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‘It was meant to be,’ he rasped. ‘Our stars were always seeking each other, slightly misaligned, until our son pointed us to each other. For that, I’ll be forever grateful.’

When his woman quieted down, Riv asked about her father. ‘Is he the monster he’s painted as?’

‘The Tempest Light isn’t all ogre. I even remember moments when he was approachable. But he was sucked into believing in the lie of Katáne’s dominance. He got drunk with power and greed. As did most of his elder council members. In thrall to worn-out ideologies and prejudices, they’ve ruled our people by fear and division. They force conflict and marauding on us and abuse the tenets of our old ways while poisoning the minds of the young, who paid the ultimate price. I refused to be a part of that war industry machine.’

He asked her about the rest of her family.

‘My brother was a waiting K?str?l in Arms. I’m sure he has risen to great things. From what I know, my younger sister is still in Katáne, married by now, and juggling a k?st of hawklings.’

She shared everything he asked her about, but there were some parts she couldn’t bring herself to tell him about. Those that hurt her the most - her father’s ruthless hunt for her and the crippling anxiety of imagining his crushing fury.

These were the aspects she didn’t want to talk about out loud. Ones that were too painful even to remember.

Sensing her moroseness, Riv turned their conversation to his past. He told her about the Sable Riders and how they’d transformed their experiences with the crats into using their meta-skills for good.

‘Kage can cloak himself with the same stealth ‘noids as on our ships. Xion has super speed and reflexes. Zane is a psionic mastermind at syllogising, computing, and mathematising. And, Ki’Remi, whom you haven’t met yet, has heightened senses such as exceptional vision, touch, and hearing, and the ability to manipulate matter, making him a great medic.’

He told her how the Riders now dominated business, politics, and arms in Pegasi and gave away their profits to those in need.

‘That’s admirable.’

Riv shrugged. ‘It’s the right thing to do.’

‘I’ll tell you the right thing to do now.’

His eyes blazed as he cottoned on to the mischief in her eyes.

She leapt from the bed and danced away from his reaching hands.

‘Hey!’

Élisa shot him a come hither look and took off. The silver robe she wore billowed about her lithe, muscled legs as she disappeared toward the side of the house.

With a gruff laugh, the Rider gave chase.

He just managed to glimpse her outside the rock house, taking long leaps over the stepped spine of the house.

He followed, moving higher until he found her at the apex of the roof, her cloak now open, revealing her sinewed, nude beauty.

She stood looking out at the enchanting view of the desert night sky. He took a stealthy step, sliding his hands to the curve of her waist and pulling her hard to his nakedness.

She gave a small laugh before twisting out of his clasp. ‘Let me show you something.’

Nabbing his hand, she walked to the back of the roof, where the house met the gigantic boulder it was built around.

Riv’s eyes widened at the sight of a deep pool cut into the home’s vault, filled with pure water trickling from a crack in the boulders above it. An overhang of lush green desert bushes turned the unexpected space into an oasis.

‘Welcome to bliss.’

She let her robe fall and stepped into the cool depths.

Leaning into a hidden shelf under the surface, she produced two bottles of the delicious beer she and Killen brewed.

‘May I tempt you?’

Her smile was so beguiling that Riv felt his knees weaken.

‘I’m so past tempted, my angel,’ he murmured. Pulling off his loose pants, he strode to the edge of the water and slid in.