That expression kept her rooted in place instead of following her normal routine of retreating to her room as soon as her run was done.
"Joule has to be ready," the girl said.
"For what?"
"To protect us."
Now wasn't that an interesting answer, especially given the phalanx of protection currently circling them.
Baran, seeing the question on her face, stepped forward. "Joule and Ziva are the last of House Maxiim’s future. Joule will either demonstrate his fitness as a House overlord or seek to dissolve his House and swear fealty to another House."
"He means give up our name and lineage," Joule said angrily.
That was what was fueling him? A desire not to lose his family name?
Boring. Kira had expected more.
"A name is merely a bunch of letters strung together and given meaning by someone else," Kira said, her eyes never leaving his.
He scoffed. "You are luijan, outsider. You don't know what you're talking about."
Perhaps not. Kira had chosen her name from a book, thinking it meant rebirth. Instead, she'd been off by a letter and ended up with a name with a different meaning. She'd taken her surname from the forest where Himoto had discovered her.
"Maybe, but this outsider knows you're doing that move wrong," Kira said.
Insult flashed across Joule's face. "One of the oshota taught me this. They’re the emperor's best warriors. Undefeatable in battle. What would a luijan know about this?"
Kira's mouth quirked up.
Maybe so, but whoever had taught him that move hadn't done him any favors. She doubted they'd intended to help him at all. Not many people could pull off a direct attack on an opponent that size. He was trying to sink all his power into one thrust. Doable, if you were a lot bigger with a strong foundation to work from.
Graydon and his people all could do it. Liont could, Fari too, she suspected. Kira might be able to, if pressed, and if she didn't have to fight afterward.
For someone the size of a child? Impossible. That technique was unsuitable to his small frame and would be for many years. If he was serious about learning to fight and protect himself now, he needed to adjust his style to one that would work for him instead of against him. If he continued in this vein, the only thing he would walk away with at the end would be a bunch of bruises.
"Suit yourself," she said, giving him a bland smile before turning and heading back to the track. It was his life. She might have saved it, but that didn't give her the right to stick her nose where he didn't want it.
Baran kept pace with her, glancing at her occasionally. He wanted something. She just couldn't be sure what.
"Our names define our loyalties," Baran explained when they were halfway around the track again. "If he loses his, he'll lose the last link to his family and ancestors. Those men and women you’ve seen protecting him would be cast upon another House’s mercy, dependent on their goodwill for survival."
Kira glanced at him but didn't respond. She grabbed the earbuds she'd removed earlier and stuck them into her ears, tuning him out. She didn't want to talk. She wanted to run.
Baran’s expression was frustrated as she faced forward and picked up the pace. He fell back several steps when it became clear Kira had no intention of engaging him.
She did another ten minutes at that pace, one a few notches below a sprint. She finally slowed and stepped off the track, ignoring the people around her as she sat and worked through her stretches.
A pair of feet stepped into her view. Kira held the stretch for several more seconds before she sat back and looked up.
Jace stood in front of her, Raider steps behind him.
Nova and Maverick lurked several mats over, one eye on the Tuann as they performed their own stretches.
"Do you need help?" Jace asked as Kira reclined and raised her leg straight up, grabbing her calf and gently pulling it toward her.
"No."
Jace didn't listen, pushing her leg toward her. "Resist," he said, changing his grip and gently pulling it away from her.
With a grunt Kira did.
"I see your social skills haven't gotten any better." Raider glanced at her two guards where they did their own stretching yards away.
Kira didn't respond as she raised her other leg so Jace could help her with it.
"It’ll be hard to convince them to relinquish their claim on you if you never talk to them," Jace said.
Kira grunted. He didn't care about that. He cared about the ships and Kira's ability to convince the Tuann to part with them. Beyond that, she was on her own.
"They're not the right people," she said. She'd listened when they spoke. Her House had laid claim to her. The mark on her wrist seemed to declare her origins for her. Until someone from her House said she was free to go, it didn't matter how convincing or persuasive she was.
"Graydon has a powerful voice among his people," Jace said. "It wouldn't hurt to get him on your side."
She fixed him with a dark scowl. She disliked getting close to people because of what they could do for her.
Jace seemed to understand. "Just try to be a little friendlier. Don't antagonize just because you can."
She didn't do that.
"You're wasting your time," Raider said. "She can't help it. She's worse than a territorial porcupine."
"Why are you here, Raider?" Kira asked, abruptly tired of the not-so-veiled hostility.
He shrugged. "No idea. For some reason, Himoto and Jace thought I might have a mitigating influence on you."
"Guess they didn't get the memo that you hate my guts," Kira shot back.
His smile was thin and failed to reach his eyes. "All of us from the old days hate you, even Blue. She's feeling nostalgic right now, but pretty soon she's going to remember who you are and what you've done. She's going to remember you're the reason all our friends are dead."
Each word was like a blow, merciless as they landed. Kira's mask slammed down as ugly emotions threatened to surge to the surface.
Raider crouched, keeping his words soft, almost gentle-sounding. "Do what you're here to do. It'll make everyone's life much easier."
He let her see inside him, dropping all pretense and masks. He really did hate her. There was loathing in his eyes. She didn't let him see how much that glimpse affected her, locking her feelings away to be examined at another time. If she'd ever thought they might forgive her, that naivety was gone now, washed away by the deep currents of loathing buffeting her.
It was easy to see Jace agreed. He didn't take Raider to task for speaking that way to a commanding officer or warn him to keep his mouth shut. No, he let Raider say his piece, even as he helped Kira stretch, keeping his movements gentle but firm.
She glanced up at him and almost wished she hadn't. His face was blank and emotionless, as if he wasn't even there.
Raider didn't say anything else, standing and walking away. Jace finished with her left leg in the next second.
"Think about it," he said, before following Raider.
Jin's engines hummed as he edged near to where Kira sat for long minutes after they'd left, feeling like they'd gut-punched her instead of simply revealed their true emotions.