Page 142 of Stars in Aura

‘Tis civil for now. Which is not how I feel towards you now, lover.’

The husky chastening came not from Mirage but from behind him.

The Rider’s soul lurched, and he sucked his teeth.

Shewas awake and waiting.

Fokk.

24

Lucid Love

Ki’REMI

He swiveled to find Issa standing near the terrace doors.

Nude, arms crossed over her beautiful tits, her expression carved from ice and fire.

The sheer force of her gaze pinned him in place, a warning, a challenge, like a blade unsheathed.

Ki’Remi stilled.

He’d thought about what might happen if she learned about hisothermission.

He just hadn’t factored in the raw betrayal burning in her scowl, the rigid set of her jaw, and the space between them that now crackled with her wrath.

‘Where were you?’ she asked, her voice a whisper of silk over steel.

He sensed Mirage sidle out of his mind, giving him a tap of encouragement.

Even as his meta armor peeled back from his body and retracted, revealing his muscled frame.

Now, barefoot and clad in a dark undersuit, he thrummed in the aftermath of his fast escape.

‘Out.’

Issa’s chin lifted, her nostrils flaring. ‘Try again.’

Ki’Remi’s chin flexed. ‘I was gathering intelligence.’

Silence for a beat. Without warning, her form ignited.

Actual flames rippled from her skin, pale amethyst and deep azure licking up her arms, pulsing with the unmistakable energy of the High Heavens.

Ki’Remi took a step back, not in fear but in awe.

Fokk, she was something else.

The blaze warped around her, charged with celestial fire, bending to her rage.

Her luminous eyes burned into him, a goddess cloaked in wrath, every inch of her screamingbetrayal.

‘Knew shit wasn’t adding up. You used me,’ she accused.

Her voice was hushed, trembling, broken. ‘Was this your plan all along, Sable? Spy on me? On my people? Learn all you can and take it back to your Riders?’

Ki’Remi exhaled, trying to tamp down his chest’s sudden, ruthless ache. ‘You know that’s not true.’

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