Page 69 of Stars in Halo

The King leaned with a slight smile. ‘I need your metanoids.’

Xion jolted. ‘My fokkin’ what?’

‘Those tiny cybernetic robots in your arteries.’

‘Whatever the fokk for?’

‘For whateverthefokk I want. I am the King, and I hold all the cards.’

Xion’s eyes narrowed at the demand, his mind racing with the implications of what the man on the throne was asking for.

The metanoids in his bloodstream were not just machines; they were a part of him, enhancing his abilities and granting him an edge in battles.

The thought of anyone other than a Rider controlling them sent shivers down his spine, knowing the chaos and destruction it might unleash.

‘What? Do you think you can siphon them from me and use them at will? They don’t work like that.’ Xion’s voice dripped with disdain, his posture tense and ready for a fight.

‘You’ve no idea what my scientists can achieve.’

Xion breathed in, nostrils flaring, getting irritated with the conversation. ‘I don’t know what kind of sick game you’re playing, but you won’t touch what’s mine.’

The man on the throne chuckled, the sound grating on Xion’s nerves like nails on a chalkboard. ‘Oh, I’m afraid you have no choice in the matter, Sable Rider. You see, we have ways of making you cooperate.’

His eyes flicked to Katya.

Xion’s stomach twisted into a knot at the thought of anyone hurting her, let alone her children, wherever they were.

He had always prided himself on remaining one step ahead, but now he was stuck in a chess game with a player who held all the pieces.

‘We have her odd family, whom she hid from Iccythria many years ago, staying at a facility nearby as my guests.’

His Highness K’Sumi Hinata Alamaq activated a control on his wrist comm.

A holo display shimmered over the vast table he sat at, revealing a life feed of a cluster of children.

They were huddled in a bland room.

Amongst them was an older woman who bore an uncanny resemblance to Katya.

‘Mada, Kaaia,’ the woman behind him moaned. The Rider’s heart sank even as he tagged a pretty curly-haired girl prancing at the back of the room without a care.

‘Evil fokker,’ he muttered.

Just then, Mirage ghosted into his neural link.

I caught all of that, Xion. There could be a way out of this.

She proceeded to tell him how.

He flared his nostrils and sucked his teeth.

Is this the only way?

For now.

Fine. Please do it.

Out of the corner of his eye, Xion caught the fear in Katya’s eyes.

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