Page 14 of Stars in Nova

Kisan sliced his eyes away, his jaw clenched.

He drained his glass and signaled for another.

He didn’t like how she made him feel.Fokk, he didn’t welcome the vulnerability that crept into his thoughts.

He had no room for such emotions, no right to them. Any woman who came to know him intimately would recoil in horror.

He stayed long enough to watch her bow and leave the stage, her silhouette disappearing into the shadows behind the curtains.

The applause was thunderous, but Kisan didn’t join in.

He couldn’t. Instead, he flicked a few credits from his wrist comm towards the table’s pay module, downed the last glass of liquor, and stood, his movements stiff as he headed for the exit.

The spiral staircase seemed longer on the way up.

Chillier, more ominous, and laborious.

By the time he reached the street, his mood had darkened again, his brief respite shattered.

The Mask and The Machine

The lobby of Sable HQ was a gleaming expanse of elegance, reflecting the organization’s nearly limitless resources.

Its floors, polished to a mirror finish, caught the light of hovering luminescent orbs.

Kisan moved across it with his usual heavy stride, his thoughts still tangled from the events and the unease of setting eyes on the mysterious woman.

The echoes of his boots reverberated through the space, a lonely cadence that matched the quiet storm in his chest.

‘Ah, the brooding one returns,’ a voice chimed, smooth and rich, like velvet laced with a sly grin.

Kisan glanced up to find a being standing—or rather, projecting—in his path.

Her ebony-toned form shimmered with streaks of glowing violet flashes of energy. Her features were breathtaking, sculpted to perfection, and her expression was knowing, her brow arched.

She didn’t just resemble a goddess—she exuded the commanding presence of one.

She was the Riders’ all-seeing Oracle, their enigmatic power machine, her network spanning all the corners and reaches of Pegasi and beyond.

‘Mirage,’ Kisan muttered, nodding in acknowledgment.

Her lips curved into a teasing smile. ‘Kisan, love, I can sense the storm swirling in your well-shaped skull. My data streams hum when you’re this pensive.’

She tilted her head, her star-flecked eyes scanning him as if she could see through to the marrow of his soul. ‘Come now, invite me up for a drink.’

He hesitated, his forehead furrowing. ‘I’m not—’

‘In the mood?’ she interrupted, arching an elegant brow. ‘Oh, honey, please. You need company more than I desire another system to oversee. Now, lead the way.’

Mirage began sashaying toward the escalator, her holographic form flickering as she moved.

Kisan sighed, his resistance crumbling under her insistence, and followed.

They exited the elevator on his floor.

With a touch from Mirage’s finger, Kisan’s apartment’s auto door slid open with a muted hiss, and they stepped indoors, the lights brightening to a soft amber glow.

His habitation was a stark contrast to the polished opulence of the HQ.

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