AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Kainan interjected. ‘It’s not that I -.’
However, Selene had had enough. She couldn’t take the pain or humiliation any longer. She lifted a hand to ward him off. ‘You know what? Let it go. I want to try to forget this ever happened and focus only on the mission.’
She watched as Kainan’s firm nostrils flared and his face coalesced into stone, the shutters into his soul flying up. Even the glow of his sapphire gold eyes turned to a frozen icy blue flame.
He nodded at her coolly. ‘If that’s what you want,Excellency.’
She grimaced at the taunt.
He stared at her coldly for a few long seconds before stalking away.
He paused at the hallway entrance; his face averted away from her. ‘Kage sent word while you were in your room. We’ll rendezvous tomorrow with the rest of the alliance’s armada at 0600 standard. I’ll start packing the ship now. I’ll appreciate it if you can place your bags at your door tonight so I can stow them on Mirage.’
She felt every razor edge of his icy, glacial words.
Unable to deal with the tattered heartbreak, she dragged her eyes away from his stiff silhouette to look sightlessly out of the extensive glassed-in views.
‘What can I do to help?’ she quietly asked.
There was no answer. Turning her head, she found she’d been speaking to empty air. She sighed heavily as a frisson of frost rushed all over her body.
It felt like even outside, Alphetraz’s silver-paired stars had lost their warm sparkle and were now twinkling chillingly and cruelly at her.
9
A Whole Fleet Of Badassness
Selene
‘Excellency! Welcome to Phantasm’s Command Deck.’
‘Mirage! It’s so good to hear your voice.’
‘Indeed, it is good to hear yours too, Excellency,’ The Sable Group AI responded. ‘It’s been a few days since we’ve seen you.’
‘And for good reason,’ Selene said, stepping through a quietly sliding doorway into a smart, gleaming master control centre. ‘I didn’t want to get in anyone’s way.’
Or in the path of one particular Edenite.
The bridge she’d entered was a hub of quietly humming organisation and precision. Inside, smartly dressed crew members in The Sable Group’s fleet uniform manned a series of control stations featuring large screens arranged in three tiers.
She spotted science, weapons, and life-support functions alongside the curved wall. While at the centre of the room, she saw a series of swivel chairs and more officers behind the nav monitors controlling the cruiser’s flight and propulsion.
‘But enough with calling me Excellency,’ she whispered. ‘Mirage, you now know me well enough. Call me Selene.’
‘When on mission, we encourage the use of our official designations and call names,Excellency.’
The dry, cold remark came from the long-haired, ruggedly handsome man seated at the helm of the bustling, well-oiled operation. Her heart slammed in her chest, anticipating the worst from their first encounter in days. But Kainan didn’t even bother looking up from the screen he was consulting beside his captain’s chair.
Selene flushed, mortified slightly by his public chastisement and blatant dismissal.
Fokk you, she thought.Two can play this game.
She chose to hold her tongue. Then, ignoring Kainan’s taunt and dragging her eyes away from him, she moved as far as she could from his chair. She sidled along the back wall, trying to be unobtrusive, hauling her large duffle bag that she needed to keep with her on the ready.
Mirage, however, didn’t get the memo. ‘Excellency,’ she called out melodically for all on the bridge to hear. ‘We’ve assigned a station for you here on the command deck.’
Selene looked around, slightly panicked. She did not need to be anywhere close to him.
