Stars in Nova (The Sable Riders #6)

Homecoming

T he landscape of Thalassa had transformed into a vibrant panorama of renewal.

Where scorched plains and cracked soil once dominated, verdant fields stretched toward the horizon, dotted with flourishing forests and sparkling lakes.

The air was fresh, carrying the earthy scent of rain-soaked dirt and blooming wildflowers.

The buzz of life—chirping birds, rustling leaves, and the murmur of distant rivers—filled the sky, starkly contrasting the stillness of the war-torn past.

Kisan stepped off the Cephei, his boots sinking into the softened earth.

The sun’s warmth bathed his face. Its golden rays filtered through the light canopy of trees surrounding the landing site.

The docking pad was alive with movement.

Workers bustled about, guiding supplies and assisting ships as they docked.

He didn’t have to search for her.

Samira stood near the edge of the pad, her dark hair loose and catching the breeze, her warm eyes fixed on him.

Her children flanked her, their faces lit with anticipation.

‘Kisan!’ Malik shouted, breaking away first.

The boy sprinted toward him with the unrestrained enthusiasm a child could muster.

The Rider just had time to brace himself before Malik launched into him, enfolding his waist.

‘Whoa, kid!’ Kisan laughed, steadying his feet.

He swept the lad up as Liora reached him, flinging her arms around his neck.

‘You’re back!’ Liora squealed, her voice high-pitched with excitement. ‘Finally!’

Kisan crouched, enclosing both of them in a hug.

Their laughter filled his ears, causing his heart to swell with a fierce love that almost overwhelmed him. He pressed a kiss to Liora’s hair and ruffled Malik’s.

‘Miss me that much?’ he teased.

Malik grinned. ‘Only a little.’

Liora rolled her eyes. ‘We missed you a lot, of course.’

As the children chattered, Kisan’s gaze lifted to Samira.

She sauntered toward him with the confidence that always made his breath catch.

Loving how her long hair shifted in the wind, those freakin’ gorgeous eyes, and her fokkin’ raw sensuality.

He’d never tire of gazing at her.

Her smile was warm, her eyes sultry as they met his, the bond between them palpable even across the short distance.

‘Damn,’ Kisan muttered.

When she reached him, he stood, letting the kids tumble away with squeals of laughter. ‘ Kaissa ,’ he growled, the word’s significance holding everything he felt.

Her beam deepened. ‘ Kralji .’

Without waiting, he tugged her into his arms, the world fading as their lips joined in a kiss that was slow, deep, and full of longing.

She melted into him, her hands sliding up his chest to his shoulders. His embrace tightened around her, grounding them both in the moment.

‘Yuck!’ Liora’s voice broke the spell. ‘That’s so gross!’

‘Disgusting!’ Malik agreed, making exaggerated gagging noises.

Samira stepped back, laughing as she shot her children a mock warning glance. ‘Behave, you two,’ she said, her tone light.

Kisan chuckled, still holding her close. ‘Kids. Always the buzzkill.’

She turned her gaze back to him, her expression softening. ‘How was it?’ she asked, concern on her face.

The Rider exhaled, his forehead touching hers. ‘Tense,’ he admitted. ‘I braced for worse, but they understood. They accepted that I’m here to stay.’

Her smile widened. ‘Good. They let you have your ship?’

He shook his head in disbelief. ‘Didn’t expect that. Turns out, once a Rider, always a Rider. Best of both worlds, I guess.’

Her fingers brushed against his cheek. ‘You are full of surprises, Kisan Sable.’

His stomach rumbled, and she laughed. ‘Hungry?’

His grin turned wicked, teeth bared in a wolfish grin. ‘Starving,’ he said, and it wasn’t just for food.

His eyes roamed her face, neck, and lips with a hunger that sent a shiver down her spine.

She caught his gaze and smirked, her voice teasing. ‘What enormous eyes you have, you big bad wolf.’

‘The better to see you with,’ he snarled.

‘And those teeth?’ she asked, pulling him toward the cavern entrance.

‘The better to nibble you with,’ he rasped, his tone playful but charged with meaning.

Samira laughed, her cheeks flushing as she led him inside, following after the two children who ran ahead, their giggles echoing off the walls.

If parting was such sweet sorrow, reuniting was blissful rapture.

‘Freakin’ beauty,’ Kisan gritted as he stared at the love of his life.

Her hair flew as she mounted him, pelvis swirling, crushing his thick, scorching cock.

Her pussy rippled all along his length as she drew him deep into her.

He knifed up when she flung both arms back to the piston harder, just about managing to hold onto her hips to steady her.

With a growl, he shoved a hand under her lower back to right her.

His mouth fell on her swollen tit, sucking her nipple hard into him.

Even as his other hand traveled south to claim her labia lips, rubbing and stroking her clit as she moaned with such abandon, his spine tingled.

Her hands glided over his spasming, muscled chest, up over his nape and jaw.

Into his hair as she pushed closer until they met in an untamed, unfettered kiss.

‘I love you, Kralji , my King,’ she whimpered.

‘Love you more, kaissa ,’ Kisan groaned against the soft, heated skin of her breast. ‘More than breathing, you are my oxygen, my life, my all.’

At his words, she bucked her hips so forcefully that he lost the purchase of her nipple as she mewled.

