Kainan’s expression softened slightly, the deadly edge of his anger shifting away from Idan and toward the distant horizon.
‘Tis not your fault,’ he countered, in a grating growl. ‘Butfokkinshitandhell, we cannot let him run roughshod over us. Not ever again.’
The air thickened as the men initiated a private neural conversation.
Mirage, isolate the coordinates of that anomaly,Kainan commanded, his internal broadcast radiating a lethal intensity.Find a way to warn us should it ever breach Eden II within a million klicks.
At once, khosi.
He turned his focus back to Idan and Molan, his expression carved from granite.
Your father just accelerated the endgame. He isn’t angling for a throne anymore; he’s playing with our family. We can’t let him mess with us; we need to escalate to a counter-offensive immediately. How do we go about destroying his fokkin’ sacred smug face and getting rid of him?
From the shadows of the divans, a slurred, defiant voice broke through the tension.
Issa pushed herself upright, her movements clumsy but her eyes flaring with Sacran adrenaline.
You won’t find the answer in this room,she muttered into the shared neural link, wiping a bead of sweat from her temple.Please speak with my father. His epochs of experience as a Ssigis General, all respect to you, Idan, make him the only one who can understand the architecture of this brand of madness. He more than likely has the ancient insight to navigate this nightmare.
Idan sensed Molan’s gaze settle on him, a silent communication passing between the brothers.
‘The decision is made,’ Idan snarled. ‘We’ll seek the General.’
20
Silvered Mist
It took half an hour of Mirage’s nursing and a couple of cups of tea for the Riders’ women to recover from their psionic ordeal.
After Mirage gave them the all clear, the group decided to call it a night.
‘Enough excitement for one evening,’ Selene sighed, kissing Sheba on the cheek. ‘Get settled in, honey. Mirage is sending a drone ahead to your apartment with the gear you had from yourflight. I think Molan has also arranged to send Idan a duffel bag of his borrowed clothes. Go home, sleep, and we’ll chat when you’re up for it.’
After a round of almost never-ending farewells, Idan and Sheba exited Sable HQ.
Sheba debated taking a flyer, but Idan stopped her.
‘It’s late, and the streets are emptier, it might be nice to walk back,nada?’
She agreed. ‘A little night air might be what the doctor ordered.’
The trek from Kainan’s penthouse back to Sheba’s home through the shadowed labyrinth of Eden II’s Velvet Row Borough was close to magical.
The entertainment and arts district, with its moody, intimate atmosphere, is dotted with jazz lounges featuring human, meta, and holo performers.
‘It’s where the ‘noir’ heart of the city beats loudest,’ Sheba told Idan as they strolled hand in hand together.
Their leisurely ramble through the neighborhood ended at her residence in the Ironspire Commons, which neighbored the lively nightlife suburb they’d just wandered through.
Sheba opened a weathered iron gate and led Idan up a set of narrow stairs and keyed the lock to her sanctuary.
The air inside held the scent of dried lavender and her beloved fruit berry tea.
Heat crept into her cheeks as her gaze landed on the scattered debris of her life: a discarded cardigan draped over a velvet chair, a stack of half-open nursing textbooks cluttering the kitchen island, and a stray boot abandoned in the hallway.
‘I apologize for the state of the place,’ she murmured, fumbling with the light switch. ‘When I left, I didn’t expect to be bringing a god warrior home.’
‘Woman,’ Idan rumbled, in a rich bass vibration. ‘You and I spent the last few weeks in a mountain hut with a lamb huddled at our feet for warmth. This is a palace compared to the wood floors of Lattaya. You’ve no reason to hide your life from me.’
