Page 38 of Stars in Halo

I found out the location where Katya’s nanite-infused gems that infiltrated our system were sending the data. It’s a site in the Iccythrian Archipelago.

Xion huffed. Not surprising as this op is Ccyth-led given the number of jewels freakin’ sprinkled across every juncture, Xion replied. Is Kainan apprised?

‘Nada, I thought I’d lead with you first.

Sante. Please update him and Zane on the situation. As for the position marker, please keep it on and send a hack back through it to try to ID the kinais behind it and their exact position. It’ll be interesting to knock and see who’s on the other side.

You got it, khan, Mirage said.

Xion rang off, then made a second holo link, this time to a discreet number in Rhesia.

One very few individuals had in their contacts.

His call was picked up in seconds, given his priority status, and he was patched for the person he asked for with swift efficiency.

He spoke fast and was granted the green light he needed.

‘You’ve carte blanche Rider,’ the voice on the other line said.

‘Sante, you won’t regret this.’

‘I certainly hope not.’

He turned his meta eyes back to the bar where an alluring woman sat, sucked his teeth and strode towards her.

A Treasure Worth Far More Than Rubies

At the same time Xion was speaking with Mirage, a separate call came through for the dark-haired woman seated in The Grande’s opulent bar.

‘What the fokk?’ she whispered into her wrist comm after listening for a beat.

‘Tis true, the data stream you placed in the Eden II’s vault has been turned off,’ the voice of her eldest brother, Korin, thundered down the line. ‘Our sponsor is livid. You must devise another fokkin’ way we can salvage this.’

She had already enacted her Plan B and pulled off a master stroke at the same time. But Korin had little imagination and had no idea, and she had zero intention of informing him.

He’d never been tactical, unable to see past his ego.

On the other hand, Katya constantly strategised days, weeks, and months in advance and always had an alternate fallback.

‘We need to find another way to access the Sable vaults.’

‘Leave it with me,’ she soothed to smooth his ruffled feathers.

‘Father demands it; otherwise, you know what will happen,’ Korin continued.

This time, his words cut through, and her breath hitched as a frisson of ice trailed down her spine.

Tapping off the call, she stared into her drink, her mind racing like always.

A shadow fell over her table, and her body shivered in anticipation and wild desire before she even raised her head, already reacting to who it was.

Xion slowed to a stop at a small table in the hotel bar.

The stunning woman in a crimson dress glanced up.

Despite her efforts to appear nonchalant, he tagged a subtle flicker of emotion flash flit over her features as she caught sight of him.

A tsunami of yearning hit, and his breath hitched.

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