Her midsection went wild, warning of her ratcheting orgasm.

With a growl, he grabbed her hips, launched his into the air, and super-humanly turned them both.

So that she fell into her bed, limbs open, feet up as he drilled into her, bottoming out with every one of his pounding thrusts.

Her pussy rippled, her thighs shuddered, and her back arched to him as she shook through her climax.

‘Kisan,’ she moaned long and breathy as her body convulsed with bliss.

He growled into her neck. ‘Come for me, woman.’

She carried on to shake through the pleasure wave, hands holding tight as he continued to plunder her with deep, scorching strokes.

Then he, too, pushed his head back, his meta ink swirling around his chest and nape, and let out a guttural groan.

‘ Kaissa! Fokk !’ as the bliss of his ecstasy hit hard.

His spine radiated with heat. His cutis jewels glowed, and his metanoids coursing with energy pulsated all over him as he rocked and rode through the intense release.

She held him snug, thighs crossed over his back, hands sunk into his hair.

Lips on his jawline, cheek, and temple as he slowed, slicking in and out of her as he came down.

‘Beauty, always beauty,’ he breathed into her nape. ‘Coming home to you and the kids will always be heaven.’

‘Having you here is my fantasy come true,’ she murmured. ‘I love you so much, Kisan Sable.’

‘Feeling’s mutual.’

He turned his head so his mouth met hers before nibbling on her lobe until she laughed at the tickle.

With a groan, he rose off her, and she moaned as he withdrew from inside her. ‘Need to clean up,’ he rasped.

‘We both need a shower,’ she whispered. ‘How about a dip in the pool?’

He canted his eyes to her and canted a brow, ‘I’ll never say nada to making love to you underwater.’

‘Again?’

He arched a brow. ‘Need to make up for lost time.’

She reached a hand to him, enticing him with her nude gloriousness. He took it, allowing her to pull him off the bed with surprising strength.

He dipped his lips to her nape and let her lead him to their private luminescent grotto.

The bustling camp sprawled across the rejuvenated land—a recovery infirmary for the thousands of souls the Corilians had broken and destroyed.

The clinic was a mix of high-tech medical facilities and the organic simplicity of Vaelorii design.

Wooden beams and polished stone structures framed state-of-the-art med pods.

Sandor, the chief medic, was at the forefront, orchestrating the rehabilitation efforts with meticulous care.

His tall frame towered over the former cyborgs lined up to be treated. His voice was calm yet firm as he directed his team of Vaelorian healers.

The once-enslaved soldiers were being stripped of their cybernetic implants, their humanity restored in a process that required equal parts science, patience, and compassion.

Kisan joined Samira and her children as they moved through the camp.

Liora clung to his hand, her eyes brimming with curiosity as she observed the transformations around her.

Malik darted ahead, eager to ask Sandor questions about the med pods.

‘They’re learning to hope again,’ Samira murmured, her voice filled with quiet pride. ‘It’s a start.’

Massive tents had been erected adjacent to the clinics to host reconciliation sessions. Inside, war survivors sat across from their former cyborg neighbors, family members, and leaders.

Words of apology and forgiveness mingled with tears and shaky handshakes, bridging the chasm that years of conflict had carved into their lives.

Peryn’s leader, the fiery tactician Kalix, and Raielle, Isarion’s commander, summoned via the planet’s fluid kinetic relay, were present as Sandor began work on Marius, the deposed android emperor.

Stripped of his implants, he was now a fragile figure with disfigured features and prosthetic limbs crafted from artificial bionics.

When he was stable enough to speak, he addressed the rebel commanders of the three continents.

‘I failed you,’ he said, his tone raw with regret as he lay in a hospital bed. ‘Against my wishes, I was transformed into a tool for destruction. What this taught me was the importance of freedom and autonomy. To that end, I believe Orilia doesn’t need an emperor anymore. Each continent deserves its sovereignty.’

The revolutionary leaders—Samira included—nodded.

Together, they agreed to work as independent principalities, with everyone governed autonomously but united in a shared council.

Marius retired under strict probation to a small, isolated share farm on Thalassa.

Along with the other Vaelorii who’d been sucked into the Corilians’ darkness, vowing to live out their days in quiet penance.

As for Kisan, he spent many long hours walking the hills and ridges that surrounded Cygnus.

He’d find a spot, sit back on a boulder, and reminisce while studying the view below of the new town of Thalassina as it rose in the shadow of the once imposing cyborg fortress.

It made sense to position it here given the existing water silos, the location near the mouth of a now-flowing river, and a sizable lake.

It was encircled on one side by stunning mountains and on the other by a beautiful, verdant valley, where the farmers planned to till the arable soil for crops.

Sometimes Samira joined him, even the kids, and they’d sit and watch the skies until the first stars appeared.

Some in supernova, some in nova.

In death, in new life.

Kisan took time searching his heart, making peace with himself.

He sometimes pulled out his commtab and flicked through photos of himself with his Rider brothers.

He missed them. He even spoke to Xion every other week.

Not as often as he did with the Sarabaite, though.

That said, he didn’t lean on them anymore.

Neither did he seek their approval.

He was a man rebuilt.

He had a family, a community, and the love of a woman he adored.

He had a new future and a hope.

That was enough.

More than enough.