Page 83 of Stars in Halo

He groaned and bit his lip as she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

He tagged the dawning of awareness, the flare of need in her eyes, followed by dampening down as their present reality hit.

‘Time to move,’ Xion growled, his voice timbred and laced with desire, dragging his eyes from her, tamping down his everlovin’ craving for her.

Katya blinked up at Xion, her eyes still heavy with sleep.

She nodded at his words, pushing herself up from the ground with a groan.

Despite the sand, the cramped cave had not been kind to her stiff muscles.

They gathered their belongings in silence, a sense of unspoken tension hanging between them.

When they ventured out of the cavern, the sun was setting, casting an eerie glow over the rocky terrain.

Xion led the way, quiet, prowling like a meko panther ahead of her as they navigated through the uneven landscape.

Katya stumbled over a loose rock, and Xion caught her arm before she fell.

She gazed up at him, a soft thanks shining in her eyes.

He blinked, and the walls he had built between them fell as his expression softened for a moment, revealing a rare vulnerability beneath the layers of distrust and deception.

But then he turned away, forging forward.

They pressed on until Xion paused, glancing up to the darkening skies.

‘The Tachy is above us.’

Katya’s gaze followed his. ‘Stealthed?’

He nodded. ‘Naam, I’ve re-established my neural link to it and Mirage. We need to get to it,’ he added, urgency lacing his words.

They headed for a slope nearby as a humming sound filled the air, growing louder and more distinct with each passing second.

Moments later, his sleek, black ship touched down from the atmosphere, its metallic surface gleaming in the dying light of day.

The craft blended seamlessly with the darkness, its hull visible against the starlit sky.

Xion gestured for Katya to stay back as he input a series of commands into his wrist comm, activating the Tachy’s ramp.

With a muted whoosh, the stairs descended, revealing the ship’s interior bathed in soft illumination.

Xion motioned for Katya to follow him as he led the way into the vessel’s safety.

Once inside, he sealed the airlock behind them and made his way to the cockpit, settling into the pilot’s seat with practised ease.

The ship hummed to life around them, the control panels lighting up with a muted blue glow.

Katya took in the luxe fit-out with some measure of awe and settled into a crash couch while Xion’s fingers danced across the console.

‘We’re clear for takeoff,’ he murmured.

The thrum of the Tachy’s engines rumbled beneath her feet as the craft lifted off the ground and soared into the night sky.

The stars streaked past the windows, casting a mesmerising display of light and shadow as they ascended higher into the atmosphere,

‘Where are we going?’ Katya spoke up, her voice just above a whisper in the hum of the ship’s engines.

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