"Do you ever fear your house may resent you for allowing me to drag them into my vendetta?"
It was what she was afraid of. That they'd come to hate her for the loss of lives. Tuann lived for a long time. Thousands of years if something didn't forcefully end their life. But they procreated extremely slowly. A single disastrous battle could wreak havoc on a House, taking centuries to recover from.
Technically speaking, the Tuann were never at war with the Tsavitee. Only a few in the emperor's court and some in the upper ranks of Roake's House knew about the presence behind the Tsavitee. A group responsible for enslaving the Tuann many thousands of years ago. The masters, as they were known. The rest of the Tuann had no clue. Some of the other Houses might suspect but most were in the dark. They'd wonder why they had to put their lives on the line for someone who could barely be considered one of them. A child stolen from them during an event the Tuann referred to as the Sorrowing.
As a result, Kira hadn't grown up Tuann. Until recently, she'd considered herself human. A product of clandestine gene experiments but homo sapiens nonetheless.
For that reason, she'd prefer not to drag House Roake into a war they didn't desire and one that would likely cost them considerably.
"You didn't start this war. The Tsavitee and their masters did when they attacked the adva ka. There are a lot of people who'd be grateful for a chance at vengeance. Remember that," Harlow instructed. "We're with you, niece. Never doubt it."
Kira's inhale was shaky as she gave him the nod he was expecting.
"That is why when you find them, you're not to go in alone. You will call us," Harlow pressed.
She nodded again. "Alright."
The tense set of Harlow's features eased. He gave her a firm nod before turning toward the waiting double doors that were guarded by a pair of the emperor's oshota. Kira took her place at his side as a sign of her status as Harlow's heir.
"I promise to do everything in my power to make it back," Kira said softly as Harlow signaled to the oshota that they were ready to enter.
Harlow gave no sign of hearing as he stepped inside, leaving Kira to follow. She was careful to keep her expression blank as she took in the room's occupants.
The Overlords of almost every major House were present along with representatives of influential minor Houses. Interspersed among their ranks were those in the matte black synth armor that designated them as the emperor's people.
To her surprise, only one of the emperor's Faces, those individuals bestowed with the emperor's authority, was in attendance. Disappointment moved through Kira at the realization that the Face she most expected to see was missing. His absence an unexpected blow that threatened the delicate balance she'd struck with herself.
She'd seen Graydon only once since he’d come out of his coma. An all-too-brief meeting that had done little to reassure her as to his health. Little was known about the side effects a sleeper, the Tsavitee weapon Elise had used on him to render him unconscious, would have on a Tuann. It could be she was worrying for nothing.
Then again, it wasn't like Graydon to be absent for something as important as this.
Kira sent her uncle an uncertain look, hoping he wasn't hiding something from her. Though could she really blame him after everything she'd just put him through? Her own fugue state and its aftermath.
"House Roake, it's good of you to join us after all this time. We've missed you during these proceedings," the Overlord of House Asanth drawled.
The man's size rivaled most of those in the room. It wasn't fat either. Just pure muscle mass stretched over a giant's body.
Tiny scars ran down the side of his neck and along a portion of his jaw. A sign that at some point in this man's life he'd come very close to dying. A chunk was missing from the tip of one ear. The way it had healed, jagged and covered in scar tissue, was very different from Kira's which had been docked in a surgical procedure to allow her to blend in better with humans.
The Overlord didn't wait for Harlow's response, his gaze locked on Kira. "Oh look, you've brought your heir. How fortuitous." The Overlord made a show of searching the air over Kira's shoulder. "No soul bound today? I thought he was your constant companion."
Kira didn't react to the provocation. No one except her, Harlow, and a very trusted few knew about Jin's absence.
"Considering his last encounter with the Tuann almost led to his execution, I thought it best he sit this one out." Kira swept a meaningful gaze over those assembled, most of whom had been present during the trial to decide Jin's fate.
As the first soul bound discovered in recent memory, the Tuann had been understandably perturbed when they'd found one in their midst. The soul bound had always been considered abominations. Monsters that went against the natural order of the universe, thought to only be capable of madness and bloodshed.
They were what happened when you took the soul of a living creature and bound it to a creation of metal and circuitry.
Jin proved an exception to the truths that had defined them for so long. Soul bound but with his mind and empathy intact.
Kira glanced at the only Tuann present not wearing the synth armor that marked them as oshota. The emperor's Face of Justice, a man who didn't need a weapon or armor to be considered dangerous.
There was a tiny wrinkle on Eurus's brow as he regarded Kira. His shoulder length red hair was the only splash of color in his otherwise monochromatic pallet. His high collared, formal black jacket and white shirt made his already pale skin look even paler.
All he needed was a set of fangs and blood dribbling out of the corner of his mouth to be a dead ringer for the vampires of myth. He'd even managed to nail their haughtiness. A bone deep arrogance exuded from him that seemed to say that these proceedings weren’t worth his effort.
"No need to fret." Asanth leaned back in his chair. "We're more interested to hear of what became of the rest of the children taken during the Sorrowing."
Kira glanced at Harlow.
"The other three disappeared after the trial," Harlow informed her.
Asanth stretched, making himself comfortable. "Courtesy of that interesting fella, no doubt. What was his name again?"
"Pallas."
"Ah, yes. Pallas. You wouldn't happen to know where they went, would you?"
"No."
If Selene, Alexander and Pallas were gone, it meant the forty three had been apprised of the situation. They'd know about Elise and Elena. Not Jin though. He'd been very careful when he slipped into his lu-ong spawn. They probably wouldn't realize the significance of the J1N collapsing immediately after.
Kira didn't want to think her siblings would leak that information to the Tsavitee, but you never knew. She'd gotten this far by being paranoid.
"That's disappointing," Asanth said with a sigh, not sounding disappointed at all. "I was hoping for an opportunity to speak with them. You could arrange that, couldn't you?"
Asanth raised his eyebrows at Kira in expectation.