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‘Stop!’ she commanded in a hissed murmur.

Ki’Remi froze, the tip of his glowing meta-blade humming inches from the cloaked figure’s throat.

The shroud dropped.

To reveal a celestial and very annoyed Sedevan glaring up at the Sableman with narrowed, blazing eyes.

‘Zenas?’ Issa gasped.

The demi-god growled in reply, shoving Ki’Remi aside. ‘Fokk. Your mortal almost sliced my damned soul out of my chest.’

‘Who is he?’ the Sableman rasped, his meta-sword still pointed.

Issa came to his side. ‘He’s my cousin, Remi, also a top-tier Arch-Major in the Ssisigan military.’

Her kinsman’s mouth twisted. ‘No longer. When Ssigard fell, I left my post and joined the insurgency on New Savartin, fighting back against the scourge of gods gone mad.’

Ki’Remi’s jaw tightened, still bristling, but he stepped back, retracting his blade and weapon into his wrist comm. ‘Regardless, you shouldn’t be sneaking up on us.’

Zenas staggered, his shoulder bleeding where one of the Rider’s strikes had landed.

‘Shit,’ Issa muttered, rushing forward.

She pressed her palms to the wound, lighting it with radiant warmth.

Zenas hissed, then sighed, his muscles unwinding as her healing sank into his skin.

‘I didn’t come to fight,’ he said when his dermis was smooth again. ‘I came to warn you.’

Issa pulled back, rubbing her hands together. ‘Warn us?’

He nodded, his mouth a grim slash. ‘Although Sulfiqar lies half stricken on his onyx throne, sickness blooming across his divine form like rot, his once-glorious light flickered, corrupted, and warped; it is not he who banished your father. Twas Somayeh and Zavei.’

Issa’s breath stuttered. Her gut turned to a boulder.

‘Explain,’ she demanded, her utterance hard with steel, fists clenching at her sides.

Zenas pushed breath from his lungs. ‘I’ll start at the beginning. It’s common knowledge that Sulfiqar is obsessed with consuming pure souls, so they played into his greed for immortality.’

‘ Twas no accident,’ Zenas continued. ‘The corruption he carries now was fed to him. Laced within a soul that Somayeh chose. She tainted him deliberately.’

Issa gasped, horror crawling over her skin. ‘Why would she—?’

‘To weaken him,’ Zenas interjected, face grim. ‘To create an opportunity for a coup. She and Zavei have long plotted together as secret lovers. They want the throne, and not just Sivania’s. They seek dominion beyond Sivania and into the Pegasi system. They’re building forces even now to take over the universe.’

‘Why?’ Issa gritted. ‘Isn’t Sacra and the Seventh Heaven enough for them?’

‘Tis not,’ Zenas rasped. ‘They’ve made myriad decisions over time, wading into political intrigue and evil, in fact indulging init, to stay in power, which has led to a dynamic inconsistency converting them both into tyrant war generals. They both may, eventually, come to regret this, but by then, they’ll have no exit options.’

Zenas sucked his teeth. ‘They planned a coup. Your father found out and refused to be part of it. So they punished him. Somayeh, who orchestrated his demise, and Zavei branded him a traitor when he refused to back their plans. They cursed him and your family, making it look like Sulfiqar’s decree. They used the Most High’s name and desire for a pure soul to cover their treason. When you stole from the Repository, they shifted their plans and hunted you. So you’d hand the souls within the Sanopic vessel to them to fuel Sulfiqar’s end.’

Ki’Remi’s eyes narrowed. ‘But the Most High still wants the Sanopic Jar?’

‘Aye,’ Zenas muttered. ‘Because he’s dying and needs the souls within to restore his health. However, Somayeh and Zavei want to use it to consolidate power. Whoever wields its influence can threaten to unleash the souls within to gain dominance. They mean to wrest it from you and attempt to unseat the Divine Immortal so they can rule Sivania together. They’re ready to wage conflict regardless to fulfill their goals.’

Issa’s stomach twisted as she parsed the level of betrayal, lies, and treachery. ‘How long before the war begins?’ she asked.

‘It already has,’ Zenas rasped with a bitter edge, the words like ash on his tongue. ‘You’re late to the battlefield. It was planned. All of it. Your Father. TheSirr Sanctumstone. Sulfiqar’s health demise.’