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‘No loyalty to us, or him, the one you fokked for your lodestone?’ Kaniz smirked.
Sana’a sucked her teeth and narrowed her eyes at her former k?thi master. ‘I go where the money is, and the collective kä’avi hate towards me means I cannot make a schill on the arena. I have to move on.’
‘Bullshit. But I’ll accept it, given I sense your secrets are many.’
The two women stared at each other for a beat.
‘Sante, Kaniz,’ Sana’a whispered, breaking the silence. ‘I appreciate all you did for me. You became like a sister to me. And if you know me well, you’ll know I treasure my sisters dearly.’
Kaniz’s eyes misted, and she clenched her teeth to hide her emotional response. ‘I appreciate that and will hold it close to my heart,’ she said.
The women embraced in a lengthy hug.
‘When will I see you again?’ The k?thi master asked when they finally parted.
Sana’a shrugged, her expression remote and desolate. ‘I’m not sure - I may never even return.’
Kaniz gave the Shotelai woman an enigmatic smile. ‘Never say never. So until then, good hunting, shikari.’
Chapter 33
Like a shooting black star burning with embers and dripping with flames, he tore through the velvet sky.
His wings beat in a tireless rhythm as he traversed the planet under the watchful eye of the firmament’s astral jewels.
The sweeping rachís carried him through the velvety darkness of the heavens, the distant cosmic entities like glimmering jewels in the ebony realm.
He flew over mountains, valleys, forests, and deserts. His giant, full-transmuted Sab?r hawk silhouette cast a silent shadow on the planet’s surface underneath.
The twinkling lights of cities and towns extended below him like a glowing patchwork quilt along Katáne’s curvature.
Above, the vast expanse of infinity stretched, speckled with stars and celestial bodies, a never-ending ocean of dark hues and shimmering radiance.
His hawkstone throbbed as its flare trailed over the flexure of planets and the sharp edges of asteroids, all floating in the void of space.
Whipping through the air, his emotions tossed and turned within him like a violent storm.
Wanting to forget, he channelled all of his energy into his wings. He pushed himself faster and higher until the pain in his muscles was almost unbearable.
But still, he pressed on, needing, desperate for release, for the blinding physical exertion to help clear his mind.
But as the minutes passed and the adrenaline began to fade, the weight of his present reality crashed down on him once again.
The memory of his parting with Sana’a replayed in his cognition like a broken record, bringing fresh waves of sadness and frustration.
His heart churned, consumed by her laughter, smile, and touch—but also by the anger burning inside him for their ill-timed, ill-fated, and fokkin’ unexpected separation.
He clenched his jaw as tears threatened to spill from his eyes. He refused to let them fall, not allowing himself even a moment of weakness.
After what felt like an eternity of flying, he returned to the kíota, striding into the bedchamber as dawn’s light inched over the horizon.
To find her gone.
It was as if a heavy door had just slammed shut, sealing off any chance for happiness or closure.
The emptiness in the room where they’d made love not so long ago was suffocating.
A gaping void that swallowed up any sense of purpose or hope.
