AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Romy stays close to Bruke as he and Behtu discuss strategies to temporarily impair Rex's ship, buying us more time to put distance between us and the Lizordian. I'm glad to see her interest in the purple-haired Ziarian grow.
"We can't just leave Rex floating in space, it's too dangerous," Lena argues with Behtu. "Look at what nearly ran us over."
"Yeah, that debris field came out of nowhere," Jules remarks. "We owe Rex a safe place to recover from the tranquilizer."
"You're sure we can't simply divest him of his ship and leave him on a nearby planet?" Behtu suggests with a haughty lift of his chin.
"You have two Lizordian crafts already, brother," Qhix laughs. "You can't fly three at a time."
"Very well," Behtu shrugs. His seeming indifference doesn't match the mischief in his eyes, and I wonder what he's up to.
"What about flying his ship to Crao and leaving him there?" Drax suggests. "We're going back there anyway to get Tris. We can keep a stunner on him while we pack our belongings."
"Good plan. I'll bet there's a sack of tellic lying around in one of your huts," Qhix smirks. "We can use it to hyper-jump to my hideaway."
"A sack of tellic?" Behtu raises a snow-white brow at Qhix.
"A gift from Navik," Qhix explains then changes the subject. "There's the matter of how the Lizordian tracked my ship from the Gilded Orb without me knowing it."
"He painted your ship with a talis beacon," Behtu states. "I can scramble the tracker, no problem."
"I'll fly the Lizordian's craft to Crao," Rooke offers, making his way over to the command console with Darcy in tow.
Stacy's face lights up with excitement as she turns to her mate. "Can we stay onboard with Darcy and Rooke, Drax?" she asks eagerly. "I want Rooke to teach me how to fly it."
Drax nods, a small smile playing on his lips.
Slye volunteers to stay onboard with a stunner to guard Rex in case he wakes up early, along with Lena who's guarding the Lizordian like a mama bear with her cub.
The rest of us make our way through a luminetric tunnel connecting Rex's craft to Qhix's and Behtu's ships.
"You know, now that we're officially mated, we should go on a honeymoon," I say, twirling a strand of Qhix's pure white hair around my finger as he insists on carrying me.
"Where is this honey moon you speak of?"
"It's what humans do after they get married. It's a vacation for the happy couple to spend some alone time."
"A vacation?" Qhix eyes me. "Hmm… perhaps someplace cold? Where we can make an ice castle out of frozen precipitation?"
I cup his cheek, lean in, and whisper against his lips, "It's like you read my mind."
Epilogue
QHIX
The sting of cold snaps me from my reverie, a sudden impact on the side of the face. My hand instinctively reaches up, brushing away remnants of icy betrayal as I turn to find the culprit. There she stands, my beautiful mate, her laughter a crystalline melody, her fiery hair a stark contrast against the pure white snow. A mischievous glint in her verdant gaze as she clutches a ball of snow in her gloved hand.
"We shall see whose aim is truer, my pet," I say, collecting a handful of snow and packing it into a ball.
As a Star Maverick, I am bound by no laws but those we forge amongst my brethren, and loyalty, once given, is unbreakable. My Tasha has earned mine, and I have claimed her as my mate. Now, I shall claim victory on our snowy battlefield.
I hurl my ball through the air between us, hitting her in the shoulder. "Oof, that was a good one." Tasha's laughter is radiant and clear. "You're a quick study?—"
I don't give her a chance to reciprocate, throwing my next ball with precision and hitting her square in the chest. She stumbles back, caught off guard by my speed and accuracy. She quickly recovers and retaliates with a throw of her own, but I'm too quick for her and deftly dodge her incoming ball as I hit her with a third.
She squeals with delight, turning to run as I pack another handful of snow into a ball. Her laughter, radiant and clear, drifts behind her like a trail I'm all too eager to follow. My boots crunch against the frozen ground, compacting the snow beneath as I take off after her.
"Catch me if you can, outlaw!" Tasha taunts over her shoulder, darting away with a grace that belies the bulkiness of her cold weather attire. Each stride brings me closer, my sivot churning with the excitement of the chase. Tasha's red hair is a comet's tail against the ice-kissed canvas of this alien planet, a stark contrast to the serenity of our surroundings.
