Small snippet as I continue edits. Turns out several chapters of new material have to be inserted into the mid section and the ending needs a complete overhaul. I'm estimating about 30,000 new words must be written before I close out this draft. So fun times ahead.
In the meantime, enjoy.
Snippet
Kira paused on the threshold of the drop ship, noting the empty seats and the scant handful of bodies currently occupying the ship.
Good.
Just the way she liked it.
Kira started down the aisle when a piping voice reached her.
“Where is my seon’yer then?” a little girl asked from behind her.
Jin choked in surprise, Kira not faring much better.
Only years of training kept her from whirling and giving away the shot of adrenaline that question had caused her.
Because she recognized that voice.
“Ziva, I’m not sure Kira would appreciate you calling her that,” Joule chided gently.
Ziva harrumphed. “What would you know? My seon’yer is not like all these others.”
This time it was Kira’s turn to choke.
“Is that so? Tell us what your seon’yer is like, little sister,” Rheya teased.
Ziva rose to the challenge. “She’s wise and fierce. No one is as devious or good at fighting as she is.”
Jin shook in silent laughter against Kira’s neck.
She slapped one hand over his body, hoping no one had noticed the movement in her hoody.
“That description is rather accurate,” Devon observed.
Kira stiffened. “I’m not devious.”
“That’s the part you take umbrage with?”
“I’m not,” she muttered.
“Uh huh.”
Finn had turned into a statue at her side, staring rigidly into empty space.
Kira grabbed his arm, shuffling him forward. Now more than ever, they couldn’t afford to draw attention.
Kira picked a seat at random, one thankfully in the far corner of the craft, as far from the door as possible. She shoved Finn into the seat, taking one right beside him.
Only once seated did she force herself to relax, stretching her feet out as she pulled her hood forward, fiddling with it until she felt it was secure enough.
Finished, she chanced a furtive glance toward those who’d taken the uhva na at the same time as she had.
With the exception of Ziva, they were all apprentices in service to their own seon’yer’s.
Devon was the tallest of the four, his height approaching Graydon’s. Dressed in a matte black armor, he was a smaller, less muscular version of the Emperor’s Face.
Though much younger than Graydon, Kira had a feeling it was only a matter of time before Devon bulked up, rivaling the other man in terms of size.
Yellow eyes that always reminded Kira of daisies observed the youths around him with an amusement that had been lacking the last time she’d met him.
Kira remembered another set of eyes that looked exactly like those, the former owner of which was currently hiding in her hair, completely oblivious to the resemblance.
Beside Devon, Rheya had one hand propped on her hip as she teased the small girl in front of her.
The youngest of the four, Ziva could be mistaken for an eight year old child—though her true age was likely around thirty years.
Because of her white blond hair and deep blue eyes, people tended to underestimate her, never realizing the fierce heart that lay within.
Though young, Kira had a feeling Ziva would be a force to be reckoned with in a few years. She had a stubbornness few could match.
She was a scrapper, disregarding her limits, more than willing to come out swinging no matter the opponent.
Kira couldn’t help but admire someone who possessed those sort of qualities. They were the ones who truly held the power to change this universe because they didn’t pay attention to what was but rather devoted their attention to what should be.
The last person in the party was also the one who’d spent the most time at Kira’s side.
Joule’s face had thinned out since she’d last saw him, losing some of the softness it had had when they’d first met. It looked like his training was beginning to have an effect, packing his small frame with muscles.
There was a world weary look in his eyes that was new. Something that said he’d seen the dark side of life and knew it wasn’t always going to turn out the way he wanted.
Kira couldn’t help feeling like she shared some of the blame for that look. People around her had a tendency of losing their innocence far sooner than they had a right to.
His parents loss may have started the process, but she’d finished the job.
Despite that, he still had an earnestness to him. A goodness that Kira hoped he preserved a little while longer. There weren’t enough people like him in the universe.
“Your luck continues to trend toward the shittier side,” Jin observed.
Of all the ships on the docks, they had to choose this one to board.
Kira supposed it could be worse. Graydon could be with them.
