Page 62 of Stars At Dusk

Kage filled her in. ‘Tis a mystery but it’s thought Eden II is not just an asteroid but a large fragment of a Paladian planet that broke apart millions of years ago.’

‘Fascinating,’ Harlow sighed. ‘Our archaeologists on Dunia have found the remains of Paladian temples, ancient towers and spires that pierce the sky. Clusters of them stand like giant artificial forests in what once inhabited lands but where no one has lived in existing memory. Yet others stand in ocean bays that rose with the sea to consume them, and some are inland at the bottoms of natural basins now overgrown with unending forests. This is why some Dunians and many people in the System worship the Paladians, who we believe created these amazing structures and mourn that their era is past. They must have been incredible people.’

‘Mykaraknows her history,’ Kage murmured, impressed.

‘Just a curious mind. I’ve always wondered who the Paladians were. Their story seems so tragic. Yet so romantic and melancholic,’ she said.

‘Indeed.’

He pulled her close, and they walked further.

They stopped at several food carts, and Kage fished out some schills for an iced treat. She chose a mango-fresh and apple and cinnamon-flavoured sorbetti. Kage ordered honey and sesame seed, and a rich coffee crunch flavour with kaokao for himself.

‘Delicious,’ was all Harlow could manage as she licked the delectable treat.

His eyes fell to her tongue, and he bit his lip. ‘Woman,’ he warned. ‘Killin’ me.’

She laughed and shied away, trying to escape their shared heat.

He caught her using an arm and tucked her to his side. ‘Kara, there’s no escaping me,’ he whispered deliciously into her ear. ‘After all, every superwoman needs her superman.’

‘Is that right?’

Truth be told, she had no intention of leaving his arms at that moment.

She’d never felt so lighthearted yet cared for.

He was undoing her. Unravelling her fears one touch, whisper and look at a time.

That was when she noticed that Kage was leading her away from the main arterial of the Old Town and the cobblestone lanes.

‘Where are you taking me, Sable?’ she teased as they descended into a seedier side street.

‘Part II. The underbelly chapter of the tour, an underworld of tunnels and dungeons - where Eden II’s dark side resides, where the spirits of space pirates long gone abound.’

‘Oh my,’ she exclaimed.

She shivered and broke out in goosebumps as they wandered past dark, spooky alleys where eyes peered at them from the gloom beyond.

Kage regaled her with tales of space pirate ghouls who were rumoured to still live in the caves of Eden II. According to legend, they hunted and fed on the innocent. Then there were tales of the dulu bird that created the violent lunar storms with its large wings, alongside the astral dragon snake that breathed fire over the moonscape.

As he spoke, she drew closer to Kage, and he welcomed the curve of her body against his tall, muscled strength. Secretly, she’d never felt so protected, so cherished.

Their stroll soon turned to an open, busy square overflowing with people, stalls and, at one end, a darkened avenue that seemed to dip under the surface of the moon itself.

At the heart of the square was a maglev station from where bodies poured out, moving to and fro the massive lunar rock. Judging by their clothes and manner, the people in the square were poorer, a little more ragged and desperate than Eden II’s surface dwellers.

She saw more than a few curious eyes fall on them, and suddenly Harlow felt self-conscious of her bright jumpsuit and the message it sent of carefree wealth.

She shivered, and Kage noticed. He pulled off his well-worn leather jacket and slipped it around her shoulders.

‘Thank you,’ she said, deeply grateful for its warmth and cloaking capacity.

Kage shrugged his magnificent shoulders that were now on show. ‘De nada. My pleasure. This is the main square that leads into the tunnels below,’ he said. ‘Most of the people you see here are Pikani, a name given to those who live under the surface of Eden II.’

‘How did they get here?’ she asked.

‘They’re a mix of old pirate dynasties that prefer the underground, ex-convict families, and refugees from Alloria and Falasia. Most of them are legit workers. Others, gang members. And even others, koko drug heads. It’s a melting pot.’

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