"So that justifies keeping this from me?" Raider roared.
"Of course not," Jin snarled. "But it helps explain it. The war had just ended. You and any other Cur who survived were being shielded by the military, your whereabouts considered classified so our enemies didn't try to kill you. You were all targets."
Raider's eyes flared. "Do you really expect me to believe the great Jin couldn't have hacked that information?"
Jin scoffed. "Of course I could have, but not without arousing suspicions and possibly revealing Elena's existence."
Interest crossed Graydon's face. "Why would they have cared?"
Elena perked up, the tilt of her head coy. "Because I'm the first of my kind. Tuann, human—and other."
Kira tensed as silence descended.
Graydon and Harlow were still, motionless, as if they barely dared to breathe.
Kira watched them for signs of aggression.
Several long seconds passed as they considered each other.
Kira waited.
"That explains some things," Graydon said thoughtfully.
"Maybe to you," Raider spat. He glared at Kira. "Explain."
Elena opened her mouth, only for Kira to cover it before she could speak.
"I think you've done quite enough for now," Kira told her niece.
Elena glared unhappily over Kira's hand. Kira waited for a sign of grudging agreement before letting Elena go.
"It's simple, Raider," Kira bit out, emotion making her unwise. "Elise was in the same camp as me. A camp ultimately controlled by the Tsavitee. Genetic manipulation was one of their favorite experiments. Understand now, or do you need me to continue?"
The mood in the air went electric, the tension threatening to turn explosive.
Raider bared his teeth at Kira, looking an inch from going for her throat. In retrospect, sarcasm probably wasn't the best tactic to take.
He pointed at her and shook his head, aggression pouring off him. Even then, he didn't trust himself to speak, slamming off the bridge without another word.
Kira scrubbed one hand over her face, regret at her hasty words giving rise to the sick feeling in her stomach. "That could have gone better."
Jin snorted. "Really? I thought it went great. He didn't try to kill either of us. I count that as a win."
This was true. Raider wasn’t a turn-the-other-cheek kind of guy. He was notorious for seeking retribution for any and all insults.
And Kira had wronged him way worse than any before.
The situation could have easily ended with blood shed. It hadn't. His restraint had been admirable—and unexpected.
He’d retired from the battlefield with barely a shot fired.
Kira didn't know whether to be relieved or worried.
A hurt, lost sound distracted Kira from her thoughts. Her niece's lips quivered, cutting Kira to the quick.
She closed her eyes, wishing for a split second she could kick her own ass. Great job, genius. Look what you've done.
Kira knelt by Elena's side, setting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. You should know his reaction has nothing to do with you. It's entirely my fault."
Elena's nod was small, reminding Kira that her niece was still very much a child. Elena might act with a bravado and cockiness only present in the very young, but she had the same need to be loved as all children. The desire to be part of a family.
Kira's hand closed into a fist and knocked Elena softly on the head. "Cheer up, buttercup. He'll come around in the end."
Even if Kira had to spend a little time beating sense into that thick head of his.
TWO
ELENA FINALLY SMILED. “I suppose this means I should have listened. Maybe the big reunion would have gone better that way.”
“Reality rarely lives up to our expectations,” Jin said. “It’s not wrong to want what you don’t have. Kira’s right; he’ll come around eventually.”
Elena perked up. “Does this mean I have permission to disregard your orders next time?”
"No," Kira and Jin both said at the same time.
Elena sat back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest as she pouted. "Mean."
Elena’s upset didn’t last long. After only a moment, she sobered and looked at Harlow and Graydon. “I’m not only here to find Auntie. The others wanted me to pass a message to you.”
Kira felt a sense of dread as her niece conspicuously avoided her gaze.
“Elena,” Kira started.
Knowing Kira would try to stop her, Elena’s shoulders straightened as the words poured out of her. “The others wanted you to know they’re watching and waiting. What you do next and how you treat the youngest will determine the direction they take.”
Kira bit back some choice words that wanted to escape. She was going to kill whoever had sent her niece here with that kind of message.
Bad enough they had a habit of sticking their noses into Kira’s business, but now they were using her niece for the same purpose.
Seeing her growing anger, Harlow finally spoke. “I think we could all use some time to come to terms with this situation. Come. We'll discuss the rest at home.”
His reasons for getting them off the ship were obvious. He didn’t trust either of them remaining behind while he wasn't also on it.
Kira was afraid this was coming.
Elena had practically handed House Roake what they wanted most in this world—to recover the children lost in the Sorrowing. Nearly a century had passed, but for the Tuann it was barely a breath. No way was Harlow or Graydon going to let them walk away that easily.
Leaving her anger behind for the moment, Kira prodded Elena in the shoulder when her niece didn't move. "He means you too."
Elena straightened and blinked at Kira. “I can return to the ship, right? After we've had this 'conversation'.”
Jin guffawed. “That's not how the Tuann work.”
Especially not House Roake, who was overprotective in the extreme.
The only bright side of this was that Kira now knew Harlow didn’t care that Elena’s DNA had a little bit extra in it. Neither Harlow nor Graydon were the sort to pretend an acceptance they didn’t feel.
If they saw Elena as a threat, they would eliminate her here and now.
That wasn’t to say the rest of Roake or the Tuann in general wouldn’t have an opinion about that if they ever learned of it.
At least Harlow and House Roake had a chance of keeping her niece on lockdown rather than let her gallivant halfway across the galaxy on a whim.
Elena sent a furtive glance at Graydon and Harlow. "Didn't that person talk to you about Mom? We have a location. We can go there now."
"First—what is this 'we'? There is no 'we' in this plan. If by some miracle we've found your mom, you will not be anywhere in the vicinity when we go after her."
A mulish expression crossed Elena's face.
"Second—even if the intel is right, there is no guarantee your mom will be there when we finally arrive. This has always been a stab in the dark."
The chances of success were small. Minuscule. Despite that, Kira couldn’t make herself give up. The girl in front of her was a small piece of that.