Chapter 18 Breaker of the Unyielding Bastion #2
He brought her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to her skin, in gratitude.
‘We find Molan, and execute a plan to get rid of Sulfiqar,’ Idan promised. ‘Then I intend on fleeing this metropolitan cage for dirt and open skies as soon as possible.’
En route to Sable HQ, Ki’Remi tapped the comms link to Mirage, announcing their arrival.
‘By a stroke of cosmic timing, Kainan is right now with the Rider fam on the rooftop for a shared meal,’ Mirage informed him.
‘Hell yeah. Is Molan in town?’
‘Indeed, he is, and he’s brought Rina with him.’
‘Sawa. We’ll bring Idan and Sheba to you then, I’m sure the Munene sisters and Rina can’t wait to see each other.’
Sheba, seated in the backseat beside Idan, tilted her head as she beamed. ‘You said it.’
Minutes later, they touched down on the famous skyscraper’s uppermost landing pad.
Alighting, the foursome headed towards the opposite end of the gleaming building, via a series of corridors and sliding archways.
The last aperture whispered open, revealing a sprawling terrace of greenery, natural beauty, and luxury amenities.
To one side, a garden thrived beneath the shimmer of climate-stabilizers, complete with blooming flowers and deep emerald foliage.
Facing the garden was a kapo martial arts dojo, and a shimmering eternity pool took up one side of the massive R first in shock, then delight as they surged forward, crowding the couple with kisses to their cheeks and brotherly hugs.
‘Didn’t think you’d make it back in time for dinner from whatever shadow-run you were on,’ Kage rasped, striding back to turn over his precious steaks. ‘Where were you anyway?’
‘On a unique courier gig,’ Ki’Remi grinned.
‘Picking what up?’ Xion called out.
The sentence died in his throat as Sheba stepped out of the darkness.
‘Surprise, bitches!’ she cried out, her voice ringing across the deck.
Selene sloppily set her glass down, the liquid splashing onto the table, as she rushed toward her sister.
Rina followed, her face a mask of disbelief and raw emotion.
The women collided in a chaos of kisses, hugs, and exclamations of shock.
‘How is this possible? We got told of a massive storm over Tansinia that was not meant to clear for days before we could send the ship to fetch you.’
Ki’Remi and Issa shrugged. ‘We might have had something to do with that little bit of misinformation. How could we not, given how surprised you all are? It was freakin’ fun playing you.’
Still, Idan remained in the periphery, masking his presence as a shadow against the elevator’s neon glow.
Sheba pulled away from her loved ones and went to him, waiting in the alcove.
‘Ready?’ she murmured.
He nodded and detached himself from the dark corner.
She took his arm, and he banded a hand around her waist, in a possessive gesture as they stepped out as a couple.
The second he crossed into the light, the lively atmosphere on the roof skidded to a halt.
The laughter and chatter of reunion vanished, replaced by heavy-hitting silence.
Idan’s girth, muscle, menace, his ebony, flowing mane, and luminous eyes stopped the Riders in their tracks.
He rivaled Kainan and Kage in physical scale. However, he carried a different kind of mass, a god-warrior energy loaded with the threat of a looming celestial storm.
The Riders measured him with narrowed eyes, their instincts screaming as if an apex predator had just prowled into their midst.
‘Oh my,’ Harlow breathed from the divans, her gaze fixed on the glowing sigils burning through Idan’s skin.
The elevator chimed behind Idan and Sheba.
Molan stepped onto the deck, carting a carton of drinks in one hand and a bag of ice. ‘So I couldn’t find the spritzers you ladies wanted -.’
His voice fractured as his stare locked on the long-haired newcomer.
Across the space, the matching Third Eye glyphs on their chests began to thrum.
The ink flared, turning from dormant pigment to a map of solar fire.
Lines of pale gold light bloomed over their torso and arms, pulsing in perfect, synchronized rhythm with their hearts, a biological beacon of their shared heritage.
‘Fokk me,’ Rina whispered into the stillness.
‘What’s happening?’ Harlow murmured, her hand tightening on her glass.
Idan’s eyes sliced to Sheba for a fraction of a second, seeking her reassurance.
She gave it with a chin lift and a wink.
He took a breath that sounded like a tectonic shift and crossed the distance to Molan. They stood inches apart, two titans carved from the same celestial mold.
Idan swallowed, his throat working before he spoke.
‘Brother,’ he rasped, the word a heavy stone dropped into a deep well.
Molan stared, his frame jerking, eyes ogling. ‘Simi’Ren?’
Idan nodded. ‘Molaniades.’
‘Fokkin’ hell, I never dreamed I’d ever meet you!’
Molan let go of his bundles.
They crashed to the ground, and ice scattered across the deck in a chaotic spray as he lunged forward.
With a growl, he wrapped his arms around Idan in a fierce, bone-crushing embrace that bridged the heavens and a lifetime apart.
