Page 110 of Stars in Umbra
Commander and assassin, woman and man. Lovers and now likely partners in a perilous mission.
After a beat, Rina gave him the slightest nod.
‘I’ll call Mirage.’
‘Sante, mi kaya.’
It was the second time that day he used his familiar endearment on her.
She liked it.
He caught a flicker of heat and warmth in her eyes before she turned toward the comms interface.
Mo’s heart thudded, relief and gratitude burning his chest. Plus a measure of hope.
Perhaps they had a chance together, given that she was making a choice to stand beside him, even after knowing his terrible secret and his horrifying command.
He didn’t deserve that kind of grace, but he’d protect it with everything he had.
RINA
Rina activated her secure comm tab, her fingers steady despite the firestorm of thoughts racing through her head.
She dialed the Riders’ encrypted line and waited as the signal bounced through a dozen proxy shields.
Finally, the screen blinked once, then lit up with a familiar face.
Mirage materialized in a shimmering high-resolution holo, wearing a sequinned silver jumpsuit that caught and fractured the light, a style straight out of a fashion editorial.
‘Colonel,’ Mirage said, arching a brow as she took in the plain gray walls behind her. ‘You appear strained, so I’m guessing this is hella urgent.’
‘It is,’ Rina replied without preamble. ‘I need you to come to Dunia as soon as possible, please. To the Thabot Barracks on New Rambasa, and as quietly as you can.’
Mirage’s smile vanished. ‘What is this about?’
Rina wavered, then sighed. ‘Mo.’
One of Mirage’s elegant brows rose. ‘I surmised as much. The news holos alerted us to the fact that he had resurfaced in Dunia;however, we didn’t have an exact location, as he had turned off his Sable node. He’s been MIA for weeks now. Kainan was ready to send a search party. Until we got a cryptic message that said he needed time off and would be in touch as soon as he had the chance.’
Rina hesitated, then nodded once. ‘He’s here. With me in New Rambasa. It’s complicated.’
A brief pause. Then Mirage’s expression shifted as if recalibrating. ‘I can be with you in less than ten minutes.’
The holo screen began to flicker, but Rina blinked at her. ‘Wait,fokk, Mirage, how are you already this close?’
A mischievous grin twitched at the corner of Mirage’s lips. ‘Kainan sent me. The second, Mo’s face hit the holos eighteen hours ago, he pulled me off my Rhesian assignment, and dispatched me in our fastest Corvette to find him, on the down-low. He sensed something was wrong in his gut. I’ve been in the skies above New Rambasa, circling, waiting for a signal from him.’
‘Well, now you’ve found Mo,’ Rina muttered, sparing a glance over her shoulder at the silent figure leaning against the Faraday cage wall. ‘Get here fast.’
‘Will do. Tell your MPs to open the gates and skip the ceremony.’
‘I’ll meet you myself,’ Rina said, killing the feed.
She turned to Mo, who stood eyeing the exchange with his arms folded, his silhouette cast in shadow.
He didn’t speak, but the unspoken question hovered between them.
‘You caught all that?’ she asked.
