"Sorry about that."
"You'd better have a plan. If you've compromised everything to throw a tantrum," Raider broke off to shake his head, the grim cast of his features a little foreboding.
"Of course, I have a plan. What kind of person do you take me for?" Kira asked.
She wouldn't risk everything like that.
Raider finally noticed Harlow's presence, acknowledging the Overlord with a respectful nod.
"Let's hear it then," Raider said, focusing on Kira.
Elena's disappearance had taken a physical toll on him. There were dark circles under his eyes. A feral look on his face that said he'd already reached the end of his tether. Like he might suddenly snap and rip out her throat at any moment.
Last time he'd had that look on his face, things had been said that neither of them could take back. It took over a decade to reclaim their friendship.
She hoped it didn't come to that this time.
"How do you feel about a prison break?" Kira asked.
Raider stared at her. "You're going after the general."
That was the plan.
Blue waved her hand, waiting until she had their attention before giving them a strained smile. "Let me make sure I have this right. Your plan to get your niece—Raider's daughter—back is to break into the prison of your allies, the Tuann, where one of your greatest enemies, a Tsavitee general, is being guarded by highly trained warriors who would probably like nothing better than to slice and dice you. Oh, and by the way, our involvement will probably ruin any possibility of a future alliance between the Consortium and the Tuann."
Kira thought for a moment and then nodded. "That about covers it."
"Insane. Absolutely insane," Blue declared.
"It could work," Raider said.
Blue gave him a wild look.
Raider twisted to regard Harlow. "You're on board with this plan?"
Harlow considered Kira for a second before inclining his chin.
Kira smiled at them. "How about it? Want to cause a little trouble with me?"
"Sure. Why not?" Raider said.
Blue looked between them before rolling her eyes in resignation. "Fine. It’s not like I haven’t always wanted to mastermind a prison break."
Kira glanced at Harlow. "There, you see—I told you they'd be up for it."
The Curs had always been risk takers. No matter how asinine the plan. It was good to see some things hadn't changed.
"When are we doing this?" Blue asked.
No time like the present. Kira threw the covers back, sitting up in the bed. A loud cough from the doorway had her freezing. She looked over to find Quillon glaring daggers at her.
Ah right. Doctor's orders.
She tugged the blankets over her legs and laid back down. "How does tonight sound?"
The storm that had rolled in while Kira was unconscious was still going strong as she and Raider snuck toward the curtain wall guarding the outside of the Inquisitors' Hold. Rain poured down from the heavens, drenching them as they moved as silently as possible.
"The patrol just passed. There's a three minute window until the next one," Blue announced over their comms.
Kira and Raider maintained mission silence as they slid down an embankment before darting across the stretch of open ground and to the wall on the other side. Once there, they went still, listening for signs they'd been discovered.
"Did you refer to these mini drones as Jin's spawn? They're quite amazing I must say. Very useful for surveillance since you said Jin is occupied somewhere else tonight. I'm going to have to ask him how he created them when I next see him."
Kira frowned, having no idea what Blue was talking about for a moment. Realization dawned a second later.
Oh right. The lie she told Blue. That Jin was on another mission of vital importance.
"You should have told her the truth," Raider mouthed silently, kneeling to remove the small pack he was carrying and swinging it in front of him.
Kira shrugged. She would if it became necessary. Until then, she wasn't telling anyone about Jin's little sojourn.
Raider shook his head in resignation as he dug through the pack, pulling out a bundle of metal rods the length of Kira's hand.
"Hold," Blue barked.
Raider went motionless as Kira trained her eyes on the ramparts.
"The timing for their patrol is off. Someone decided to go on walkabout early."
Blue’s warning came at the same time a pair of oshota appeared overhead, the quiet murmur of their voices reaching them a second later.
Raider shifted the rods to one hand as he reached for the modified zuipi Blue had made him.