Page 139 of Stars in Mist

In the end, a contingent of fifty Katánians ships from the second wave arrived on the planet to speak with Élisa.

The rest of the rear fleet, consisting of one hundred twenty vessels, stopped at the border of Devansi airspace. They hovered for about an hour, assessing the situation, before turning around and making for the distant Sarisian jump gate.

The remaining ships were parked above the salt plain, facing off with Kainan’s Pegasi armada.

It was a formidable sight and a show of strength from both armies.

Élisa, Killen, and Riv walked onto the white landscape as the hawk-like silhouettes soared away from the Katánian convoy and descended towards them.

They landed one by one in a flurry of cutting wings and ominous talons.

Élisa noted their lodestones shining on their foreheads. ‘These are the elite K?str?l Sab?r Hawks of Katáne, the most superior of the Katánian soldiers.’

Her breath hitched as she whispered to Riv. ‘Yet two of them are Krypós,’ she breathed, pointing to a pair of chimeric winged creatures with sharp-beaked eagle features and the bodies of gigantic lions. ‘It’s a rare sight to see them working together.’

Killen met them, stepping forward, his arms crossed over his chest.

On sighting him, the twenty Katánians came to a stop, their lethal-looking talons and feathers melding away to reveal their human forms.

They stared at him, their keen eyes raking over his body that was larger and more jacked than their already immense and impressive size.

They studied his extensive, lustrous silver locks contrasting with their shorn sides and flowing crests.

He’d dimmed the gemstone on his brow and changed its orientation to resemble a small lodestone. It gave him a chance to study the Katánian contingent incognito.

‘Welcome, friends,’ he rumbled, his voice thundering over the plain.

One of the mammoth Krypós warriors stepped forward, a hefty creature with ropey muscled limbs under his tight, dark suit. ‘My name is Kaxim, and my hunter moniker is Sky Ash. I am the Commander of the elite Ka?'m??r? Hunters of the Kainôs Katáne Army.’

Killen cocked his head as if reading the gemstone of the man before him. ‘I sense your spirit and intent did not align with theKíríga, Tempest Light.’

Kaxim jolted. ‘How do you know that, off-comer?’

Killen’s lips turned up at the ends. ‘I know many things. What do you ask of me?’

‘Not of you, stranger, although we mean you no offence. We need to speak with the hawkstone bearer. We believe its last wearer was the daughter of the now departedKíríga.May he soar in peace.’

‘You’re talking about me,’ Élisa said, joining her son.

Kaxim and his fellow Hunters stared at her before their leader snarled. ‘You are theKiaMalkia?’

‘Naam. I am K’Élisa,Kintiof the Tempest Light. But Killen is my son and now wears the hawkstone. He is your rightful leader.’

‘Where is he?’

‘Right here.’

Killen unleashed the full radiance of his hawkstone.

At sighting the glowing jewel enlarging on his forehead, the Ka?'m??r? Sab?r Hawks stiffened. Their talons reanimated as did theirkoyasab?r feathers and the soaring chrome crests above their heads, their faces hardening as if for battle.

K’Élisa gazed at them, unperturbed. ‘He is also the K?str?l who felled Tempest Light.’

The Sab?r Hawks shared glances.

With no warning, they transformed into their Krypós and K?str?l forms as one, all human features disappearing as their formidable predator bodies transmuted.

The Riders took defensive stances, but Killen lifted a hand to stay them.

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