Chapter 22 #2
Rezor’s expression didn’t change. “Such fire. Zara. Yes. Your friend speaks of you often, with great affection. She said you have much to say about many things.” He moved closer, ignoring the way Torven tensed beside me.
His eyes were surprisingly gentle as his gaze held mine.
“Listen well, Zara of the stars. Your companions are not prisoners. They move freely through the valley, eat at my table, sleep in comfort. Cleo studies this world—something she seems to enjoy greatly. Mierva learns about history, culture. Baleck learns ancient warrior ways.”
Studying the world did sound like something Cleo would enjoy, but there was no way Zara wanted to be trapped in a valley fortress.
Mierva was a historian and researcher. Baleck was…
well, I didn’t know too much about him. He was either at his post or relaxing with the other Destran officers.
But still. “If they’re not prisoners, then let them come tell us that themselves. ”
“It is not safe. The prophecy must play out.” He studied me for a long moment. He was steady. He practically oozed authority and power, but I wasn’t intimidated. All I saw was a male holding my friend prisoner. “They are clan now. That is final.”
“And the Destrans?” Torven asked. “They chose this too?”
“They are adapting well to life in the valley. They are learning, growing stronger, becoming part of something larger than themselves.” Rezor’s expression was implacable. “They are clan. I do not exile clan members to uncertain fates among the stars.”
I wanted to scream. I wanted to demand, threaten, fight. But looking at Rezor’s unwavering expression, at the guards surrounding us, at Vikkat’s stern face, I knew I was beaten. For now.
“I’ll be back,” I said, my voice low and dangerous. “I’ll return with an armada if I have to. I’ll bring every ship, every warrior, every resource I can muster. And I will get them back.”
To my surprise, Rezor laughed. It was a rich, genuine sound that seemed at odds with his intimidating presence.
“I look forward to it. Perhaps by then, you will have learned that some bonds transcend duty and logic, and even wants.” His expression turned serious.
“Your companions are not in danger from us. They are not unhappy. Trust in that, if you can trust in nothing else.”
“How can I trust anything you say when you won’t let me see them?”
“Because I give you my word as leader of this territory.” He placed his hand over the prominent marks on his chest. “No harm will come to them. They are clan, which means they are under my protection as surely as if they had been born to it.”
It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough until I heard it straight from Cleo’s mouth. But it was all I was going to get.
Torven’s hand found mine, squeezing gently. “We should go.”
“I’m not—”
“We’re going,” he said more firmly. “For now. We’ll regroup, contact the Destran city, arrange for proper rescue operations or negotiators. But we’re not starting a war today.”
He was right. I hated it, but he was right.
I looked at Rezor one last time. “If anything happens to them. If they’re hurt, or scared, or if you’re lying about any of this—”
“Then you may have your war,” he said calmly. “But you will find I speak truth. Your people are exactly where they need to be.”
The journey back to Vikkat’s fortress was silent. I sat in the crawler staring at nothing, my mind spinning with rage and worry and helplessness. The crew members we had recovered sat quietly, clearly unsettled by what they’d witnessed.
When we finally stopped for the night, making camp in the shelter of some ancient ruins, Torven pulled me away from the others. The sky above was clear and full of stars, and the air smelled clean for the first time since we’d arrived.
“Come here,” he said gently, pulling me into his arms.
I went, because I was too tired to fight anymore. Too exhausted from saving a planet only to lose my best friend in the aftermath.
“We’ll get them back,” Torven murmured into my hair. “I promise you, Rivers. We’ll figure it out.”
“You can’t promise that this time.” My voice was muffled against his chest.
“Yes, I can. Because I know you. You don’t give up. You don’t abandon people you love. And Cleo is your family.” He pulled back to look at me. “We’ll go back to the Destran city. We’ll meet with the lords and the human authorities. We’ll organize a proper diplomatic mission. And we’ll get answers.”
“What if they really do want to stay?” I asked. “What if Rezor isn’t lying?”
He ran a hand down my hair. “Then we respect their choices. But we’ll make sure those choices are really theirs, and not coercion or isolation or whatever else might be happening.”
I nodded, even though doubt still gnawed at me. “I should feel victorious. We saved a planet, Torven. We shut down a system that’s been killing this world for millennia. We helped two species start to heal ancient wounds. That should feel like enough.”
“But it doesn’t.”
“No. Because three members of our crew are still here, and I’m going to have to leave without them.
” Tears leaked from my eyes. “Cleo and Maya are my best friends. We’ve worked side by side for years.
We’ve survived impossible situations. And now I have to just trust that she’s okay with some warlord I don’t know? ”
“For now, yes.” He kissed my forehead, then my cheeks, wiping away tears with his thumbs. “But not forever. This isn’t over.”
I looked up at him, at this male who’d taken an energy blast for me, who’d scarred his precious mating marks to save a world he didn’t call home, who’d become the center of my universe in such a short time. “How did you get so wise?”
“By making a lot of mistakes and surviving them.” He smiled, and I saw the scars on his neck catch the starlight. “And by having a brilliant mate who won’t let me get away with being anything but.”
Despite everything, I felt my lips twitch. “I am pretty brilliant.”
“Exceptionally so.”
“And bossy.”
He cocked his head. “Refreshingly direct.”
“And I talk too much.”
“You communicate thoroughly.” He kissed me, slow and sweet and full of promise. “And I love every part of you, Rivers. Even the parts that are currently planning seven different ways to invade Rezor’s territory.”
“It’s up to eleven, actually.”
He laughed, and the sound was warm in the cool night air. “We’ll get them back. Or we’ll confirm they’re safe and happy. But either way, we do it as partners.”
“Partners,” I agreed.
We stood there for a long time, holding each other under stars that shone clear and bright through an atmosphere that was finally healing.
Around us, a broken planet was beginning to recover.
Species that had been enemies were learning to work as allies.
Ancient systems that had nearly destroyed a world were finally shut down.
We’d accomplished impossible things, but we’d also learned that victory was rarely complete. That sometimes you had to accept incomplete answers and trust that things would work out even when you couldn’t see how.
“Tomorrow we head back to the fortress,” Torven said. “We’ll use their communications systems to contact the Destran city. Arrange for a rescue ship to pick us up.”
“And then?”
“Then we go home. We report what happened here. We make sure the Destra system gets the support it needs for recovery.” He paused. “And we start planning how to deal with Rezor.”
I nodded, already making mental lists. Resources we’d need. People who could help. Arguments we could make for a diplomatic mission. Ways to verify that Cleo and the others were truly safe without starting an interterritorial war.
It would take time. It would take careful planning. But I could be patient when I absolutely needed to be. And for Cleo and our crew, I’d be as patient as necessary.
“I love you,” I said suddenly, looking up at Torven. “I don’t think I’ve said it enough. But I do. I love you so much it sometimes terrifies me.”
“I love you too.” He kissed me again, deeper this time. “And I’m not going anywhere.”
Above us, the stars shone steady and bright. Around us, a world was healing. And ahead of us, uncertain but not impossible, lay the path to bringing our people home.
We’d saved a planet. Now we just had to save our friends. And I refused to believe that was impossible.
Not when I had Torven beside me, and determination in my heart, and eleven—no, twelve—different plans for getting them back already forming.
I closed my eyes and tilted my head up to meet his kiss, and let the world slip away as I sank into the love of my true, wonderful, and sometimes grumpy mate. With him by my side, there was nothing we couldn’t make happen.
I hope you enjoyed Zara and Torven’s story!