Like a flower drawn to the sun, Elena leaned toward him.
The sight snapped Kira into the present. She stepped between the two and shook her head. "Nope. Not going to happen."
Elena frowned up at her, but Kira didn't budge. Elena could sulk all she liked, but Kira knew exactly how irresistible Graydon was when he wanted to be. No way was she going to let him charm her niece into revealing dangerous information. That way lay disaster.
Kira narrowed her eyes at Graydon as she considered him carefully. What exactly was he up to?
There was none of the anger she'd anticipated. The disgust she'd braced herself for, even as she regretted the loss of midnight strolls that lulled her into losing all semblance of reason. The drugging kisses that made her think "what if".
Yet, despite expectations, he was acting as if nothing had changed. Almost like he'd known all along.
Hope tried to bloom before she ruthlessly squashed it.
Graydon was the consummate hunter. There was every chance he was simply playing a part and masking his thoughts. Lives other than her own depended on her actions. She couldn't risk the others because she was lonely and tired and wanted someone to help her shoulder the burden. Not take it from her, but lighten the load when things got hard.
Kira shored up her defenses, rebuilding them inch by inch. Only when she felt in control again did she focus on Graydon. She stilled as she caught something in his expression. Something that seemed to say, “Gotcha. I see you now, and there's no escape.”
Before Kira could react, Graydon's attention settled on her niece. “You were saying?”
Elena answered without hesitation. "The kind of promises people kill to keep."
Kira blew out a frustrated breath as she aimed her eyes at the ceiling. Perhaps this was her punishment for a youth spent purposely antagonizing Himoto and other authority figures. She loved Elena like her own, but lord, the girl could try the patience of a saint.
Suddenly, Kira had way more sympathy for the young Himoto who'd gotten stuck raising her.
"I suddenly have so many regrets about our youth," Jin grumbled.
Kira nodded in agreement.
"This isn't possible," Raider insisted suddenly. "Elise and I never had kids. I would have known."
Elena's gaze dropped, some of her bravado draining as she shrank in her seat.
Regret moved through Kira. Elena had always known about her father. Kira and Jin had each made a point of telling Elena stories about Raider and Elise. Neither of them had had parents or memories to keep them company, and they didn't want that fate for Elena. Circumstances had separated her niece from her parents, and the least Kira and Jin could do was keep their spirit alive.
Perhaps that had been a mistake. If they hadn't, Elena wouldn't have built this encounter up in her head. She wouldn't be hurting now as she learned that fantasies rarely matched up to reality.
Too late now.
Kira cast her eyes around the bridge, hoping for an answer. There were none to be had. It was time for the truth.
Kira cleared her throat, forcing her emotions into their respective boxes.
"The Gregory detail."
Raider's lips pressed closed, his expression going blank.
"She was gone nearly six months, remember?"
Raider rubbed his head as he stared unseeing at the bridge of the Wanderer.
She could see the wheels starting to turn. He had all the pieces; he simply needed to put them together.
"She was distant for a month or two before that," Raider said slowly. "She was always busy; she barely had time for me. I thought it was because of the op tempo."
Kira nodded.
Raider wasn't the only person Elise had avoided in the months leading up to the detail. She'd pulled back from everyone. Even Kira.
"The mission was a cover story. Instead of the escort detail we thought she'd been tapped for, she headed to the planet Rosetta where she gave birth. Afterward, she returned to duty with no one the wiser."
"Why didn't she tell me?" Quiet devastation lurked in Raider’s eyes.
Kira mutely shook her head. She didn't know. Even all these years later, Kira could only guess at Elise's reasoning.
Kira could understand concealing the pregnancy and giving birth in secret. Elise's identity had practically demanded such precautions. Keeping it from Raider and Kira, the two people she would have sworn Elise trusted unreservedly? Kira never expected that.
But Elise had, leaving Kira to deal with the fallout all these years later.
Raider looked at Kira like she'd betrayed him. Like she'd walked up and sunk a blade in his gut.
A part of her shriveled seeing that look on his face, the same one he’d had when he learned Elise had perished in the battle for Rothchild.
The worst part was she couldn’t even defend herself.
While she hadn't known about Elena then, Kira also hadn't taken steps to correct the wrong in the years since she’d discovered Elena’s existence. She’d been too hindered by fear of the Tsavitee finding out about Elena and guilt she’d survived Rothchild when her Curs hadn’t.
Even now, Kira wasn't sure she would have done anything differently. Not when the result was sitting right next to her, disobedient pain in the ass though she was.
"It's because the girl is Tuann, isn't it?" Harlow folded his massive arms over his chest, leveling a hard stare on Kira. "You told me you were the only one rescued."
"Technically true. I was the only one rescued."
Well, with the exception of Jin, but Kira couldn't say that without revealing Jin's special circumstances.
When Himoto and his team saved Kira, they'd also brought with them the drone lying beside her, thinking it would answer some of the questions they had about the smoldering stretch of forest surrounding her.
It did, just not in the way they'd expected.
Understanding dawned in Graydon's expression. "The others escaped."
Gold star to the Emperor's Face.
Truthfully, Kira wasn't surprised he was the one to figure it out. He was entirely too perceptive for Kira's peace of mind. Also, he'd had access to a small slice of Kira's memories. It wasn't much to go on, but it was enough for a man like Graydon.
In the back of her mind, she had to ask herself what else he'd managed to glean from that brief trip down memory lane.
At that thought, Kira shot an accusing glare toward Jin, the being responsible for Graydon venturing where he had no business being.
Jin whistled to himself, rotating so the primary lens on his casing was facing away from her.
"How many survived?"
Kira’s expression turned stubborn.
Harlow’s eyes narrowed at her refusal. "They're our stolen children. They deserve to be protected."
Maybe so.
Only problem was they weren't little kids. They’d grown used to relying on themselves.
Kira didn't think they would react well to the Tuann's version of love, which could be considered overbearing with a side of patronizing on a good day.
"Have we treated you so shabbily that we deserve this level of distrust?" Harlow demanded.
The simple answer was no.
When she'd first been forced into House Roake, she'd been certain she'd obtain her freedom in short order. Instead, she'd found a place and people that felt astonishingly like home.