Page 53 of Scaled Daddy's Secret Heir
I close my eyes.
Try not to hope.
Because hope’s dangerous.
He could be gone a week. A month. Forever.
I never asked what came before this.
He never told me what comes after.
So I wait.
Not because I believe in promises.
But because when he was here?—
Even for a breath?—
It felt like something worth waiting for.
CHAPTER 17
KALEV
At one point, before the Centuries War, Vantuun was a paradise. A jewel of the galaxy.
Now, Vantuun air chokes thick with sulfur and grit, every breath like sandpaper down my throat.
The skyline’s a lattice of shattered spires and heat-warped alloy, all shadow and rust. Coalition territory, industrial ruins left to rot after the League’s orbital strike two cycles back. Perfect place to hide someone important if you don’t care who burns when they’re found.
We land fast and dirty—stealth transport dropping us just past curfew grid 17.
“Kalev,” Kuron drawls, checking his plasma slicer like he’s polishing a trophy, “you always this grim before we paint the walls?”
“Only when it matters.”
Kuron grins wide, teeth sharp and polished. “Italwaysmatters.”
He’s Vakutan like me, but where I wear silence like a skin, he dresses in chaos—ornate braids, custom armor with gleaming glyphs, a tribal crest scorched into one pauldron. Everymovement says:Look at me.Every word:Survive or don’t—just bleed bright doing it.
We advance through the husk of a refinery tower, boots silent on scorched mesh. Kuron hums a war hymn under his breath.
“Target’s in the west control annex,” I murmur into the comm.
“Multiple heat sigs. Could be bodyguards.”
“Could be shadows. Don’t trust thermal here. Vantuun’s bleeding radiation through every crack.”
He makes a pleased sound. “Iloveguessing games.”
We breachthrough an old waste chute—stealth inserts, tight quarters, stale air that reeks of coolant and old blood. The corridor’s dark, save for flickering strips of emergency blue. Paint peels in long, curling strips from the walls.
“Showtime,” Kuron mutters.
We split at the junction.
I move left.
