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The silver-haired Rider’s voice broke as he stepped forward to grasp the man in his arms. ‘We had no clue, brother. We were in the dark about your existence.’

His ordeal had weakened Kisan’s hoarse whisper. ‘I’m aware of that now. I’m not proud of how I outworked my pain and the hurt of being abandoned, or so I thought. I have many amends to make.’

Xion, Ki’Remi, and Zion pushed in, and together, the reunited Riders stood silent, lost in an embrace for a long time.

‘Let’s continue this discussion inside, people,’ Zane urged after a beat. ‘I also want to lift off this plain so we can cloak the ships, and I can wake the sleeping monks. We need to get a sit-rep on the incoming Katánian fleet. ‘We only have just over a day before they arrive.’

Riv nodded, his timbre hardening. ‘Let’s get to work.’

21

A Song of Renewal

RIV

The Sable Riders loaded the Shard onto Glimmer.

The plan was to rendezvous with Phantasm in orbit to transfer the artifact into one of its locked holds.

When Glimmer was cloaked and in stealth mode, Zane worked his psi-wizardry, and the monks rose from their deep slumber. They assembled in groups, sharing the joy of the dreamscape they’d all experienced.

Or thought they had. Zane had wiped their minds of all knowledge of Ankis, the Ka’SHärd, and the dark tether they’d been held captive to.

Instead, they now believed they had gathered on the dried brine lake for an innocent, fun-filled solstice festival.

They returned to their homes scattered throughout the continents of Devansi with full hearts and overflowing praise for the wonderful time they’d shared.

Cadrin, too, was gifted a new set of memories and renewed purpose.

He was welcomed to a monastery on the edge of Devansi’s snow-bound northern continent.

He would soon lose himself in the ardent craft of carpentry and joinery, none the wiser to his past life as an Ordo Secondo monk.

On board Glimmer, Mirage gave the group a quick update.

Now that the nebula was calm, its distortion of space was gone, and so the AI node onboard the Sable ship had been able to reach Kainan.

‘He’s high-tailing it from Eden II, burning like mad through hyperspace to get here with about thirty gunships from the Sable fleet and the combined Pegasi alliance military,’ the AI informed them.

‘How far is he?’ Riv asked.

‘He says it’ll be a day, maybe even two, but says he has some tricks up his sleeve to contract the fleet’s hyperspace journey to us.’

Zane hissed. ‘That’s cutting it close.’

‘Especially seeing as over two hundred Katánian ships are incoming,’ Riv added.

Élisa closed her eyes, trying to control the nausea of panic that threatened to swamp her. ‘That sounds like the entire army, as I remember it. They must be desperate for the hawkstone.’

The Sable AI shifted, peering closer at the holo that showed the advancing battleships. ‘It seems they’ve split their force into two waves. Eighty vessels in the lead and another one hundred twenty about two hours behind the first. Is that to be expected, Élisa?’

Élisa’s brow furrowed. ‘I’ve never heard of that formation. Then again, remember, I’ve not been privy to any Katánian fleet movements for many years. Whatever battle strategies they’ve developed since are beyond me.’

‘Do the Devansi people have any capabilities to protect themselves?’ Riv asked.

Mirage piped up. ‘No way. They’re semi-industrial, and their towns are clutches of villages, monasteries, and wild tribes. They’ve little in the way of spaceships. Most of what they operate are clunkers used for transport and trade. Not one armed ship exists on the planet. They’ll never be able to fend off the Katánians.’

A silence fell over the group as Glimmer parked itself in Phantasm’s vast hold.