Avoidance might not solve their issues, but it would delay them. Blue might have had a point when she said Kira avoided dealing with emotional pain.
For now, Kira was fine with that.
Silas led the way into the fortress, scaling the wall with the ease of long practice. Mentally and emotionally, he might seem ancient, but physically he was as spry as any of the initiates.
Kira climbed through the window, reaching back to help Blue, who either didn't notice the helping hand or was still mad from earlier. Kira's hand dropped as Blue finished crawling in by herself.
The tight expression on Finn's face told Kira he'd seen the other woman's slight. Unlike Kira, he didn't seem willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.
They walked through the fortress, following Silas as he led them through long corridors and twisting passages.
"How are you liking our home so far?" he asked.
Blue was the first to answer. "It's beautiful. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it."
Earth might have had a distant approximation if many of its cities hadn't been razed during the war. Buildings that had stood for centuries had been destroyed. The Tsavitee didn't care about the cultural history of the people they sought to destroy. They were locusts, consuming the resources without care or concern for future generations.
All of the other planets were too young to have anything as steeped in history as the fortress. Their cities hadn't been built with defense in mind and while their architectural details might be fascinating depending on where you were, they didn't carry the same impact as a church built in the medieval or renaissance period.
"The Fortress of the Vigilant was one of the first structures built when we came to Ta Sa’Riel," Silas said.
"When was that exactly?" Blue asked, trying to seem nonchalant. Her studied disinterest wasn't fooling anyone as she fiddled with her ear nervously.
Amusement deepened the corners of Silas's eyes even as the rest of his expression remained serious. "A long time ago."
Blue didn't relent, prodding. "By gate?"
"No."
Kira leveled a dark look on her friend. "We talked about this.”
Blue spread her hands, innocence on her face. "It's a simple question."
Kira knew better than to believe her. She'd seen that exact expression on Blue's face one too many times to be fooled now. It was the same look she used to get when she tried to convince Kira to overlook her latest disaster.
It hadn't worked then; it wasn't going to work now either.
"The gates are among the oldest relics in our worlds," Silas said into the silence that had descended. "No one knows how they were built."
"Why not study them, then?" Puzzlement settled on Blue's face. She genuinely didn't understand why the Tuann wouldn't investigate such a powerful artifact.
Silas's expression was polite, if firm. "Some things are better left to the past. The world gate is useful, but it is also dangerous. It serves our current needs, and that is enough. We have no interest in tearing it apart in the misguided notion it will give us more power."
Kira concealed her smile at the mild rebuke. It seemed Silas had been listening longer than she thought.
The view highlighted the biggest difference between the Tuann and humans. The Tuann were much more accepting of things as they came. They were more likely to make decisions based on tradition and the ideas of the past.
The Tuann were so used to being the biggest and baddest on the galactic stage, so secure in their superiority, that Kira feared what might happen to them because of their arrogance.
Humans were their opposite. They fought for more, even against great odds. They were bound and determined to progress, containing a constant thirst for evolution.
That desire to grow and evolve had led them down many a dark path. It made it easy to justify acts that were wrong on the most basic of levels. Left to their own devices, they held the potential to destroy themselves. Several points in their history were marked with events where they had nearly done that.
Neither race was right. Neither was wrong. Instead, they were a little bit of both. Perhaps Himoto was wiser than Kira gave him credit for. If humans and Tuann could learn to coexist, learn from each other's weaknesses, they could find a path forward where each flourished beyond their current limits.
Unfortunately, Kira thought this endeavor was more likely to end in failure and hard feelings rather than success.
FIFTEEN
Silas stopped in front of an ornate door, gesturing inside at a large room with an amphitheater-style setup that would have rivaled any university classroom. They must be able to fit all of Roake’s top brass in this space, Kira realized. Convenient when planning a military offensive, and you needed all your leaders for a briefing.
The different tiers contained desks and chairs, allowing their occupants an easy view of the speaker no matter where in the room they might sit. On the bottom floor, where the speaker would stand, was a heavy stone table that seemed out of place in the space.
Silas pointed to one side. "Initiates sit over there."
Kira glanced in the direction he'd indicated, finding several familiar faces. Blue spotted Raider in the next instant, taking off in his direction without another word.
Joule sat one row down but directly in front of Raider. Her gaze moved past him to linger on Devon, where he surprisingly sat by himself.
His fellow initiates had placed several rows and seats between them and him. It was a marked shift from the last time Kira had seen him.
"His primus came decades early," Silas told her. "It's set him apart from his peers."
Kira studied the group across from her, noting the careful way the initiates darted glances that held admiration and a hint of fear in Devon's direction.
For his part, Devon held himself carefully as if afraid moving too quickly might tip him into another transformation.
The young man had always struck her as a bit arrogant. Now, she could see the struggle in his face. He was afraid of himself.
He wasn't the only one, she realized. There was a thread of unease running through the initiates that had its source in Devon’s presence.
They might revere the primus form here, but they feared it as well.
She knew what that was like, to have the people who'd shared meals with you, laughed and joked with you, to suddenly see you as the monster. It wasn't an easy thing to experience.
Silas's gaze was thoughtful and knowing as he studied Kira. "I'll leave you here."
She narrowed her eyes at him as he moved to the other side of the room where Roake's oshota had arranged themselves. Sly old dog. Why did she have a feeling he wanted her to sympathize with Devon? Perhaps he hoped she understood what he was going through.
Maybe so, but Kira had done all she planned to do for Devon. At least he wouldn't have to live with the knowledge his primus had killed one of his friends. That would have to be enough.
Graydon quirked an eyebrow at her from across the room from his position next to Harlow. He seemed to be inviting her to take a seat with them.
Kira shook her head and started for where Raider and Blue sat.
A hushed silence fell over the initiates as several shot furtive glances her way. Kira paused. Ah, so Devon's status wasn't the only one that had changed.