Page 54 of Stars on Fire

Kainan looked over his shoulder and slowly backtracked to where Selene stood, her torso leaning into the exquisite gloss canvas in flux.

‘Dusk in Death,’ she said, reading the tag on the painting. ‘It’s fascinating,’ she whispered, her eyes sweeping over the starry surface that shifted and glowed in the strange reflective light of Eden II.

‘What makes it look so alive?’ she asked.

‘Metanoids and moon dust infused paint. It adds motion and life to the canvas.’

‘Fascinating. Who’s the artist?’ she asked, glancing up at Kainan.

He closed his molten eyes briefly, and she sensed an uncomfortable shift.

‘You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,’ she called out.

He pushed a hand through his long locks, his eyes not quite meeting hers.

Why would this giant, colossal warrior suddenly be shy?she wondered.

She suddenly had a thought and reared back. ‘It’s you, isn’t it?’

He huffed under his breath impatiently. ‘Let’s get you settled,’ he clipped, turning as if to walk away.

She caught the sleeve of his jumpsuit, and he shied away from her, staring down at their shared connection. She lifted her hand away slowly.

‘You’re not embarrassed, are you?’ she continued, refusing to be perturbed.

He shrugged his massive shoulders.

‘There’s no need to be,’ she said. ‘These are absolutely amazing.’

He stared at her for a moment. ‘You think so?’ he slowly murmured.

She nodded emphatically, then studied his face.

‘You’ve never shown them to anyone else, have you?’ she probed.

He shrugged again, and she smiled.

‘You’ve nothing to worry about,’ she said, sweeping a hand toward the wall where other similar artworks hung. ‘These would sell like hot Sinoni cakes at the best and most established galleries on Dunia and Rhesus.’

‘I don’t paint or draw for money,’ he grumbled, his molten eyes flashing.

She studied him for a moment.

‘I get that,’ she accepted. ‘But please don’t hide these beauties away. Millions would travel thousands of light years to see them hung up and displayed. That’s how incredible they are.’

‘That remains to be seen,’ he murmured, walking away and down the corridor.

She followed him at a pace, pausing at each canvas while shaking her head at the stunning artistry captured in each one.

‘When do you get the time to paint and draw these, let alone run an entire metro dome and moon?’ she called after him.

‘There’s always time to burn when you’re hovering in space waiting for the next privateer or raider to rattle past,’ he said quietly.

He’d stopped and leaned against a doorway that opened into a large bed chamber. He jerked his chin, signalling that she step through. She slipped past him, carefully keeping a safe distance between them before looking around at the new space.

The room featured a coral-stone wall, against which was set a luxurious wide bed upholstered in dark gold fabric. A vintage Rhesian chandelier was mounted over the bed. It was grouped with side tables from the south of Dunia, inset lamps and a vintage bench at its foot. There was also a smart plex window that flicked from opaque to transparent at the touch of a button to let in or shut out the soaring lunar view.

‘Nice,’ she said with a smile. ‘Is this my crash pad, or am I kicking you out of your bed?’

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