Page 74 of Stars on Fire

She stood silently at the entrance, waiting for him to notice her.

She knew the moment he’d tagged her in the room and felt the unspoken roar of attraction and connection between them.

His jaw clenched, but he ignored her for a moment longer.

Eventually, he lifted his head and leaned back in his chair.

‘Excellency,’ he rasped, not quite looking at her face but at a point beyond it. ‘What can I do for you?’

She ignored the jolt of desire that jettisoned through her body at the sound of his voice. Instead, she stepped forward, and the door slid to a close behind her.

‘We need to talk,’ she said.

He raised an eyebrow slowly.

‘About your plans for The Technocracy,’ she clarified.

‘This is hardly the time or the place,Excellency,’ he said quietly, his deep voice laced with steely resolve.

Selene’s face tightened. ‘When is the right time and place? I need to know.’

‘Perhaps after we’ve helped to liberate your planet from your enemies?’ He paused, and she saw his nose flare with deep, hidden emotion. ‘How about then?’

‘Now,’ she insisted, striding closer to his desk. ‘Before my people get caught up in something I can’t explain. Like your stated plan to end the Technocracy. What is it?’

Kainan rose to his feet and rounded his desk. He rested one hip against the desk and crossed his arms over his muscled chest. ‘The thing is,Excellency, it’s none of your business, and I don’t need to explain what doesn’t concern you to you. Once Dunia is free, once you’re free, you won’t need to know.’

‘The thing is,khosi, without understanding your full plan, I don’t know whether to trust you,’ she snapped.

He leaned forward, and she caught her breath at the flare of wildfire in his eyes.

‘It’s too late now,khamila, isn’t it?’ he whispered, bending lower so his face was close to hers. He was taut with emotion, unconsciously slipping into his endearment for her. ‘Too late to distrust me, to distrust us -.’

Selene felt his cold disdain and the force of his derisive words reflected in the barely controlled rage of his eyes.

Her face grew hot at his thinly veiled bitterness.

‘Fine!’ she conceded angrily, pulling away from him. ‘Keep your secrets. Tell me one thing, though, are you using us? Are you using Dunia in any way for some other play we’re not privy to?’

Kainan snorted. ‘Remember,Excellency; youcame to us, not the other way around. We didn’t need you,’ he ground out, his double-edged words cutting her like blades. ‘But this incursion is forcing us to accelerate some of our other plans. The moment our plans cross over with yours, you will be advised. But not a moment before then.’

They glared at each other, their stubborn hearts clashing. The hum of the ship’s ventilators and the quiet rumble of its engines faded into the ether around them.

Selena eventually cut through the silence.

‘Rina said you were honourable. And we’ve cut a deal that you have to come through on. So I will choose to believe that we’re not mere puppets. And that you’ll keep to the terms of our agreement well before you unleash whatever other mad plans you’re making. But know thiskhosi, we’ve had enough pain to deal with recently. So don’t add to our - my people’s - misery.’

With those hard words, Selene whirled around and stalked away through the open sliding doors.

Kainan

His lips twisted as he watched Selene leave.

The heat from her anger rolled back toward him and seared his soul.

‘Fokk,’ he ground out, stalking around his desk, letting his body fall heavily back into the seat. He closed his eyes in defeat.

‘Damn! That was rough,’ said Riv, looking up at Kainan via his feed.

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