Chapter 17
17
T he chains hit the floor with a sharp clang. Eira's heart stuttered, then slammed against her ribs as the guards stepped back from Maax. Time seemed to freeze, stretching like heated metal around this impossible moment.
Free. He was free.
She couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Her nails dug into her as warriors surged forward around him.
V'irr's massive form blocked her view, and panic clawed up her throat until she caught another glimpse of Maax through the press of bodies. His eyes locked onto hers across the chaos, and everything else disappeared. The look in them was pure fire, need and triumph and something so huge it stole what little breath she had left.
He moved with single-minded focus, pushing past his celebrating brothers. The wooden barrier between them might as well have been paper. One second he stood surrounded by warriors, the next he vaulted over the railing.
His hands caught her waist, and the world tilted as he lifted her off her feet. The familiar scent of him hit her lungs—metal, heat, and something uniquely him —as he crushed her against his chest. Her hands tangled in his braids automatically, honor beads clicking against her knuckles as she held on.
"Eira." Her name came out rough, like it was dragged over broken glass. " Kelarris. "
Then his mouth was on hers, desperate and demanding. She tasted salt and realized she was crying. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered except him being alive and whole and free.
"I love you." The words spilled out between fierce kisses, his voice raw. "Should've told you before. Should've?—"
She laughed through her tears, wild relief bubbling up in her chest. "I love you too." The words came out breathless as he kissed her again, like he couldn't stop himself.
His hands framed her face, thumbs brushing away her tears.
"I thought—“ She had to stop, had to breathe through the memory of the endless hours where she thought she'd lose him. "I thought they'd take you away. That we'd never?—”
"Never." He growled the word against her lips. "Nothing in this universe could keep me from you. From you, from our family."
Our family . Fresh tears spilled, but they were ones of pure joy. He was still kissing her, each press of his lips its own promise. His heart thundered against her palms where they pressed against his chest, matching her frantic pulse.
Someone cleared their throat nearby… Leo? One of the warriors? She didn't care. Let them look. Let the whole empire see. She'd almost lost him forever, and now he was here, solid and real and in her arms. Nothing else mattered.
Maax seemed to share her complete disregard for their audience. His kisses deepened and grew hungrier, like he was trying to make up for the life they'd almost lost. He tangled one hand in her hair, cradling the back of her head, holding her exactly where he wanted her as he poured emotion and desperation into each kiss.
She pulled back just enough to see his face, to drink in the fierce joy in his eyes. He was free. Their children were safe. Their future stretched out bright before them. And Maax... her warrior, her protector, her love... was free.
His answering smile could have powered the whole station. He bent to kiss her again, gentler but no less intense. She could feel him trembling, fine shivers that matched her own. The adrenaline crash would hit them both soon. But for now... for now there was just this. Just them. Just love, burning bright enough to scorch away every shadow of doubt and fear.
"Would someone," she managed between kisses, "explain what the hell just happened?"
Sheena chuckled softly. "The emperor just took on the entire purist movement. In public. With witnesses."
Eira turned in Maax's arms, though she couldn't make herself step away from his solid warmth. The courtroom had erupted into barely controlled chaos. Warriors clustered in tight groups, voices raised in excited discussion. Court officials scurried between tables, datapads flashing as they recorded everything.
"He didn't just dismiss the charges." Tisshel's voice held something Eira had never heard before… awe mixed with savage satisfaction. "He claimed Maax for the imperial house itself. No emperor has done anything like this in centuries."
Movement caught her eye. Emperor Daaynal strode through the chamber, moving with determination and clear purpose.
"The political implications alone..." Sheena shook her head, horns catching the light. "Every purist faction will have to recalculate their position now. They can't move against the imperial house without?—”
"I don't care about politics." She moved closer to Maax, his arm tightening around her waist. "Don't care about factions or implications or any of it. I just..." Her voice cracked. "I just needed him back."
"Oh, but this part is good.” Tisshel's smile showed teeth. "As Maax's mate, you've just become part of the imperial family yourself. Your status on this station and your children's has just gone through the roof."
"Status doesn't matter," she said firmly. "None of that matters. All I care about is having our family whole again."
Maax rumbled with approval, his chest against her back. His arms stayed locked around her waist as if he couldn't bear to let go. She understood completely and felt the same. Her fingers tangled in the leather of his sleeve because she needed that constant point of contact to remind herself this was real.
"There's something else." Maax's voice vibrated through his chest against her back. He shifted his grip, and she felt him take a sharp breath. "Something I didn’t dare reveal before. Not when it would have condemned you to share my fate."
He withdrew his arms from around her waist, and the loss of contact made her heart stutter until he moved to face her. With deliberate care, he pushed up his sleeves.
Her breath caught. Intricate patterns decorated his wrists and forearms, dark lines swirling beneath his skin like living vines. She recognized the style from S'aad's marks, but these... these were impossibly delicate, impossibly beautiful. Her fingers reached out on instinct to trace the patterns.
"When did..." Her voice failed as understanding hit. "During the trial? You had these during the trial and didn't say anything?"
"I couldn't." His voice was rough with emotion. "If I'd revealed them, you would have been bound to me. You and the children would have shared whatever punishment they gave me." His fingers caught hers where they traced the marks. "I couldn't do that to you. Couldn't condemn you to my fate."
She silenced him with a fierce kiss. When she pulled back, tears blurred her vision. "You impossible, honorable, stubborn bastard." The words came out half-laugh, half-sob. "You would have given up everything to protect us?"
