Page 131 of Stars in Aura

She perceived his frustration and rage and how he probably hated this dance of veiled threats and poetic posturing.

He was a warrior of logic, raw precision, and battles fought with blood and steel, not verses wrapped in prophecy.

This word parry most likely stretched his patience, and she hoped he wouldn’t snap.Not yet.

Zavei floated toward her. ‘Your father was a man of defiance, as are you,’ he clipped in a whisper that shook mountains somewhere on Pegasi. ‘You stand upon the edge of ruin, child of dusk, and you do not still see it. The stars have for a considerable time since written your fate. Your shadows cannot outrun the coming first light.’

Issa’s fingers twitched at her sides, but she did not break.

She met him in kind.

‘Even dawn must bow to the rising sun,’ she murmured with menace. ‘And shadows stretch long before the final light fades.’

Zavei stilled.

She observed a flicker beyond his ageless expression.

Twas the ghost of approval buried beneath the divine’s restless, roiling countenance that he was working hard to keep in check.

With slow deliberation, he lifted a hand and made a small, imperious motion.

Rearward, two colossal celestial warriors stepped forward, towering figures clad in obsidian-gold armor, their faces hidden behind masks of polished starlight.

‘You’ve petitioned well enough for yourself, so you will come to us under guard to meet Sulfiqar,’ Zavei uttered. ‘You and your mortal companion.’

Ki’Remi’s jaw tightened. His muscles flexed, but Issa placed a light touch against his forearm, a silent request for patience.

She turned back to Zavei, her spine straight, her voice steady and even.

‘Let it be so,’ she said. ‘However, as I said, I will not relinquish the jar until I stand before Sulfiqar himself.’

Zavei regarded her for a long, vital moment, then inclined his head just enough to acknowledge her demand, no more, no less.

‘As you wish,’ he murmured. ‘Let it not be said that the child of dusk does not walk her path to ruin with grace.’

‘One thing,’ Issa called out, raising her hand where the clutching device rested. ‘I need this infernal chrono taken off me. If it stays on me, you won’t like the implosion it’ll cause on your ship. That might upend all your plans.’

The Saatifa commander sucked his teeth, huffed, and snapped his fingers.

The chrono fell from her wrist with a crack, and she stared at it as it disintegrated into dust.

With that, Zavei soared off with the calculated finality of a deity who had already decided how the end of days would unfold.

The couple exchanged looks and followed as a phalanx of celestial warriors stepped to flank them.

As she walked along, Issa exhaled in relief.

Beside her, Ki’Remi did not speak, but she sensed his meta-energy crackling, the raw resistance in his stance, the refusal to be cowed by immortal bullies.

She cast him a glance, catching a gleam in his narrowed, assessing gaze, followed by a slight smirk.

Zavei paused mid-step, swiveling as his golden eyes flicked to the Rider with a sudden focus of curiosity.

‘You find amusement in this, mortal?’

Ki’Remi’s voice was smooth as polished obsidian, deep as a midnight storm.

‘I uncover merriment in many things,’ he rasped. ‘Most of all, I think it ludicrous that you believe I’m a mere human.’

---