Chapter 8
The world slams back into existence with a bone-jarring thud. My lungs seize, dragging in sharp air. For a moment, everything is a blur of shattered light, fractured sound, the echo of Kael’s voice still burning in my ears.
Then I feel him. Solid. Alive. His arm’s locked around my waist.
We’re sprawled on smooth white tiles, the hum of Volderen tech vibrating beneath my hip bones. The wormhole behind us flickers as its silver light collapses inward until it’s nothing but a ghostly scar on my retina.
I roll onto my side with a gasp and meet his eyes. They’re wild but alive. Relief crashes through me so hard it feels like my heart’s about to explode.
“You made it,” I whisper.
His lips curve in the bare hint of a smile. “Because you would not let go.”
Before I can answer, chamber doors hiss open.
Figures sweep in—Volderen guards, their armor gleaming steel and glowing technology.
Behind the guards, the High Council steps forward in flow robes with faces carved from stone.
Each member wears a plasma swords on their right.
A tiny Volderen book of justice hangs from their left.
This is only the second time I’ve seen the Council, and they still make me nervous.
Kael rises slowly and squares his shoulders, every inch the warrior. One of the councilors speaks in a cold, formal voice. “Kael Vor'ronex. For dereliction of duty, you were marked for exile.”
“Are you insane?” I hiss, raising my eyebrows. “He just saved—”
The councilor narrows his gaze on me but continues speaking. “But your actions have altered the course of this war. The Council offers you pardon.”
Kael’s jaw tightens. “No. Not unless you admit what you did. You betrayed me. You let XVU do this to me, and—without my consent—made me into something I am not, a monster closer to a Quantorian than a Volderen.”
A ripple of shock moves through the chamber. The brittle silence stretches.
I step closer, my hand brushing his, close enough for him to feel me at his side. “Kael,” I murmur, soft but steady. “Stay with me. Make them face the truth. Make it mean something.”
His gaze locks on mine, and gradually, the pain in his onyx eyes recedes. He exhales, slow and heavy. “For you,” he says quietly. “And for my people. Not for them.”
He turns back to the Council. “I accept, on one condition. You speak truly. Here. Now.”
The eldest councilor inclines their head, his voice solemn. “You are not wrong. We failed you when you needed our help most and we violated your consent and sacred form with fusing that arm. And for that, we will answer for the injustice.”
Kael nods once, sharp and final. He looks at me. Really looks, like I’m the only thing in this room that matters.
The wormhole’s gone, but another opens; silent, electric, and full of promise.
I step into him, curling my fingers at his collar, and kiss him under the stars shining through the glass dome above. Our kiss is fierce and unguarded.
When we break, breathless, his forehead rests against mine. “Ellie,” he whispers. “You are my rift. My way back.”
And for the first time, I believe we’ve both found home.