Page 140 of Aviatrix

And then, we vanish. Four ghosts in the sky, flying silent and unseen all the way back to Camp Obsidian.

There’s a crew waiting when we arrive.

Lark and I touch down first, both eager to escape VAL’s suffocating cockpit. We’ve been cramped together for three and a half hours, breathing the same recycled air and saying very little.

Gary’s next. I’m halfway down VAL’s ladder when Scooter lands.

And then, finally, Eli.

Lark drops onto the ground beside me, quiet. I keep my eyes locked on the jet across the tarmac. On his jet.

Part of me still can’t believe Eli’s here. Alive. The other part? The one that shattered when I thought I lost him? That part is already running.

I move before I can stop myself—heels clicking, stride fast and unapologetic. I don’t care that I promised Lark I’d try to keep my personal life private. I don’t care about the audience. Eli saved us. He had no way of knowing we’d need him, and he still came back.

I never thought about what I might say if I saw him again. I didn’t let myself hope for that. But now that he’s here, I wish I had.

He barely has his boots on the ground before he’s running, too.

We collide. Arms, legs, mouths crashing together. I breathe him in. Citrus, mint, and jet fuel, then kiss him like the world just ended and he’s the only thing left.

Maybe he is.

His fingers tangle in my hair. Mine fist in the collar of his flight suit. His mouth finds mine again—hungry and urgent. I forget about everything, about who’s watching, about the ring still on my hand.

I lose myself in the moment. A moment that feels impossible. But somehow, it’s mine.

A throat clears behind us.

I pull away, breathless, heat still thrumming through my chest. Lark’s voice snaps through the moment like a whip, and for a second, I forget how to breathe. “Debriefing,” Lark states plainly, his face carved from steel. His gaze flicks to Eli for a beat. “Five minutes.”

I don’t look at Lark. I can’t. But I feel the weight of it. The way his words flatten, stripped of any emotion. He’s a soldier again. Not a man.

Maybe that’s what hurts the most.

Behind me, Gary and Scooter are trying to act normal, but their glances keep darting our way. The whole base saw me run and kiss Eli like the war ended.

Maybe it did for me. Maybe he’s the only reason I’m still standing.

Eli salutes. “Yes, Colonel.”

Lark nods, barely, then stalks off in his black suit, fists clenched as he goes.

Gary and Scooter approach next. They bear hug Eli, and I step back to make room.

“You saved our asses out there,” Scooter says.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner,” Eli replies, his green eyes flicking to me. “Can we talk for a minute?” he asks.

Scooter smirks. “Talk or shove your tongue down her throat?”

Eli flips him off with a grin, then takes my hand and leads me through the hangar. Down a narrow hall, he checks the first door on the left, a small, empty office, and tugs me inside, locking the door behind us.

Immediately, his arms are around me again, safe and steady. I cup his cheek, and we just stare at each other.

“You almost died,” he says.

“I thought you were dead,” I whisper. “The ships that followed you…”