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‘I won’t let it get that far next time,’ she breathed.

His lips quirked once more. ‘So there will be a next time. Your pursuers are relentless, ay?’

She didn’t breathe a word.

He sighed. ‘What are you running from?’

His timbre reverberated, and her heart started hammering again.

She gave him a wry smile to mask the significant jolts cascading over her.

More silence.

‘Fine,’ he rasped. ‘Have it your way, but not for long. If more of thosefokkersattack us again, and you can’t or won’t tell me who they are, you’ll be out on your ass.’

‘I dare say I’ll be gone before then.’

‘Is telling me the truth so abhorrent to you, Elaris? What are you?’

‘The last person you should trust with the answer.’

With that, she shot him a slight, weary-tinged smile and strolled toward the banda, disappearing into its shadowed interior.

13

Defying Gravity

Ki’REMI

Dawn broke in a blaze of pinks, reds, and gold.

The jungle stirred with the slow rhythm of waking life, from the buzz of insects rousing to the distant calls of predatory birds piercing the morning mist.

A thin layer of fog drifted over the treetops, curling around the massive, ancient trunks like spectral fingers and the peaceful hamlet nestled in the valley’s embrace.

With a rumble and bass boom of braking jets, the sky split open.

A resonant drone rumbled across the forest canopy, followed by the shimmer of a descending vessel.

The Perseus Prime had arrived.

It slowed to a hover above Lothakin, its massive silhouette almost blacking out the rising sun.

Through the thinning haze, its rear hold opened, and from inside, the sleek silhouette of a military-grade lander emerged.

It descended through the clouds, its reinforced hull gleaming under the rising sun.

The blast of its thrusters kicked up swirls of dust and leaves as it levitated at the village’s periphery, over a field as its engines slowed.

A waiting party stood by.

Elder Okaban, flanked by the other head leaders, was stationed beneath the massive tree, eyes on the arriving transport.

Behind them, villagers gathered in quiet clusters alongside the Perseus’ crew awaiting lift-off.

As the landing struts met earth, a ramp hissed open, and Admiral Rhye stepped down and strode forward, flanked by his XO and an Eden guard.

He clasped Okaban’s forearm in a firm grip. ‘Your hospitality is appreciated, Elder. You have the gratitude of the Perseus fleet.’