Pallas stabbed the dagger's point into the stone seat next to him. "I've warned you about using your illusions against me."
"You're more sensitive than usual, brother dearest," Thea drawled. "Is it because the emperor's Face beat you at your own game? The great and powerful Pallas brought down by a mere Tuann."
Graydon lowered his head to speak into Kira's ear, watching Pallas and Thea with fascination. "The dynamic between your siblings is an intriguing one. I can't decide whether they love or hate each other."
"Let me know if you figure it out."
Even all these years later, she still didn't understand the forty three.
Kira eyed Thea unhappily, less than pleased about her sister’s actions. It was almost as if she was looking to cause trouble.
No surprise there. Thea always was an agent of chaos. Happy to cause mischief wherever she roamed.
Pallas yanked the dagger out of the stone, coming to his feet with a reckless smirk. "When you put it like that, it feels like I have something to prove."
"Don't you dare," Kira warned.
"But it would be so fun."
"That it would," Graydon agreed. His smirk anticipatory. Like he welcomed the opportunity. Was itching for it.
"Don't encourage him," Kira hissed.
They'd be here all night.
Kira shot a look at Alexander and Selene, hoping one of the two could do something about this.
Alexander's face was an inscrutable mask as Pallas planted his hands on the stone wall in preparation to launch himself over it. Selene looked on in concern, her body tightening as if to interfere.
Alexander set his hand on hers, stopping her.
"Calm yourselves," Ryan instructed.
In a rare display of obedience, Pallas straightened from the wall, dropping his hands to his side as he looked over in Ryan's direction.
"We're not here to fight. Pallas, answer the question," Ryan instructed. "Why is he here? You were told to bring her alone."
Kira checked Alexander's expression for his reaction to the news that Pallas hadn't been acting on his own. Rather, he’d been following orders.
Alexander gave little indication of his thoughts. Other than a faint tightening at his jaw that might signal anger, or an attack of gas, his face was as stoic as ever.
Pallas dropped into his seat, crossing his ankle over his knee as he leaned back and spread his arms over the back of the stands. "What can I say? He followed me all on his own."
There was a stir as the forty three looked at each other in surprise. Their shock discernible even without Kira and Graydon being able to see their faces.
"You're lying," a man in the stands behind Ryan said.
Pallas twitched, his easy smile turning predatory. "I'm not actually. If you don't believe me, I'd be happy to defend my honor through combat."
There was a scoff from the other side of the arena. "As if that would prove anything. You never lose."
"You never know. There are a few among us who might make the outcome uncertain." Pallas swept a playful look over the crowd, his gaze lingering in several places as if to make it clear who he meant.
Ryan was one. Alexander too. As for the rest, their identities were difficult to ascertain due to the shadows they were using to hide. The few who sat where the moonlight could reach them all wore masks. They had even covered themselves with cloaks to make it impossible to guess at the composition of their bodies. Whether they were lean or muscular, stocky or thickset. About the only thing Kira could tell was if they were tall or short. And even that could be misleading.
"This isn't why we're here. Let her have her safety blanket if it makes her feel better," a woman declared impatiently.
She was one of those in a mask, sitting in a section of the stands that faded in and out of visibility as the moon's face was periodically covered by clouds. The mask's silhouette was that of an etair, a surprising homage to a Tuann animal similar to that of a horse.
"Agreed," someone else said.
For once, Kira found herself in agreement with her siblings. The endless posturing was a waste of her time. They'd be here for hours if this continued.
She shot a concerned glance at the J1N, mercifully silent until now.
The drone had kept close, hovering in a position not far away. A few feet over her and Graydon's heads.
Still, there were small signs that said something wasn't quite right.
His unnatural silence for one. The real Jin would never have been this accommodating. He would have already completed two circuits of the room, using his night vision to betray their identities on each round.
That was if he didn't use his anti gravs or built in weapons to fuck with them.
Kira supposed she should be relieved his 'eye' was at least pointed close enough to the right direction to seem plausible. Even if it was slightly off kilter.
The fact no one had questioned his oddities was a relief. If she could fool the forty three, people who had studied them and knew their habits, there was a chance she could do the same to her enemies.
It was the one silver lining in this messed up situation.
"Why did you bring me here? I thought we had an agreement to stay out of each other's way,” Kira said.
"Your current plans have left us concerned," Ryan answered.
Kira would have really liked to find that response surprising, but she didn't. Nothing out of any of their mouths shocked her anymore.
Kira gestured for him to get on with it. No doubt whatever he planned to say would piss her right the fuck off. "Alright, let's hear it. Might as well get this over with."
The sooner the better.
The resulting stilted silence was broken by a twitter from high in the stands.
"Going after the Tsavitee endangers us all," Ryan said.
There it was. The same old argument. Kira hadn't cared the first time they made it. She cared even less now.
"They have our niece. Are you really asking me to leave her in their hands? Knowing what they do to people like us?"
Kira's voice was ice cold, her tone a warning to tread very carefully.
Graydon moved closer in unspoken support. His earlier fascination had vanished as he watched the forty three with a predatory focus. As if they were potential enemies who needed to be countered.
"The daughter of a traitor. Why do we care what happens to her?" Thea corrected.
Anger swelled as the primus shifted under her skin.
Graydon's hand on her arm steadied her. Enough for her to swallow the primus back.
Once she was calm, she spoke again. "I will not abandon Elena or Elise. Don't you dare ask me to."
"We could force your hand," a man rumbled.
Kira snarled, the sound low and dangerous. "Try it."
She would kill them. Without an ounce of hesitation.
"Your actions affect us all, little sister," a woman murmured.
"I don't care. I won't walk away from them. No matter what you say."
This time Kira didn't resist as the primus rose. She used its anger and rage, letting it peer through her eyes as her voice developed a reverberation. The sound echoing as if two people were speaking.