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She shot him a surprised look. ‘That’s very personal, Ribau.’

‘Do you want another chance?’ he found himself insisting, his voice low and husky.

She closed her eyes and swayed, lost in memories. ‘Naam. I keep praying for another opportunity to have him back and to call him mine again. I wake up yearning after nights of dreaming of him, reliving his presence, and revisiting our love. Life is cruel, Ribau, because it’ll never come true. Yet I can’t erase my feelings, for he was my heart.’

His own lurched, with such hope and sweet melancholy, he bit his lip to stop from crying out.

With that, she rose to her feet and stalked towards the kitchen, almost blinded by the moisture she was dashing from her eyes.

She paused midstep, not looking back at him. ‘Goodnight, Ribau. Let’s hope our rest resetswhateverthefokkthis is between us.’

With savagery, he blinked away the moisture threatening from under his eyes, watching as she swayed away.

‘Sleep well, my love,’ he whispered in a raw whisper, one so low she didn’t hear him.

Riv spent the next few hours in flux.

When the frustration and unrequited desire boiling under his Galician disguise heralded an explosion, he strode out of his room. He leapt out of the rock house through one of its large openings and vaulted over its energized fence.

He wandered down the darkened hill, searching for answers in the stillness of the wild veld before him.

He came to a stand of bushes clustered next to a large boulder. He climbed it and sat at the summit.

Mirage.

The AI was quick to respond.Here.

Anything to share? What have you found?

I chanced on the phenomenon, which seems to be a spiral offshoot of the nebula mist. It is a mystery because I’ve never seen one quite this charged and storm-bound. Lightning flashes from it streak the southern hemisphere with so much illumination that it never darkens into night.

Fascinating,Riv commented.

I’ve found something of note,Mirage intoned.The Ka’SHärd, as they call it, has become a religious symbol for the locals and the faithful who brave its storms to worship it.

Riv started.The Ka’SHärd sounds much like the Shard.

Mirage chuckled.I made note of that, too. I can’t see any resemblance in the mist-like storm that churns out of the entity, but there might be a link. From what I gathered, the Ka’SHärd offers healing each time it surges. The faithful congregate around it, and when it has an efflux, they rush into it and gain the healing they seek. I’m not sure how true this is, but they worship it with a fanatical reverence, as if the nebula drives them mad.

Riv sighed.Interesting. It aligns with what Élisa and Killen shared. That said, we must focus on finding Ankis and helping Élisa and my son in their quest.

I may have solved your first problem,the AI shared.

How?

I spotted someone, one of the fanatics, raving around the finger of Ka’SHärd. The person looks very much like the man we seek.

So, is Ankis at the site of the nebula?

It would seem so. The nebula-mist interferes so much with my probes that I cannot be sure. We’ll need visual confirmation from you.

Riv cursed.I can’t leave Élisa. Not until Killen returns.

I see.

Mirage, could you keep an eye on the person you think is Ankis? I’ll remain here until Killen returns and perhaps take a detour to confirm this sighting on my way to escort them wherever they need to go.

Sante Riv.