Page 111 of Stars in Aura

He blinked, the ambient lights of the suite auto-adjusting as he stirred.

The room was quiet, save for Issa’s rhythmic breathing beside him.

Her golden curls spilled over the pillows, and her chest’s steady rise and fall was a soothing contrast to the urgency vibrating in his skull.

Kainan: Mirage and I need an urgent meeting. Now.

Ki’Remi exhaled.

Whatever this was, it would not wait until morning.

He peeled back the sheets, and Issa murmured something unintelligible, shifting between them.

He bent over her and ran his palm down the curve of her waist, stroking her skin in reassurance, and she stilled.

Allowing him to slip fluid, silent and controlled, from the bed before he padded toward the wardrobe.

He threw on a pair of loose sweats and a dark tee and slipped his feet into slides.

He stepped onto the marble and rug-strewn floors without a sound, exiting his front doorway.

Minutes later, he entered the Sable HQ boardroom, where Kainan already waited. His arms were folded, and he rubbed his eyes with one hand. His countenance was grim, and his hip leaned on the extensive oak desk.

He was also incongruously cloaked in an over-the-top scarlet, gold velvet robe and was barefoot.

‘Ki’Remi raised a brow.

‘Don’t,’ hiskhosiwarned with a growl. ‘Twas a gift from Selene and the first thing I found.’

Mirage sat at the head of the table, a stunning figure wrapped in a liquid gold sheathe dress, her eyes flicking over both Riders with a rare expression.

Concern.

Ki’Remi slid into a chair, rubbing a hand over his jaw. ‘This better be good.’

‘When isn’t it?’ she intoned in a dulcet alto.

The Sable Group AI exhaled, lifted a long, elegant finger, and pointed at the holo projection above them.

The image sharpened into a series of tactical readouts, energy displacement charts, and cross-referenced data sets flashing across the vast display.

Also, imagery of one distinct vessel.

The unusual gunship that attacked them over Alloria Prime.

‘It’s about the assailant craft that fired on you and your crew. I took footage from your neural node and ran it through millionsof databases and thousands of images,’ she began, tapping at the screen with a manicured digit. ‘I even compared it to all vessels in Pegasi. Against every classified system.’

‘What did you find?’ Ki’Remi rasped.

She snapped her fingers. ‘Nada.’

Kainan’s gaze was wry. ‘She’s never seen anything like it.’

Ki’Remi frowned. ‘From another galaxy, then?’

‘Oh, it gets worse, darling,’ Mirage purred. She flicked her wrist, and another readout materialized a side-by-side comparison.

‘What am I looking at?’ the Sable medic asked.

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