My Starlit Forever

Sky Gold My Starlit Forever The Sable Riders Series - Book 1.5 Copyright © 2023 by Sky Gold All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission. First edition This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy Find out more at reedsy.com Contents Preface I. PART ONE 1. My thirst trap 2. My thrilling nightmare 3. My rakish wolf 4. My wistful explorer 5. My grouchy grump 6. My dreamy stillness 7. My starlit forever Epilogue Excerpt from ‘Stars on Fire’ - (Chapter 2): The Sable Riders Book 1 Excerpt from ‘Stars at Dusk’ - (Prologue) The Sable Riders Book 2 The Worlds of Dunia and Eden II About the Author Also by Sky Gold Preface This novella explores the love story of Rafe and Zaya, two characters on the periphery of The Sable Riders world. Rafe runs a successful property development company and works closely with Zane Sable (our ‘Stars of Gems’ hero) on the vast infrastructure projects The Sable Group commissions across the lunar-scape of Eden II. Zaya works at Eden II’s public housing commission, helping refugees across the system settle comfortably on the lunar rock. Rafe is considered a close ally and friend to The Sable Riders, who are rumoured to be ghosts, wraiths, glimmers in the dark. Unseen. Notorious as some of the galaxy’s most lethal metahumans with exponential reach. They’re ruthless ex-warriors who live in the Pegasi universe, where humans escaped after The Great Apocalypse. Their home world is Eden II, a sizeable lunar moon at Pegasi’s centre of commerce and business. Here, The Sable Group designs luxury flyers and racing yachts, but they also have a significant side hustle - high-tech surveillance, mercenary armies and military ships to help defend the System against the coming conflicts. However they rarely, if ever, talk about their enterprise. They prefer to keep their business to themselves and instead focus on raising bank for all the security, charity and rescue work they invest in. But word and proof of their prowess is spreading and their growing dominance means their enemies and haters abound. They can’t stay hidden for long and are soon caught up in a battle for their existence. At the same time, love comes knocking on each of their doors. One by one, these badasses meet their matches and find their prize possessions. Imbuing the Riders (and their brothers on the periphery) with passion, meaning and joy they each didn’t think they deserved, given their humble and tragic origins. Together with their partners, they’ll reach for the stars, even as their enemies seek to turn their destiny to ashes. I Part One 1 My thirst trap Two years ago, I was in an LTR with a Galician supermodel. I’m reasonably attractive, but he was on another stratosphere. He could have easily passed himself off as a high-end luxe droid sculpted to perfection by genetic engineering and the latest surgical implants. Despite his beauty, we fought a lot, and he was cheap AF, watching every dollar, pulling receipts out of the trash and constantly badgering me about spending money on dinner - for my birthday no less! If we went on vacation, he never wanted to stay at the resort by the beach. It always had to be the one five avenues away that accepted coupons. Last I heard he may have reformed his ways as I’d recently spied some thirst trap pics of him on SysRom, Pegasi’s notorious dating platform. He was posing in-front of his new Sable Racer “on his way to do a little star diving somewhere above the slopes of Mount Xibo on Sirius IV”. We’d stayed together for two years not because he was also gifted in the ‘looks and well hung’ department (not that he had any idea what to do with it), but because he was a great if not crude conversationalist with a good laugh and a love for adventure. It didn’t help our situationship. On the contrary, the arguments, annoying habits and cheap habits overrode his college boy humour, six pack abs and chiselled cheeks - leaving my heart and lady bits as dry as the rocky regolith plains on Eden II. He was my line in the sand. Because after that, all I wanted was a real man. A mature man, a man with some serious cajones. A man I could love, respect and spend pyjama days with. One who could pay his way while I paid mine (being Miss Independent and all). And a man who didn’t sweat the dinner tab - coz he’d enough bank to cover it. So I sent a little prayer out into the universe. Let this be a cautionary tale to all you heart yearners: be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. But not in the way you think it. It was a hot, sticky, sultry night in the middle of summer on Eden II. I walked out of the ladies restroom at Mr Lee’s Fine Dining, and there he was, seated on my chair. From the start of the evening, I’d planned and plotted my spot with the utmost precision to avoid the detritus of humanity that were some of Asra’s friends. She loved anyone and everyone, drawn especially to those who flattered her, resulting in a not-so-desirable entourage in and amongst the jewels. I’d worked hard for that spot. As far away as possible from Thabo’s leering eyes and three chairs away from Mimi, gossip queen extraordinaire. It was beautifully positioned between my girl Neesa, my best friend since high school and Rob, my favourite non binary on the entire rock (we’d met at an abysmal relocation agency I’d worked in circa ten years ago. Irrespective of my miserable