Page 146 of Stars in Aura

She sighed in inevitable acquiescence. ‘Why do you always make so much sense?’

‘To counter all your fire,’ he rasped.

Ki’Remi rolled her toward him, his hands firm but gentle, his gaze searching hers in the moonlight.

The fire they shared them re-ignited, his cock hardening once more.

‘Still hate me? he grated, sliding into her again.

‘I loathe you,’ she whispered, kissing him deeper.

He smirked against her mouth, voice dark. ‘Lie better, Elaris.’

This time, they moved in a slow cadence, with the unspoken promise that they were still whole, still together.

The tension unraveled between their limbs, in the press of skin on skin, in the unhurried, aching push and pull of bodies rediscovering their rhythm.

When she finally shattered, when he followed, it was not in battle but in surrender.

Later, she pressed her lips to his chest, where his heart beat steady and firm beneath her mouth.

‘You were right,’ she murmured, voice groggy with exhaustion.

His brow quirked. ‘Come again?’

‘I already did, twice.’

She huffed a laugh, then sighed.

‘I meant you were correct about my people,’ she breathed. ‘They are toddlers that need minding. They also need to be understood before they can be parried with. Their history, ancient wars, archaic alliances, and betrayals must be studied to create the appropriate countermeasures. We must always remain a step ahead, for their deviousness is beyond measure, beyond time itself.’

Ki’Remi exhaled, his fingers tangling in her curls.

‘However,’ she added, turning those luminous, fire-lit eyes on him, ‘if you ever pull some espionage shit like that again without telling me, I will set you aflame.’

He smirked. ‘Duly noted,kidaya.’

25

Divine Sacrifices

Ki’REMI

The following day unfolded in a slow, decadent haze of luxurious captivity, where time stretched and bent.

Ki’Remi spent the morning on the terrace, shirtless and barefoot, sipping a bitter brew of divine-tastingkahawa.

Issa lounged beside him, draped in nothing but silk sheets and indolence, her curls spilling over the divan like spun gold.

They bathed in a marble pool infused with minerals, the water curling around them in lazy, bioluminescent tendrils.

When hunger called, a feast materialized.

Honeyed fruits that melted on the tongue, meats so tender they dissolved at the slightest touch, wines distilled with the breath of stardust.

The Sacran gods, for all their arrogance, were experts in the art of indulgence.

Yet even amid the opulence, Ki’Remi remained restless.

---