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For a long moment, no one spoke.

The radiance from the windows shifted, painting the wooden floors in honey-colored hues.

The warmth of Dunia’s sunrise starkly contrasted with the cold inevitability hanging between them.

Issa sighed. ‘I feel bad for those we left behind. For Zenas and our extended family. The gods have begun their battles, and I pray he prevails lest we demigods and mortals pay the ultimate price.’

The golden light of Dunia’s twin suns stretched over the fields, washing the horizon in dusky amber as Ki’Remi walked beside Zephyr through the swaying vines.

The scent of ripening fruit clung to the air, as did sun-warmed citrus, the earthiness of harvested soil, and grapesswinging from their vines.

The land was quiet, save for the distant carried words shared between Issa and Iyanda as they wandered the far end of the farm.

Her brother enthusiastically explained their small enterprise, hands gesturing as he spoke.

On the terrace, Raquel and Safiyya sat in the fading light, glasses of iced tea in hand, their conversation carrying through the atmosphere, lilting and unhurried, sprinkled in with bursts of laughter.

Ki’Remi respected the substance of Zephyr’s presence beside him, the measured steps of a man whose soul had been held hostage and then returned.

He admired how the Sedevan man bore no bitterness.

Zephyr was a quiet man but not a weak one. He walked with the demeanor of a legend who had once commanded legions through the strength of his will.

For long moments, they moved in companionable silence.

Zephyr cleared his throat as they skirted a cluster of verdant nut trees.

Ki’Remi twisted his head, sensing a shift.

‘What plans do you have for my daughter, Sableman?’

The older man’s voice was hushed, but a father’s tempered steel lay beneath it.

Ki’Remi’s steps faltered for only a breath before he stopped and turned toward Zephyr, facing him under the vast, open sky.

He’d answered to admirals, to kings, to gods themselves.

However, the gravity of this moment outclassed them all.

His neck worked, tightening. ‘I intend for her to be my wife if she so wishes.’

The words left him raw, stripped bare.

Zephyr studied him, waiting for more intentional meaning.

Ki’Remi exhaled through his nose, dragging a hand through his locs. Then, he spoke again, quieter this time but no less resolute.

‘I want a life with her. I want her beside me as long as I breathe. I want everything.’

The Rider’s voice gritted with emotion. ‘A home. A family. Children who know peace.’

The confession hung between them, naked and irrevocable.

For a considerable time, Zephyr said nothing.

He only studied the Edenite, his eyes raking deep and searching as if seeing through him into the marrow of his soul.

After a time, he nodded. ‘I see a great warrior in you,’ he murmured, stepping closer. ‘But also a healer.’