Page 97 of Stars in Halo

She bowed to the Khosana, scanned the room and found him, her eyes filled with concern and emotion left unsaid.

‘Are you alright?’ he rasped, not for show and all for her benefit, his soul navigating his complex reactions to her. ‘The children settled in?’

She nodded and sat beside him. ‘Naam, they’re resting.’

She turned to the older woman, who’d been studying their exchange with glinting eyes over the edge of her crystal tumbler. ‘Sante Khosana.’

‘Don’t thank me,’ the woman shrugged, rising to pour Katya a drink. ‘You’re doing me a favour by filling our empty rooms with some life. I’m curious, though, the youngsters; where did you pluck all of them from?’

Katya’s face flushed, and she took a moment to respond. ‘They’re born of a mix of Ccyth and other race backgrounds. As you might be aware, Khosana, the strict laws in Iccythrian society prevent interracial marriages. Resulting in these little ones being abandoned by their Iccythrian mothers. I found them on the streets of LeCythi and brought them under my care. My mother Kiko and I take tend to them, and I’ve hired three more staff to help, plus bought a home on the city’s outskirts for them.’

‘How do you feed and clothe them all?’ Duke’s mother demanded, thrusting a cognac tumbler into Katya’s hand.

The Iccythrian beauty lifted her chin, facing the other woman’s defiant gaze. ‘I’m a famed card shark, fencer, cat burglar and safe-cracker. I steal from criminals to pay for what they need.’

After her wild statement, Katya raised her glass to her lips and took a good slug. While Xion stared at her, transfixed by her account.

The Khosana’s jolted. ‘Of course. How noble of you. I can’t believe, however, that in this day and age, mixed children are outcasts in our society. Tis an old-fashioned notion, one I wasn’t aware was still an issue.’

‘Perhaps not in the upper classes that can afford fortunes and multiple income streams,’ Katya said, her brow furrowed with the earnestness of her argument. ‘With poorer Iccythrians, marrying externally means having any family inheritance spread out and too thin. I know the higher borns have let the practice fall, but for some, it’s still a major concern that’s not widely acknowledged.’

Silence fell for a beat.

‘But it’s a desperate and tragic situation for these kids,’ Katya continued.

The Khosana nodded, his face a picture of sympathy. ‘It’s a disgrace that our people should be so discriminatory and backward, which is why His Highness is on his way out. He does not advocate for the poor, neither for women whatsoever and holds onto outdated ideas of us as the weaker sex, relegated to kitchens, nurseries and bedrooms.’

She turned to Xion, who’d been staring at Katya with a new sense of revelation. ‘K’Sumi is weak, ineffectual, a clown. Sensing his weakness, numerous houses are rallying and opposing the Supreme Sovereign. Many want to dethrone him and take over. We also know he’s using Iccythria’s reserve budgets to bribe politicians, judges and the media to garner favour.’

‘Agreed,’ Katya said. ‘I, too, happen to know the House ALMQ presents a clean image to the populace while he has used death squads to kill anyone who rebels against him. To fund his little war and small private army he’s allegedly embezzled hundreds of millions in public funds.’

The Khosana sucked her teeth. ‘Someone needs to take him out! You have my full support for helping to rip him off his fokkin’ throne.’

The Rider sat forward, resting his hand on his knees and steepling them. ‘But isn’t he an ALMQ and your relative?’

Khosana clapped her hands for emphasis and raised an eyebrow, her stare unwavering. ‘Naam, but I’m no fool. Iccythria is sliding into disrepair and crisis because the man has mired himself in corruption and sold us all up the river. No more.’

‘Who would take his place?’ Xion pushed.

The woman’s face closed up, but he tagged a gleam in her eye. ‘Duke,’ he grunted.

She met his gaze with dancing eyes. ‘Perhaps. I’ve been priming him for leadership all these years, and it’s about time he stepped up into it. You know, use his brain to understand that transformation is necessary. But it’s not just about K’Sumi’s backward and degenerate ways. It’s about the entire fokkin’ messed-up system that’s been holding us back for generations. It’ll take more than one person to change that. Perhaps that’s where you, Rider and Katya come in,’ she said, folding her arms defiantly. ‘Perhaps this whole debacle has just handed me what I’ve been chasing for years on a platter. This might be just the start of Duke taking down K’Sumi and his cronies piece by fokkin’ piece.’

‘The poor bugger has no clue, does he?’ the Rider murmured with a quirk to his lips, referring to his friend.

‘Not a one, and don’t you dare breathe a word to him yet,’ the forceful woman before them declared. ‘Now, you two, what’s the plan? Do you intend to keep gazing at each other with moon eyes? Or are you going to fokk senseless and make up for whatever shit you’ve put each other through?’

Katya’s eyes dilated, and she clapped a hand over her mouth in shock.

Xion jolted and then rumbled with laughter. ‘Damn.’

He and Katya exchanged glances and slid their eyes away from the other.

‘We have much to discuss, that is for sure,’ Xion rasped. ‘First, though, Khosana, I’ll have you know that K’Sumi stole more than just my metanoids. He filched access to Sable HQ, and we need to find out why—fast. Given he’s probably apprised by now of our rescue, which has lost him his only leverage over us. We thank you for your warm welcome, but Katya and I will be leaving in the morning to find out more.’

As he spoke, a soft tingle sounded in the room.

‘Naam?’ the Khosana grated.

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