydon clutched her to him with relief as he reminded himself not to hold her too tight. He pressed his cheek to the top of her head, closing his eyes and absorbing the feel of her in his arms.
That piece of him that had been missing finally felt filled.
Graydon rocked Kira back and forth, crooning wordless sounds of comfort as her agony put a knot in his throat. Her pain felt like a white hot poker jammed between his ribs, digging deeper with every second.
"We'll get them back," Graydon promised.