When they pulled away, Idan studied the man standing before him, arching a brow at their similarities, their sigils, and heightened god power.
Where he was leaner, Molan was a battering ram of might and a formidable, raw energy.
The obsidian silk of his tailored suit strained against the tectonic slabs of his shoulders, the fabric a thin membrane holding back an explosion of heavy musculature.
His skin possessed the luster of deep bronze, interrupted by iridescent sapphire rivets embedded into the bone of his temple and cheek.
Molan’s eyes burned like dying embers trapped behind smoked glass; dark, steady, and dangerous.
While Idan’s potency commanded the force of a wild, savage storm, Molan’s was subterranean, a coiled, living weapon and ruthless machine held together by pure, fortified willpower.
Needing to delve deeper into his half-brother’s psyche, Idan extended a psionic shard into Molan’s mind.
With a smirk, Mo let him in, and Idan soon found the memories, soul, and spirit of a gunrunner.
Molan hit back just as hard, scouring under Idan’s long-haired farmer identity to find the ruinous, uncompromising Commander buried beneath the facade.
They exchanged a wary smile of recognition; they were of matching ruthlessness, cast by the same brand of lethality.
At Sheba’s encouraging nod, they stepped into a private alcove on the terrace, the city lights of Eden II blurring into the background.
‘Molaniades Arkinolnd Mithandri Iqal,’ Molan rasped in introduction.
‘Simi’Ren Idan Caliostheles,’ Idan growled.
‘So here we are.’
‘Indeed. The bastard heirs of the Divine Immortal. Our mothers, may they rest in Sacran potency, were just side notes to Sulfiqar, concubines who meant nada to him.’
Molan’s jaw went rigid, shifting like granite. ‘Mine, Sayonna, was his favorite courtesan until the Deific Council found out about her. They tossed us from the heavens straight into the dirt of Iccythria, where they forgot us.’
Idan gave a stiff, knowing nod. ‘Mine was Aeryn-Thall, the Weaver of New Life. She governed biological symmetry. Sulfiqar executed her because she refused to let him siphon her life force to patch up his own failing immortality. So screw him for trying to make amends now.’
‘He’s reached out to you?’ Molan grunted.
‘Naam. He wants you and me to lead the charge for his comeback, a crusade to reclaim Sivania. He handed me an ultimatum: join his ranks or witness our loved ones and the galaxy burn.’
‘The bastard made me the same fokked up offer,’ Molan rasped, his mouth curling with disgust.
‘He can kiss my ass. I have zero interest in storming the seventh heaven or reclaiming his throne for him,’ Idan snapped.
‘Neither do I. My world starts and ends with my woman and child,’ Molan said. ‘But he let one detail slip. He believes our combined abilities might actually eclipse his. In his words, the ‘irony of a divine affair’ is that the progeny might possess a higher potency than the father.’
Idan tilted his head, nodding slowly. ‘Maybe that’s the play. Our joint force might be the exact weapon we need to dismantle him.’
Molan’s lips twitched. ‘Hell yeah. Let’s do some thinking together and also take this to the Riders.
Kainan is a premier strategist, and the rest of the brothers are warrior freaks.
They can provide the leverage we need. For now?
Please join the family, get to know them while we eat and decompress. ’
Idan gave a firm chin jerk. ‘Sante.’
‘One more thing,’ Molan added, with a touch of protectiveness. ‘Is Sheba really your woman? She’s become a close friend to me via my wife, and I’m keen to understand if you mean well by her.’
Idan’s hard features softened. ‘My soul belongs to her. We met on Tansinia when she fell from the sky, no thanks to Sulfiqar. When I first set eyes on her, she took my breath away. She still does to this moment, and I hope to keep her heart close to mine for eternity.’
Molan huffed, a flash of warmth in his eyes. ‘It’s these Dunian women, man. Rina still blows my fokkin’ Sacran mind every single day.’
He paused and eyed his newfound brother. ‘You were living in Tansinia. Will you return to it after our familial chaos is over?’
Idan sliced his eyes to the neon-drenched horizon and exhaled. ‘Somehow, my psionic prescience tells me my time on that planet is over. It’s also too far from Sheba’s home and her family, so I might be the one to consider relocation.’
‘In that case, welcome to the best love of your life and to the better half of Pegasi.’
Idan managed a wry smile, rolling the tension out of his neck.
‘It’s a pleasure to be here and to meet you; however, this city reminds me too much of the high heavens I fled.
The freakin’ traffic, crowds, and neon lights are all so taxing.
The mountain silence is still my preference.
After this shitshow is over, brother, I might ask you to assist in finding my woman and me a property that will bring us serenity. ’
Molan’s lips curved into a grin. ‘I get the need to preserve your peace and well-being. I might have the perfect place in mind, and when the time is right, I’ll find you your new home.’
He clapped a hand on Idan’s shoulder, leading him back into the embrace of the Rider family.