Chapter 19 #4
He turned to Niki. "Keep an eye on him. If he starts showing signs of infection or if any of the wounds reopen, contact me immediately.
" He gestured toward the supplies his men were organizing.
"The comm unit in the supply cache has a direct line to the Bardaga.
We'll remain in orbit until you're ready to come home. "
"I will," Niki said. "Thank you, Charick. For everything."
She paused, then added, "How did you even find us? Did you pick up our distress beacon?"
"We had ships searching the sector," Charick explained, his expression growing more serious.
"Standard search patterns after you disappeared from the Bardaga.
But we didn't know where to focus our efforts until...
" He glanced at me, then back to Niki. "We got a report of an Ulkommenian ship in this sector.
That prompted Binwee to confess what happened.
She said she'd rather face the consequences than let you both die if the Ulkommenians found you first." His jaw tightened. "Turns out she was right to worry."
"Tell her..." Niki started, then stopped. "Tell her thank you. Tell her she saved us."
"I will. She's already asking when you'll be ready to return to the Bardaga." Charick's expression softened slightly. "I think she's worried about you both."
He nodded at us both, then looked at me one more time. "Call Mother soon. Don't make her wait too long."
"I won't."
He turned to leave, then stopped, his gaze falling on the bodies scattered through the clearing. Fifteen Ulkommenians, all dead.
"How did they find you?" he asked. "Binwee said she disabled the ship's tracker."
"DNA tracker," I told him, grimacing. "Implanted years ago. Injected directly into my bone marrow. It replicates with my cells, becomes part of my genetic code."
Charick's expression darkened, his jaw tightening. "We'll need to neutralize it. Can't have them tracking you across the galaxy."
"George might know how," Niki suggested.
"I'll contact him immediately," Charick said. He looked at the bodies again, his expression shifting to something like respect. "Fifteen of them. You killed fifteen Ulkommenians while wounded."
"Had help." I pulled Niki closer, pride surging through me. "She fights well. Better than well. She's a warrior."
Charick's expression softened as he looked at her. "You chose well, brother. She's fierce. Loyal. Strong. Everything a mate should be."
"She's everything," I said simply, because no words could capture what she meant to me.
Charick nodded, understanding flickering in his eyes—the kind that only comes from having a mate of your own, from knowing what it means to find the other half of your soul.
"I'll leave you to your healing," he said. "I'll send down a team to deal with the bodies and bring the Ulkommenian shuttle to the Bardaga. When you're ready—when you're both ready—we'll be waiting."
"I know." The words felt inadequate, but they were all I had. "Thank you. For understanding. For not—"
I couldn't finish. Couldn't say the words. But Charick understood anyway.
"Thank your mate," he said, his voice gentle. He bowed slightly to Niki, a gesture of profound respect. "You have my gratitude. My respect. And my eternal thanks. You saved my brother. I will never forget that."
Then he was gone, striding back to the shuttle with his soldiers. The engines fired up, and moments later it lifted off, rising through the canopy and disappearing into Avalon's strange sky.
We stood alone in the clearing.
I turned to Niki and pulled her into my arms, holding her as tightly as I dared without hurting her.
"You saved me," I said against her hair, breathing in her scent—flowers and determination and home. "Again. You keep saving me."
"Always," she whispered back, her arms wrapping around my waist, her face pressed against my chest. "I'll always save you. I'll always fight for you. I'll always choose you."
"I know." I pulled back enough to look at her face, to see the tears and the fierce love in her eyes. "I love you. I don't know if I've said that enough. Don't know if I can ever say it enough."
"I love you too." She reached up to touch my face, her fingers gentle against my cheek, tracing the line of my jaw with infinite tenderness. "So much it scares me sometimes. So much I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Don't be scared." I leaned down and kissed her, slow and deep, pouring everything I couldn't say into the connection between us. When I pulled back, I rested my forehead against hers. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here. With you. Always."
"Always," she echoed, and the word felt like a promise we were both making to each other. A commitment that went deeper than words or bonds or anything the galaxy could throw at us.
We stood there in the clearing, holding each other as the sun began to set over Avalon, painting the sky in shades of gold and crimson. The dinosaurs called in the distance, their cries echoing through the forest. The air smelled of blood and earth and something green and alive.
And for the first time since I'd woken in that cell on Merisalle, I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.