‘Not sure yet, but I have a clue,’ Sheba murmured.
Ty’s fists flailed at thin air as the entity kicking his living daylights moved so fast he couldn’t get a handle on him.
Blood sprayed and spurted from his mouth. A tooth scattered across the dirt as an unseen force broke him with ruthless precision.
A figure resolved out of the ether above him.
Idan.
He stood over Ty, glowing, energy pulsing in waves around him, long hair loose about his shoulders, eyes narrowed to molten slits, his face lit with a terrible radiance.
‘Kill him!’ Ty screamed, crawling toward his flyer and presumably his guards within, his face bloody and clothes torn. ‘He attacked me!’
More medics and nurses poured out of the clinic, drawn by the violence.
Ty’s guard and pilot spilled from the craft with firearms half-raised, then froze.
Fear locked them in place as they took in the tall, imposing being before them.
He was the epitome of menace; his eyes were glowing, his wild hair flowed behind him, and a golden energy rippled around him.
He lifted a hand, and all five troops dropped their weapons, which clattered to the ground.
His terrible glowing eyes turned to Ty.
‘You’re thefokkin’monster!’ the mining magnate croaked, pointing a shaking finger at Idan. ‘The one who killed Tiberius.’
Idan’s gaze flicked from the stricken soldiers and returned to Ty, brow arched with unmistakable meaning.
Lay another finger on her, and by the fractured eye of Kaelos, I will unmake the very breath in your lungs and fling your essence into the eternal Abyss of the Starless Reach.
The harsh subvocal snarl stormed into the ears of everyone in the near vicinity as Sheba gasped.
Ty’s bravado collapsed, and he blubbered, flinching under Idan’s unyielding glare.
‘I’m sure none of us want to see any more violence, Ty,’ Sheba called out.
She wiped blood from her lip and, stepping forward, her voice steady despite the tremor in her hands. ‘So get the hell out of here before you cause any more damage.’
Ty staggered upright, swaying.
‘You’ll pay for this,’ he spat. ‘All of you.’
He stabbed a finger toward the staff gathered in the light, then at Sheba, then at Idan. ‘I’ll flay you all.’
Idan advanced on him, crowding his space and pushing him backward without touching him. Step by step, Ty retreated, stumbling, until he fell into the open flyer.
His soldiers raced to crowd into the cabin, and the hatch slammed shut.
Idan retreated to safety as the craft’s engines roared.
It shook and trembled as it rose, then tore into the night.
Relief hit Sheba first, followed by a wave of nausea and shock that left her limbs unsteady.
She bent over, palms on her knees, drawing in intense inhales, eyes on Idan as he turned back to her.
For the first time, his lips parted, and a rumble emerged that carried through her chest.
