Epilogue
The Day of Vindar’s Oath, some were already calling it. Mostly Prytheen, for now, but once Allison found out, it was only a matter of time before everyone was doing it. She’d be here somewhere, filming the celebrations and using the phrase as much as possible.
The Colony needed some good news and bringing Vindar into the fold qualified. Not just as an excuse for a holiday — though we all treated it as one — but a sign we might not always have to watch out for Prytheen raiders. That maybe, one day, there’d be peace.
Karnac and I had been ‘invited’ to take part in the ceremony. I appreciated the attempt at politeness, and the message was very fancy, but when Captain Joyce and Auric invite you to something, saying no doesn’t feel like an option.
“Ready, my love?” Karnac grinned down at me, looking splendidly piratical with his fresh scars. They were all that remained of his injuries after his healing trance, and they only added to his sex appeal.
“Nope,” I replied, trying to smile. “I doubt I’ll ever be ready to be a celebrity.”
He laughed, not unkindly, and held me close. “You should enjoy it as much as you can, Molly. It won’t last long.”
“God, I hope not.” I sighed and leaned into him, his warm, solid presence comforting me. Also doing other things to me. I bit my lip, looked up at my soulmate, and wriggled against him. “Do you think we have time to go back to bed?”
“Temptress,” Karnac said fondly. “No, we do not, and you know it. We’re already running late, and you know you’ll regret it if we don’t attend.”
Taking me by the arm, he pushed open our apartment door and led me outside. My worst fears weren’t realized — no adoring crowd waited to pounce on us. People streamed past in the direction of the Wandering Star , eager to see history made, and we joined them. The mangled superstructure of the crashed colony ship loomed over us, and where the rest of the crowd stopped, we had to push forward.
Karnac was gracious enough not to point out he’d told me so.
Pushing into the crowd drew enough attention that we were, finally, recognized. And cheered. My face burned at the sound of people chanting my name, and I shot a glare at a camera drone flitting overhead, a pink tarantula sat on top of it.
Our fame was all Allison’s fault. Her recording of the battle had played over and over, complete with her breathless commentary in which she praised us both over and over. To hear her tell it, we’d defeated an invasion force which would have enslaved every human on the planet.
I think she was trying to do us a favor. Not just for saving her, but for bringing in Vindar alive. Allison literally broadcast from the highest mountain that the two of them were khara-bonded now. Making us famous was a reward because Allison couldn’t comprehend anyone who didn’t want adoring crowds.
Nothing to do about it now, anyway. Until the publicity faded, I was stuck with it. I tried to enjoy the moment, accept the cheers in the spirit they were intended. To my surprise, I managed. It was down to Karnac: with him present, I felt safe from any danger.
“I’m going to kill Allison for this,” I told Karnac, keeping my voice low. “If I wanted to be the center of attention, I wouldn’t have taken a job on the top of a fucking mountain, would I?”
He laughed and squeezed me close. “If you do, I’ll have to fight Vindar all over again, so behave.”
“Not likely,” I told him, grinning mischievously, and he laughed. “But fine, I won’t kill her, just rough her up a bit. She deserves that, right?”
“Khara,” he said in a tone that made me tingle, blush, and bite my lip.
“Okay, you big bully,” I said. “No violence, just as long as we get out of here as soon as possible.”
“Back to our mountain lair?” Karnac laughed, leaned in, and whispered in my ear. “I have already bribed a pilot. As soon as the ceremony is over, we can get airborne, away from the crowd. Just the two of us, all alone at the station…”
His voice trailed off, letting me fill in the rest. I trembled and squeezed his hand, forgetting all about the crowd surrounding us. Karnac and I might as well have been alone in the universe.
And that suits me just fine.
The End
Thank you for reading Glitch! Please take a moment to leave an opinion about the book, I appreciate every review.