She winced, reaching up and rubbing her forehead before her hands settled in her lap. She slumped, looking tired.
"He wasn't supposed to be seen." She sent the drone a hard look. "He had orders to remain in the room."
Jin hummed. "You’re lucky I broke cover and sent the big guy your way. That last drone almost had you."
Kira opened her mouth to argue, and Graydon cut into the brewing argument with a hard look. "I don't care how I found out. I care that he’s here where he isn't supposed to be."
"To be fair—Kira didn't know about my presence until it was too late. I did it all on my own," Jin said.
"Not helping," Kira shot at him.
"Maybe in your mind, but I think I'm being super helpful," Jin grumbled.
Graydon scrubbed his face, ignoring the interaction. If only he had walked away on Luatha, his life would be so much simpler.
"Does anyone else know about this?" he asked.
Guilt crossed Kira's face. He guessed what she was going to say before she said it.
"Finn."
Graydon found himself surprised the oshota had kept Kira's secret. Then again, considering his history, maybe not. The man would not willingly give up another of his charges unless circumstances were dire.
"And Raider," Kira finished.
Graydon stood in an explosive movement, prowling the length of the room and stopping at the window to stare out. The two behind him were quiet, leaving him to his thoughts.
If Graydon was smart, he'd inform Harlow and Roake of Jin's presence immediately. His credibility would be damaged, but he'd likely not suffer too much from this debacle. From this point on, he would have no plausible deniability. If Jin was discovered and Roake decided to take issue, Graydon would be treated as a traitor. Everything he’d worked for gone.
The whispered argument taking place behind him brought his attention to the troublemakers.
He faced them. Kira's mouth snapped shut as she regarded him with a mingling of defiance and understanding.
She expected him to tell Roake, he realized.
Nothing was ever easy with this woman. Perhaps that's why he found her endlessly fascinating. She was complicated, with cracks that made her even more beautiful for their presence. She'd make him work for every inch of progress.
But the reward would be worth it.
"You're going to owe me for this," Graydon informed her.
Wary distrust filled violet gray eyes he could lose himself in. "What are you saying?"
His smile this time held cunning. The expression wasn't nice and it wasn't easy. He found himself chuckling internally when her suspicion deepened.
"I'm not going to reveal his presence to Roake," he said.
"Why?"
He shook his head. Oh no, she wasn't getting that. He might not want to see her pretty head separated from her body, but that didn't mean he was going to trust her.
"My reasons are my own."
Kira's eyes were steady as she held his gaze. "There are many things I regret in this life. Jin isn't one of them."
Graydon was starting to see that. Had the drone been flesh and blood, their relationship would be admirable. That he was a machine made her reliance on him worrying, but that was a problem for another day.
Graydon approached the bed, running a finger along one of the faint red marks on the exposed skin of her shoulder. Kira shivered, unable to hide her response.
"You took a chance with this," Graydon informed her.
Stubbornness filled her expression. "I couldn't leave Devon."
And that was why Graydon found himself breaking a law that had been in place for centuries. Devon hadn't been especially kind to Kira, yet she'd stayed and protected him anyway.
Her selflessness was inspiring. All the more so because not many would have bothered.
"No, I suppose you couldn't," Graydon agreed.
Graydon made to rise, Kira's gaze lifting to follow him.
"Make sure he stays out of sight," Graydon informed her.
"And this thing I owe you?"
His grin flashed. "You'll find out soon enough."
He suspected she wouldn’t be happy about the cost.
*
Kira waited until the door shut before whipping the nearest object at Jin. "What the hell is the matter with you? You told him?"
Jin spun out of the way. "What did you expect me to do? You were up against a primus. You might not know how terrifying it is to face one, but I do."
Kira's glare didn't ease. "You know he's going to use this as leverage to make us stay."
Jin let out a scornful sound. "Of course, he is. That's Tuann etiquette 101." Jin circled the bed, making sure to stay out of the range of any more missiles. "Just like I know you'll find a way to use this situation to your advantage."
Jin had a point. Some of Kira's anger drained away, and she slumped.
Graydon, for reasons of his own, had decided to keep her secret. It left them room to maneuver and plan.
A corner of her mind whispered she knew why he had chosen not to reveal Jin's presence. It was one she ignored.
As attractive as she might find Graydon, he wasn't for her.
Kira threw her legs over the bed, tentatively resting her balance on them until she was sure they'd hold her weight.
"What do you think about the tala dogs’ role in this?" she asked.
Jin snorted. "I think it's pretty convenient a nocturnal animal decided to leave its territory to hunt prey in an active section of the forest. They might be a deadly predator, but they don't normally challenge Tuann."
His assessment fit with hers.
"Is it paranoia or fact when you see Tsavitee machinations around every corner?" Kira asked him.
Jin played devil's advocate. "You could be seeing things after Graydon's history lesson."
Kira nodded. Very true. Not every plot or accident in her life led to them.
"But then, it's happened before. More than once," Jin said.
Also true.
"What do we do?" Jin asked.
"I'm thinking on it."
Jin sighed. "That’s what worries me."
*
Kira hovered at the edge of Quillon’s med bay, torn between crossing into his domain and leaving. Her daily treatments had ended shortly before her encounter with the primus, and there was no real reason for her presence here.
It had been over a day since she’d woken up with Harlow keeping vigil.
Since then, she’d decided she had questions. Many, many questions. Somehow, much to her surprise, Quillon had become one of the few she trusted to give her the answers she needed.
“If you’re going to linger, you might as well do it inside,” Elodie said from the end of the hall.
The healer continued toward her, brushing past Kira and Finn with barely a glance.
The healer’s presence gave Kira the incentive she needed to cross the threshold. She followed as Elodie headed for a table with the bag she was carrying. The healer reached inside, pulling out several delicious smelling containers of food and setting them on the table.
“I didn’t realize you had a treatment, so there isn’t much. You’re welcome to what food we have,” Elodie said without looking up.