"I would give up anything for you, even my life itself." His forehead pressed against hers. "For you. For our children. But now..." A dangerous smile touched his lips. "Now I don't have to. Now I can claim you properly, with both imperial and divine blessing." He pulled back just enough to meet her eyes. "Marry me, Eira Coleman. Be my mate in every way that matters."
Joy burst through in her chest like a supernova, bright enough to burn away every lingering shadow of fear. "Yes." She laughed through her tears, watching his smile grow wider. "Of course yes. As if there was ever any other answer."
He kissed her again, and she could feel him smiling against her lips. Around them, the courtroom erupted in fresh celebration. She barely heard them. Her entire universe had contracted to this moment, to his arms around her and their love.
"We should get back to the children," she managed when they finally broke apart. "Emily needs to see you're safe."
"Our children." He caught her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. "All of them. Our family."
"Our family," she agreed and kissed him one more time.
Just because she could.
Just because they had forever stretching before them, blessed by both gods and empire.
Just because they were finally, completely, and wonderfully free.
The flicker of the entertainment screen cast soft shadows across his children's sleeping faces. She was curled against Maax's side, one small hand clutching Red Dragon, while Grace had fallen asleep with her head in Eira's lap, dark hair spilling across the fabric of her mother's dress.
His mate—he could finally call her that now—stroked gentle fingers through Grace's hair. The tender gesture made his heart clench, reminding him how close he'd come to losing all of this.
Kyle fought sleep from his position on the floor, his datapad forgotten beside him as he struggled to keep his eyes open. Leaning forward, he removed the device from the boy's hand before he could drop it on his face.
"Papa?" Emily mumbled against his chest, not fully awake.
"Shhh." He smoothed her hair back again. "Sleep, little one. You're safe."
A soft knock at the door broke through the peaceful moment. Kyle's head snapped up, alert in an instant despite his exhaustion.
Sheena stood in the doorway, her advocate's robes from earlier replaced with casual clothing that made her look much younger.
"I hope I'm not too early," she said in a low voice, mindful of the sleeping children.
"Right on time." Eira smiled warmly. "Leo should be ready in a moment."
Maax shifted Emily's weight to Eira, allowing him to stand without waking her. He crossed to Sheena with measured steps.
"I owe you more than I can ever repay," he said. "You fought for my family like a true warrior."
Color darkened her gray skin, but she met his gaze steadily. "I fought for justice. The law must serve truth, not politics and certainly not anyone's personal agenda."
The words—and the steel behind them—confirmed his suspicions about her heritage. No ordinary advocate would speak with such certainty about justice. The Taci family's influence reached to the highest levels of the Tavkronian Council itself.
Leo emerged from his room, and Maax didn't miss how Sheena's whole bearing shifted at the sight of him. The boy carried himself with quiet confidence, so much like his father in the holographs Eira had shared with him.
"A moment," Maax stopped Leo with a gentle hand on his shoulder. "She is precious beyond measure. Look after her."
Leo nodded. "With my life," he promised.
"Oh honestly," Eira's fond exasperation carried from the couch. "He's as bad as you are about protecting everyone."
"Worse," Sheena agreed, but her smile was soft as she took Leo's offered arm.
After they'd gone, Maax turned back to look at his family. Emily and Grace remained asleep, tangled together on the couch. Kyle had finally lost his battle with exhaustion, his head nodding forward as he leaned against the furniture.
"They need their beds," Eira said softly, already moving to gather Grace into her arms.
Maax lifted Emily with practiced care, remembering countless nights of carrying her from his chair to her bed. But this was different. Better. This time Eira moved with him, their steps falling into natural harmony as they maneuvered through the living space that was now truly theirs.
Kyle stumbled after them, batting away Maax's offered hand with sleepy dignity. "I can walk," he insisted, though his steps wove a little. "I'm not a baby."
"Of course not." Maax's lips quirked up at the corners. "A warrior knows when to conserve his strength."
That earned him a sleepy smile as Kyle followed them down the hallway.
Emily stirred slightly as Maax laid her in her bed, but settled again when he smoothed her hair back. Grace didn't move at all as Eira tucked her in beside Emily, the girls gravitating toward each other even in sleep. They'd have to arrange proper quarters soon, but for tonight, this felt right.
"One more simulation?" Kyle asked hopefully as they reached his room, though his eyes were already drifting closed.
"Tomorrow." Eira's voice held fond amusement as she pulled his covers up. "The simulations will still be there when you wake up."
Maax watched from the doorway as she pressed a kiss to Kyle's forehead. The boy was asleep before she straightened up, his breathing already evening out into a peaceful rhythm. Something in Maax's chest expanded at the domestic scene.
This was his now. All of it. His family, his mate, and their future together.
Eira moved past him, her scent filling his lungs with each breath. He caught her hand in the hallway, drawing her to a stop. The simple touch sent electricity racing up his arm.
Her fingers twined with his, the gesture natural as gravity. When she looked up at him, the love in her eyes stole his breath. How had he gotten so lucky? What had he done to deserve this fierce, brilliant female?
He tugged on their joined hands, drawing her toward their room and closing the door behind them, sealing them away from the sleeping household.
They had the rest of their lives to be a family. They had the rest of their lives to celebrate everything they'd almost lost. Everything they'd fought to keep. Everything they'd built together.
But tonight?
Tonight was just for them…