Page 15 of Blinding Light

“I’m not shy,” he bristled, though he felt his cheeks flush. “You are putting words into my mouth.”

“Oh, am I now?” Moargan huffed out a laugh. “What else? Come on, spill it.”

“You’re obnoxious and loud, and way too arrogant, big brother.” Cyprian jumped when another blond man with amethyst eyes glided toward their table, a sheepish smile on his face. Cocking his head, he swept his gaze between the two of them. “Who have we got here?” He held Cyprian’s yellow stare.

“No one,” Cyprian muttered. “And I’m not really here either.” He groaned inwardly. What a stupid thing to say.

“Oh, Xander is quite someone indeed,” Moargan countered. “He has gone out of his way to study on Helion but is not familiar with our celebrations.”

Cyprian felt his blush deepen when Moargan winked at him.

The stranger raised his eyebrows before barking out his amusement. “And then they say I’m the funny one. What’s your name? I’m Helianth.” Cyprian thought of the bored cat in Archer’s apartment. “How do you know my brother?”

“I don’t. There was a slight misunderstanding, but it’s been cleared up. If you’ll excuse me.” He bowed to Moargan. Both brothers laughed at that.

“Not a misunderstanding,” Moargan grinned. “Actually, little brother, I didn’t realize just how much fun our new student here would be. Don’t worry, littleaeon, we’ll meet again soon. I promise.”

5

Helianth whistled when they watched Xander leave their table. Like the rest of the Luminary, he wore a golden brooch, identifying them as a member of the official security organization of Helion, despite his family status. “Did you see?—”

“His eyes?” Moargan finished. “Yeah. They’re spectacular. Do me a favour and let one of your guys shadow him for now.”

His younger brother watched him curiously. “For now?”

“That’s what I said. Now, you showing up one day early to come and find me is not reassuring. What’s going on?”

His brother contemplated egging him on about Xander, his mouth opening and closing as if he wasn’t sure what to ask. Good light, Moargan wasn’t even sure what to tell his younger brother, should he pry. He had no idea what had gotten into him, searching around for Xander the way he’d done. It was something primal, is all he could say. Something that called for it deep inside his core.

Helianth finally dropped his silent inquisition with a shrug and a thorough sweep of their surroundings. Then he leanedforward. “There was another victim. The police called it in this morning.”

“Another one? Where?”

“Behind the Three Stars bar. Police were called to control a student night gone wild. They found a corpse in the alley. The body was fresh.” Helianth exhaled heavily and sagged back against the chair.

“Was it a local?”

Helianth shook his head. “The police are still working on the victim’s identity, but like the others, this one isn’t on Helion’s list of residents. That’s the tenth murder in eight weeks.”

“What does Kylix say?”

Kylix, their cousin and head of the Luminary, was the one calling the shots. In this case, he’d been the one deciding to keep it quiet.

Helianth looked troubled. “Kylix needs more forces. We’ve got ourselves a serial killer, and people deserve to know. There’s Luminary everywhere on the streets after dark, and it makes people feel restless.”

A serial killer.

Moargan detested the fact that someone was out there on a murder mission, dirtying Helion’s otherwise stainless reputation. Someoneotherthan the Imperials who owned this planet.

“So that’s who he goes for?” He asked Helianth. “Foreigners residing on Helion?”

“Looks like it. He calls himself Attica and smears the name in his victim’s blood at every crime scene. We’ve been paying off the media trying to keep things quiet, but we won’t be able to keep that up forever.”

“Do you have any idea who he is or where he’s hiding?” Moargan asked.

Helianth slowly shook his head. “I’m still profiling him.”

“What have you got so far?”

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