24. Thyros
Through Naeris’ eyes, I saw the Celestial Portal anew. For countless years, it had been little more than infrastructure to me. A waypoint. A fortress. A place to dock our ships, regroup our forces, and launch another campaign against the darkness.
I had passed through its crystalline chambers more times than I could remember. Walked beneath its vaulted arcs of starlight. Watched worlds form within their birthing spheres. Somewhere along the way, I had stopped seeing it. Truly seeing it.
Seeing the wonder in Naeris' shining eyes, I suddenly remembered.
The Celestial Portal was not a weapon. It was hope made manifest. A defiant act of creation in the heart of annihilation.
Where Nox Eternum consumed, the Portal restored.
Where the Harrowed One devoured, the Arkhevari rebuilt.
Entire stars were born here. Lost worlds were remembered into existence.
Planets erased by the Abyss spun once more within shimmering spheres of light, cradled until they were ready to take their place in the cosmos again.
And because of Naeris, I saw what we had been fighting for all along.
Not merely survival.
Not vengeance.
A future.
Another thing I owed her.
The list was becoming impossibly long.
I turned my gaze from the luminous birthing spheres to the female at my side.
The violet and silver light of the Portal danced across her features, turning her into something ethereal and heartbreakingly beautiful.
Wonder softened her expression. Her fingers remained intertwined with mine, warm and reassuring.
Mine.
The thought carried none of the savage possessiveness that had once defined it. Only reverence. I did not like her being here. In the center of this battlefield. In the place where my oldest enemy waited. My fight. The thought surfaced instinctively. Then I exhaled and let it go.
No.
Our fight.
Naeris had made that abundantly clear. She was not a fragile creature to be hidden behind locked doors. She was my equal. My counterpart. My Aelyth. She would stand beside me whether I wished to shield her or not.
My gaze shifted to the others. Zapharos stood with Ella tucked close to his side, his massive frame angled protectively toward her even while he studied troop deployments.
Dravok and Nadine conferred quietly over the tactical projections, their heads bent together with an intimacy that seemed as natural as breathing.
Three bonded pairs. Six souls drawn together by fate, war, and love.
A family.
The realization struck me with surprising force.
For most of my existence, I had considered myself apart from everyone.
The flawed one. The male born in darkness.
The Arkhevari others respected, perhaps even cared for, but never fully understood.
I had accepted solitude as my natural state.
Yet somewhere between Earth, the revelations of our past, and the extraordinary females who had turned our lives upside down, that isolation had quietly vanished.
I was no longer alone. The sensation was so unfamiliar it nearly brought me to my knees. Gratitude rose within me, fierce and humbling. For Naeris. For the others. For the impossible gift of belonging.
The tactical display shifted, showing swarms of Mmuhr’Rhong gathering beyond the Portal.
The familiar unease returned. Naeris would hold her own.
Of that I had no doubt. I had seen her launch herself at a Moggaddesh without hesitation and emerge grinning.
But the Mmuhr’Rhong were something else entirely.
They were not simply soldiers.
They were living shadows, manifestations of corruption and hunger. They moved with terrifying speed and delighted in exploiting fear. The thought of them laying so much as a claw on Naeris made my blood turn to ice.
Then I looked at Zapharos. The Praetor of War was many things: ruthless, brilliant, and utterly relentless. But in that moment, all I saw was a male whose arm remained wrapped around Ella’s waist. A male who would tear apart the stars themselves before allowing any harm to come to his Aelyth.
Understanding settled over me. I was not carrying this burden alone.
Every male in this chamber felt exactly as I did.
Every one of us would stand between our mates and the darkness.
Every one of our females would fight beside us anyway.
A slow smile touched my mouth. Perhaps this was what family truly meant.
Not the absence of danger. But the certainty that no one faced it alone.
Naeris turned to me, her eyes still bright with wonder. “What are you thinking?”
I brushed my thumb across her knuckles. “That I have spent my entire existence believing I was alone.”
Emotion flickered across her face. “And now?”
I lifted our joined hands and pressed a kiss to her fingers. “Now I know I was merely waiting for you.”
