Chapter 44
Sutton
After we finish packing and making sure our bags are secure, Layla and I join Zayd in the cockpit to prepare for reentry.
“Did you take your tincture?” Zayd asks, getting out of his seat to help strap Layla in.
I love the way he cares for my wife. I never thought I’d trust anyone with her life besides me. There’s no one I trust more than Zayd. With her life or mine.
“We both did,” Layla answers.
“Good.” Zayd checks my harness before returning to his seat. “It will not be long now.”
Watching Zayd’s strong arms work the console and the buttons and switches over his head serves as the perfect distraction from the immense discomfort caused by the ship’s vibrations as we enter Tilopria’s atmosphere.
Nausea’s not a problem, the tincture is doing its job, but I could do without the feeling like I’m plummeting to my death inside a tin can.
What’s more frustrating is listening to my wife squeal with glee all the way down. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I don’t need to be concerned about her or feel like I’m failing to comfort her, but damn, does she have to rub it in my face?
“It is okay, Sutton. I will not let anything bad happen to you,” Zayd says inside my head, sending literal good vibrations through the bond that slow my racing heart and let me breathe a little easier.
When the ship finally breaks through the final stage, and we begin to fly instead of fall, I take my first full breath in minutes.
“Wow! It’s incredible,” Layla says. “The water is so blue.”
She’s right. The water is impossibly blue, like liquid sapphire, around the collection of islands growing closer as we descend.
Layla and I both look around when a loud series of clicks and beeps fills the cabin.
“That is our permission and landing coordinates. We will touch down in just a few minutes.”
Zayd circles one of the smaller islands. A sort of teardrop shape, and I’d guess no more than ten miles from any one side to the other.
After another series of clicks and beeps, Zayd straightens his flight pattern. In moments, an open field surrounded by bright orange lights and magnificent tropical trees and plants comes into view.
The ship comes to rest with a final clunk of metal on metal as the landing gear absorbs the weight of the ship when it finds the ground.
“This is it. Our new home,” Zayd says, attempting to sound cheerful, but sorrow simmers along the bond, making it impossible for him to hide it.
“You miss them, don’t you? Your pack,” I ask him.
“I am most upset that they will not know the joy we have found together. That we cannot celebrate our bond with them. That they have denied us the comfort and safety of a pack.”
Layla and I unbuckle our harnesses and move to stand on either side of Zayd.
Layla wraps her arms around his neck and presses her cheek against his while I squat beside him, putting my face level with both of them. “We will be our own pack.” I cover his hand with mine. “Keep each other safe.”
“Absolutely,” Layla says and plants a firm kiss on Zayd’s cheek. “It’s us against the world.”
I place a hand on each of their cheeks, and they both smile widely, making it impossible not to smile back as I proclaim, “It’s us against the universe.”