‘Tis why I understand him, he’s me in bull form,’ Idan rasped.
With a flask and two mugs in hand, he led her to the bank of their private lake, where the water’s surface was a polished sheen of obsidian, mirroring the burning sky.
They sat on a bench carved from a fallen tree limb.
He straddled it and held her close as they sipped fragrantkahawamade from beans grown on a neighboring farm.
The lapping of waves, punctuated by the rhythmic croon of nocturnal birds and the restless swish of the cedar boughs in the early breeze.
The wind ruffled Idan’s hair, now cut shorter to a shoulder-skimming length that rendered him appear even more devastatingly handsome.
Sheba glanced up at him, still in awe that he was her man and this was her reality.
‘This is heaven, my love.’
‘I’ve no objections to that truth, my queen. It is paradise found.’
‘I adore you so much,’ she whispered, leaning her head against his bicep, her heart overflowing with gratitude at their new life of boundless, incandescent color.
‘I love you more,’ he rasped, his utterance a gravelly vibration over her cheek. ‘Now and for eternity, if the gods grant it to us.’
‘You’re a deity, so you get to do the granting.’
‘You better believe it,’ he growled. ‘If and when the time comes, I’ll climb back to the Seventh Heaven and demand your immortality, with force if need be. Because you’re the atmosphere I breathe, the moon shimmering on dark water, my luminary and my stars. I see the constellations mapped across your soul, and yours in the only face I want to wake up to now and for eternity.’
‘So savage, so poetic yet so utterly mine,’ Sheba whispered as she reached up to caress the scarred line of his jaw.
His lips fell on hers as the sun set, painting the surrounding mountains in molten gold, a brilliance so intense it caused a physical ache in her chest.
She sent a prayer to whichever deities were listening in.
Forever thankful that no matter how far and wide she ventured to care for others, her utmost joy lay in always returning home.
To the warrior-god who chose her over heaven; her singularity, her dusk, her dawn, her nucleus, her heart, her all.
THREE MONTHS LATER
A sleek flyer from the spaceport descended onto the Sable HQ rooftop, its hull shimmering with the iridescent, light-shifting coating of high-end Eden II tech.
As the hatch hissed open, Idan stepped out, polished in a tailored navy-striped waistcoat over a crisp white shirt, tie, and matching dark trousers.
Molan was already waiting by the landing pad, a smirk tugging at his lips as he raked his eyes over his half-sibling.
‘Well, well, brother,’ Molan ribbed, folding his arms. ‘First time I’ve seen you without chaps and a leather vest. Get lost on the way to a dinner gala?’
Idan grumbled, adjusting a collar that felt too tight. ‘Sheba insisted. Seems my hilly billy desert nomad look is ‘inappropriate’ for a meeting on Eden II.’
He glanced toward the towering spire of the building before them. ‘Know why Kainan is summoning us?’
Molan nodded, his expression shifting. ‘I’ve got a clue. It’s not an emergency yet, but it’s a developing situation. With me.’
They fell into step, their movements a synchronized, lethal grace as they headed for the executive elevator bank.
The doors slid open to reveal a woman of elegant beauty.
She was striking, petite, and curvaceous, her face framed by a wild cascade of dark curls.
However, her most distinctive feature was a bold, platinum-blonde streak at the front of her scalp, an electric contrast against the deep ebony of her hair.