Her smile stole the breath from my lungs. Beyond us, the armies of light and shadow gathered. War loomed. But with my Aelyth at my side and my newfound family surrounding me, I felt something stronger than fear. For the first time in all my existence, I felt exactly where I belonged.
The docking clamps engaged with a deep metallic thud that reverberated through the ship. For a heartbeat, no one moved. Then Zapharos turned from the command console, his dark eyes burning with purpose. “We are here.”
Ella snickered, "Home sweet home." Which, for some reason, made me chuckle.
The bridge doors hissed open, revealing the crystalline docking chamber of the Celestial Portal. Naeris’ fingers tightened around mine. Excitement surged through our bond, bright and sparkling as starlight. Not fear. Not hesitation. Pure exhilaration.
A smile tugged at my mouth despite the danger awaiting us. Of course my impossible female would find adventure in the heart of cosmic darkness.
Together, the six of us stepped through the airlock and into the Celestial Portal.
Viewed through Naeris’ eyes, the sight stole my breath.
Crystal arches rose around us in vast concentric rings, shimmering with the light of newborn stars.
Galaxies swirled inside translucent spheres suspended in the darkness beyond.
Entire worlds turned in embryonic brilliance, cradled in fields of living energy.
And beneath us—nothing.
No deck.
No gravity.
The instant we crossed the threshold, our feet drifted free of the floor. Naeris gave a startled squeal that dissolved into delighted laughter. “By the stars!”
Before she could spin away, I slid an arm around her waist and anchored her to me.
“I have you,” I murmured.
Her dark eyes shone with wonder. “I know.”
The trust in those two words nearly brought me to my knees. Nearby, Ella pushed off from Zapharos and spun in a graceful arc, her dark brown hair floating around her like a halo. “This is amazing!”
Nadine, of course, had already produced her scanner.
“Remarkable,” she cried, rotating slowly as she studied her readings. "There appears to be no measurable local gravitational field. Directed motion seems to be governed by conscious manipulation of ambient energetic matrices.”
Ella threw up her hands, which sent her drifting backward. “Nadine.”
Nadine continued as though she had not spoken. “The implications for interstellar propulsion are extraordinary.”
Ella laughed. “Oh, just enjoy it for crying out loud! Nadine, we’re flying!”
For the first time, Nadine looked away from her scanner. Her eyes widened. Then a rare, unguarded smile transformed her face. “We are.”
Dravok caught her as she drifted, drawing her against him with unmistakable possessiveness. Zapharos did the same with Ella, his stern expression softened by a devotion I understood all too well.
Naeris wriggled in my arms. “Put me down.”
“You are technically not down.” I corrected.
She laughed and pushed free before I could stop her.
My heart lurched. She floated outward, dark curls billowing around her, her eyes shining brighter than the stars around us.
She threw her arms wide and tipped backward into the void.
A delighted scream tore from her throat.
For one irrational instant, panic seized me.
Then I felt her joy. Unfiltered and radiant through our bond. She wasn't reckless. She was alive.
I exhaled and let myself watch her.
She turned weightlessly, spinning through the crystalline chamber like she had been born for the stars.
Every burst of laughter, every breathless gasp of wonder filled me with a fierce pride I could scarcely contain.
This female, who had survived a lifetime of captivity and cruelty, was laughing in the heart of Nox Eternum. She was utterly, unfathomably fearless.
“My Aelyth,” I whispered.
She caught my eye and grinned. The sight struck me with such force that I forgot, for a moment, the war surrounding us. I had never seen anything more beautiful.
The other males looked no better. Zapharos watched Ella as though she were the center of creation itself. Dravok’s usual reserve had given way to unmistakable tenderness as Nadine floated in his arms.
For a few precious moments, we allowed them this joy. Allowed ourselves this joy.
Then the warmth vanished from the bond. A cold warning sliced through me.
I turned. The shadows were moving. Beyond the crystalline walls, darkness thickened into countless forms. Mmuhr’Rhongs were gathering like a living storm.
Their black bodies writhed and multiplied, racing toward the Portal from every direction.
My blood turned to ice. “Naeris.”
She looked at me instantly. I launched myself toward her, gathering her against my chest just as Zapharos’ voice rang through the chamber. “Enough.”