Page 188 of Stars in Aura

His burnished gold eyes swirled with the light of far-off constellations locked on Issa’s own, which were misted.

A moment of frozen silence.

Then, his entire frame trembled.

‘Issa?’

His gravel-rough, disbelieving utterance carried across the yard.

Issa gave a choked sound, something between a sob and a laugh, and then she ran.

The man just had a second to brace himself before she collided with him, encircling his waist like she never intended to let go.

A ragged inhale, and then his grasp crushed her against him.

‘My daughter,’ he murmured, tone thick. ‘My precious one.’

Next, a woman appeared, regal, with long coiled braids woven with silver threads, her luminous skin untouched by time.

Her eyes were like Issa’s: wild, astral, burning with galaxies.

With a cry, she joined the embrace, her arms wrapping around both husband and daughter, her breath coming in quiet, choked sobs.

‘I never lost faith,’ she muttered. ‘I always hoped you would find a way to healbabaand return to us.’

Her father pulled back and raked his eyes over her with raw emotion.

Issa closed her eyes, hands hovering over her father’s chest where theSirr Sanctumstone had once drawn his life away.

A warm golden glow radiated from her fingertips, seeping into his skin and spreading through his veins.

Then, with a final energy pulse, she opened her eyes and smiled.

‘It’s truly gone,’ she whispered.

Her father exhaled, running a trembling hand over his torso. ‘I knew twas you when it shattered, and my spirit returned to me.’

Her mother was tearing up by now, pressing her hands over her mouth.

Issa finally pulled back, her breath catching as she moved into Raquel’s grasp.

Her mother’s scent, jasmine and spice, the lingering essence of sacred oils, wrapped around her, poignant and comforting.

Issa inhaled, steadying herself before motioning to the man always at her six. ‘Baba, Mama, I want you to meet someone.’

‘This is Ki’Remi Sable, the love of my life, and why we all stand here today. Remi, please meet Zephyr, officially General Zephyr Astraeus D’Leqan. First Blade of the Dawning Flame, Father of Storm and Mercy, Keeper of the Lionhearted Line of Sacra. He who stood beneath a thousand suns and did not waver, whose roar once silenced the battlefield, whose embrace sheltered the stars. Wounded but unbroken, cast from the heavens yet carrying the sky within him. A father not just to his kin, but to courage itself.’

Ki’Remi arched a brow and gave the illustrious man a bow. ‘Tis my pleasure to meet you,’ he intoned.

He turned to the older woman beside Issa. ‘Who is this stunning beauty?’

Issa’s eyes misted as she pulled the woman close to her. ‘This is Raquel Asilla Ministrant D’Leqan. My Heartmother of the Seven Winds, Flame-Womb of the Radiant Lineage, The Quiet Star That Endures. She birthed brilliance beneath shadowed skies, whose lullabies once calmed celestial storms. Gentle as the dawn, fierce as comet fire, her love carved a safe passage through ruin. A healer of soul, a weaver of legacy, a constellation unto herself.’

‘I am pleased to make your acquaintance,’ the Sableman said, reaching for Raquel’s hand and kissing the soft skin on its back.

She simpered and blushed as her daughter explained. ‘It’s a human tradition that bestows esteemed honor to you, mama.’

‘I know of it and accept it,’ said the woman with a smile.

---