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Bolts of cloth fell from a central dome and fanned out under the ceiling, giving the walls a tented appearance.

Boulders and segments of Devansi’s chrome rocks were integrated into the walls.

Most of it was an open free float between the interior and surrounding view, with the roofed-in spaces being the sleeping quarters and kitchen.

Outside, its vast terrace was connected to nature and featured rock lounges strewn with soft rugs.

Élisa unpacked its history as she ushered him into her domain. ‘It was once a temple for the local monks until they gave it to us after abandoning it to move further south. Where they can worship the Ka’SHärd in proximity.’

Riv entered the living space with some trepidation.

Its organic style was evident in its carved chairs, and counters melded into one continuous piece. All made of rock.

Soft furnishings were laid over carved stone chairs to soften them.

Animal skulls and chrome birds decorated the walls, while bronze statues adorned the floors.

He spied bedrooms along a stone corridor and, in the distance, a bathroom set into the hill where a natural waterfall trickled down the boulders.

It was organic, it was spirited, it was unusual and unique.

It was Élisa.

It was the home he’d have shared with her all these years.

He sucked back bitterness. ‘It’s ambitious. How was it created?’

‘It was hewn out of the hill, sitting in and within it.’

Riv turned to see his progeny bearing on him with a tray of food and drink from the fluid rock-faced kitchen. ‘Its openness to the purity of nature helps bring us closer tou’Kweli.’

Riv shook his head, confused. ‘What’s that?’

‘The truth.’

Still reeling from the strange reality he was now immersed in, Riv huffed in disbelief. ‘Wouldn’t we all want to know the truth?’

Killen turned his strange silver eyes toward him. ‘You seek it, Ribau?’

Clenching his jaw, Riv tried to push out the younger man’s gentle probing of his mind and soul. ‘Always.’

‘You shall find it.’

Riv gave the young man a wry smile, turning away his pained eyes to immerse them in the wild outdoors that looked breathtaking from their protected vantage point.

How was he going to navigate this fokkin’ morass quagmire?

He’d occasionally envied his Rider brothers’ bond with their growing families for years. Now, he had an instant family and a son within arm’s reach. Yet he couldn’t let them in on his identity.

It was more than he could bear.

‘u’Kweliis how I found you. I sought you.’

Killen’s words broke through Riv’s churlishness.

He glanced at both son and mother with a quizzical expression.

Élisa sank onto one of the rock chairs in the dining area after washing her hands in the kitchen. ‘Killen knew about you and your ship long before I did. He sensed you searching for us and sent me to find you.’