Page 34 of Stars in Halo

The Serpent’s Iris

Without hesitation, Xion headed to the same door and yanked it open.

He slipped through it with care into a narrow service hallway.

The faint echo of retreating footsteps was a clue, guiding him towards her path.

He turned to the left in pursuit, his stride muffled by the plush carpeting beneath him.

The cushioned carpeting soon disappeared, leading onto parquet wood.

He caught up to her and her stunning bareback and photogenic ass. It swung in front of him, making him suck his teeth as the nonstop desire he had for her coursed through him.

The ballroom bustle faded behind them as Katya quickened her pace. Her heels clicked against the polished floor as she weaved through the labyrinthine passages of the opulent venue.

The soles of his boots were designed with lightweight noise-cancelling EVA outsoles and ultra-performance meta-infused fabrics, which produced zero sound as he strode after her.

She paused at one point and glanced back.

He slid into the shadows, his high-speed metanoids hiding him from view in milliseconds.

She swivelled her head once, twice, then ploughed on.

While walking, Katya turned on her wrist tab and tapped it with haste.

She whispered to someone, but he missed the words. He only caught the tone, urgent, frantic.

Down a set of steps that led to the rear of The Grande.

He realised where she was going, just as Hanias had predicted.

In the direction of the hotel’s storage rooms.

Turning a corner, the Iccythrian beauty paused at the top of a flight of stairs.

He leaned away from the light, eyes locked on her.

He didn’t have long to wait.

Footsteps sounded from the level below approaching her.

Three men appeared, walking up the steps towards her.

Recognising them as the bristling guards from the day before, Xion sent a ghost-like cloud of noids their way and braced for the worst until he caught Katya’s following words.

‘You fokkers, where were you? Or Hanias?’ she cried, flinging up her hands in an impatient gesture.

‘Fokk off, Katya. You don’t get to ask questions around here.’

‘We need him,’ the woman implored.

‘Hanias is not on duty today,’ came the rumbled reply. ‘He won’t answer our calls. Worse, given the crowds upstairs, his replacement had us making extra rounds tonight. That’s why we’re delayed.’

Xion’s muscles tensed as he listened to the conversation hidden in the shadows.

Who were these kinais, and why did they appear to have the upper hand over Katya?

When Katya’s brother, Korin, was incarcerated in a Falasian prison a year ago, he’d made friends with the crooked technician who set up the electronic security at the Grande Hotel in Enia.

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