Page 100 of Black Mamba

She reaches up and wipes her eyes. “I’ll be sending you a comm every day, so you better answer them.”

“I wouldn’t ignore them for the world.” I take a step off the ship and into what’s left of the meadow. I maneuver around a bush when I don’t see Lukys. I turn back and smile at my sister. “You’ll do great on The Sovereign.”

Jenna leans out and peers around at the landscape, sticking out her tongue. “You’ll… do great here… I think.”

“Here,” Mateo says, walking out with a large box in his hands. He carries it to the open hatch of my ship and sets it down. “Three months’ worth of replicator meals. The good stuff. Lukys gave us fresh meat, the least I can do is give you variety.”

He walks back into his ship and stops next to Jenna within the hatch. He turns and waves. “Goodbye, Elena.”

I wave back. “Bye, Mateo. Bye, Jenna.”

“Bye Elena…” Jenna whispers, tears slipping down her cheeks.

“Until next time.” I smile sadly, my stomach curling, taking them in. They’re a beautiful couple. Jenna’s red engagement ring flashes in the light. She’ll be happy again. She’ll thrive. I know she’s mourning like me but my sister has always bounced back.

“Clear the ship okay? We’ll be taking off shortly,” Mateo says, taking Jenna’s hand and drawing her inside. “I command the AI to close the hatch,” I hear him call out before the door to his ship shuts.

I turn from Mateo’s ship to search for Lukys, seeing a shadow shift within the dome’s reflection at the front of my vessel. A humming sounds behind me, and as I wipe my tears on my sleeve, I walk toward the front of my ship to get a better look inside.

I find Lukys behind the glass, looking up at his mountain where I often do myself behind the console. His tail fills the space, spread out in a wide arch like he’s claiming it as his own.

I walk into his line of sight. His gaze lowers to me when I move into the periphery of his view. The glass glints with color as Mateo’s ship flashes. As the noise of his ship’s thrusters build, I stare back at Lukys.

He moves forward when I lift my hand to the glass.

Wind blasts me as Mateo’s ship rises into the air and Lukys reaches out.

I hold Lukys’s gaze, taking comfort in his hand against mine. I press my other hand to the glass and he does the same. As my sister and Mateo fly away, I close my eyes. When the ship is gone and birdsong returns to my ears, I release a deep breath, open my eyes, and smile up at Lukys.

He tilts his head when I pull my hands away and return to my ship’s opening.

He meets me inside at the threshold of my room. He takes Mateo’s box from me and places it on the table in the lounge. When he returns, he threads his fingers with mine. “Are you okay?”

“I am now.” I pull him through the door of my room and push him onto my bed. “I made a vow that you would submit to me, and now you will, Lukys of the Black Mamba clan.” I climb on top of him, straddling his tail. I run my hands up his chest.

“I submit to you, Elena of the Black Mamba clan.”

My smile grows. “Now, make me forget everything until there’s nothing left but you. Us.”

He clasps the bottom of my shirt and lifts it over my head. “I can do that.”

I lean down and press my lips to his, kissing him softly. The future is uncertain, but when it comes to him, nothing is uncertain.

And as the first day of the rest of our lives drifts to twilight, and we’re still in my bed, I know I’ve claimed something for me and me alone.

Him.

EPILOGUE: PEACE AND TEA

Lukys

Without the worries of others stealing our attention, we have more time to focus on what is really important each new day. Like settling into our new life together.

Sometimes, when the hunt is fast and fruitful, we spend the evening butchering the carcass and preparing a long fire. During these times I teach Elena about the beasts I bring her to eat, as well as how to properly carve into them, what tastes the best raw, and what is the most tender. I have also shown her how to strip the fur and tan it.

I gave her my old orb. Sitting on a table by my nest, it has been ignored for many seasons, only using it occasionally when I have a random question.

Nowadays, she has more questions than I. And the orb is an expert about this place. Earth.