‘One of The Sable Group’s establishments. Zane’s baby, to be precise,’ he said, leading her to a sprawling bar complete with an onyx and rare mineral bench top and a mirrored splash back, where a dozen bartenders hovered over the growing number of patrons.
‘Are we still in the same building as the apartment?’
‘Not quite. One building over. We own the entire block,’ same the quiet response. ‘And a few more throughout the city.’
She raised an eyebrow. Her measure of respect for the Sable Riders kept growing. These Edenites were strong, a brute force, but they were also strategic — brilliant thinkers and wise investors hiding behind a veneer of mercenary thuggery. While slowly growing in their domination of an entire system from the shadows of the stars.
He settled her into a plush, high-backed barstool at the bar and summoned an Allorian bartender with a flick of his finger. The barman’s eyes widened slightly in recognition of the sapphire and gold tattooed man leaning against the counter, and he rushed over.
‘What can I get you,khosi?’
‘A Zindawa for me, and the lady -?’ Kainan said turning to Selene.
She leaned forward. ‘What do you have for a girl a moon away from her planet and negotiating for the lives of millions?’
The barman’s eyes widened even further.
‘Surprise me,’ Selene added.
Kainan’s lips quirked with amusement. ‘What about one of your infamous moon dust cocktails, Jarok? Perhaps Eden’s Mist?’
‘What’s in it?’ Selene asked, intrigued by the name.
The barman grinned, clearly proud of what he was about to proffer. ‘Amaretto from the hills of Lasigonia on Dunia, Curacao oranges, distilled kaokao from Tansin and a touch of silver moon dust from our northern lunar mountains. The sweetness of the amaretto mellows the tartness of the orange without dulling the citrus notes too much. The result is pure Edenite pleasure.’
Selene nodded. ‘Sounds sublime. I’ll have one, thank you.’
The bartender inclined his shaven dome and set about making her cocktail with great relish. He whirled and twirled bottles and glasses before setting down a tall phial of iridescent liquid before Selene with theatrical panache.
Selene took a sip of her silver-dusted cocktail and sighed with happiness. The taste was like nothing she’d tasted before - lightly syrupy with marzipan, macaroon, vanilla and orange notes, which left tingles on her tongue and taste buds.
She took another sip, tasted the sheer decadence and closed her eyes, almost moaning as the delicious heat snaked to her belly. Then, she slowly opened her eyes to clash with an intense gold sapphire gaze.
‘Good?’
‘Better than good,’ she said softly, the temperature rising under her skin. Her cheeks flushed vividly, and she dipped her head.
Damn, it was getting hot in here.
His lips flexed, and he took a pull of his beer and swigged it back to reveal his long, thick neck and muscled chin.
Selene tore her eyes away from his beauty and lifted her glass, staring at it instead, captivated by the swirling silver iridescence dancing in the sunset and crimson liquid.
Her eyes caught movement at the lifts. The glass elevator disgorged the rest of The Sable Riders. The four men strode towards the bar, slowing down to exchange more long looks with theirkhosi, clearly communicating with him, before stalking past and sitting on a table nearby.
‘Do you know how annoying that is?’ Selene blurted.
Kainan swivelled his large head towards her. ‘What is?’
‘That silent thing you guys do. How youtalkto each other.’
His head reared back slightly in surprise, and his voice fell to a low timbre. ‘My apologies,khamila, it’s such a habit. We forget how it seems to those around us without the same abilities. We only do it in public - when we need to be careful who might hear us.’
‘Apology accepted. What are those abilities anyway?’
He gave her a long, considered look. ‘A highly sophisticated neural node network. We each have a node and can do more than speak to each other. We can link our brains with external tech and even AI like Mirage without needing a physical connection.’
Selene was fascinated. ‘Do all Edenites have one or just The Sable Riders?’