"Look at what happens to that poor man when he forgets his place, Rea."
Zeldin whispered the words right against her ear, his breath a chilling contrast to the humid heat rising from her skin. He did not wait for her response, nor did he offer a single shred of warmth to soothe the trembling that had taken over her entire body. With a slow, fluid release, his hands left her waist. The heavy silence of the penthouse rushed back in, broken only by the rhythmic, mechanical hum of his cybernetic optical implant settling into its standby mode. He turned away without another word, leaving her standing alone by the massive floor-to-ceiling glass wall, staring down into the dark abyss of the lower sectors where Giska’s empire was currently turning to ash.
The luxury surrounding her suddenly fe
