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Issa leaned in and hugged him. ‘SanteZenas.’

‘Nada, all appreciation belongs to you. As you can see, the various factions move across the heavens, maneuvering their fleets into position. Their banners of power rippled in cosmic winds, each claiming dominion over what is now a shattered realm. All due to you both.’

He said the last sentence with a wink. ‘Nada, you’re not responsible for this shit show, but you sure lit the spark that set it off. Now it is up to the honorable still left among us to wage and win the good fight.’

Issa’s heart clenched.

She searched his face, recalling how she had laughed with him as they played in the gardens of their childhood home.

The boy who once trained beside her in the twilight skies of Sacra, their wooden swords clashing under the watchful eyes of their elders.

Those days were long gone.

‘Lead cousin, defy all these complacent gods. I salute you for taking a stand against the divine tyranny that poisoned our realm for an interminable millennia,’ she murmured.

A ghost of a smile touched his lips. ‘I’m merely guiding fate. The power vacuum left by Zavei and Somayeh’s deaths and Sulfiqar’s fall to Hades has already unleashed a storm. Fractured and enraged, the immortal deities will wage war, and the innocent, the demigods, and the mortals will suffer collateral damage. However, we fight while they flounder in the throne room, thanks towhateverthefokkyou two did to them. We are attacking while they are at their weakest and splintered so we can save the heavenly realms.’

Ki’Remi crossed his arms and jerked his chin to the Sedevan major. ‘You know what you’re up against?’

Zenas gave a quick nod, his golden eyes flicking to the looming warships in the firmament, his jaw tight with resolve. ‘The gods have ruled without question for too long. They’ve forgotten mercy and discarded goodwill. All of Sacra wants them gone or at least replaced by leaders with true concern for them. We are the ones who will break them apart.’

A pulse of energy rippled across the city as another fleet materialized, streaking toward the conflict, their celestial engines roaring through the sky.

Sivania would burn before the sun rose again.

Issa reached for her cousin’s hands, gripping them tight. ‘Survive this.’

‘I will.’ His fingers squeezed hers in return. ‘Go well, and my regards to your family. This is your fight no longer. Tis time for your rest now.’

Zenas turned to Ki’Remi, their gazes locking in silent understanding.

The Sableman extended a hand. ‘May your immortal blades and lasers cut true.’

Zenas clasped it, his grip iron and fate woven together. ‘May your love bloom like the celestial flora of Sedeva. Rooted in starlight, unfolding through shadow, and thriving where even time forgets to pass.’

‘Prosaic,’ the Rider murmured. ‘Sante.’

Without another word, the Sacran warrior vanished into the shadows, his figure shimmering away.

Issa imagined him re-materializing in the labyrinth of Sivania’s warring streets, where the rebellion had already begun, the distant thunder of celestial cannons shaking the ground beneath their feet.

Ki’Remi exhaled, eyes on the graceful, beautiful, and oh-so-deadly warships arcing above them.

Issa noted how his fingers twitched with the instinct to fight, defend, and wade into the thick of battle, but this was not their war.

Issa swiveled to him, her eyes reflecting the fire-lit sky, her voice soft but firm. ‘We have to leave.’

A muscle ticked in his jaw, but he nodded, flicking his eyes to track his ship’s descent.

The Alatyr descended from the heavens in a silent glide, its sleek, obsidian hull gleaming against the rays of a dying sun.

Its matte black skin swallowed the ambient glow of Sivania like a void-given form.

Twin propulsion drives pulsed with raw power and a seismic growl.

It settled onto the pad with a whisper.

Its reinforced exo-armor was an interlocking weave of metal steel and runed alloy.