DeDe.
The Naniloa word forfatherstruck me like lightning, illuminating every corner of my soul with brilliant, overwhelming joy. This precious youngling, this miracle of innocence and resilience, had just claimed me as her own in the most fundamental way possible.
“And I love Lilibet,” I said, each word emerging like a sacred vow, weighted with all the devotion and protection I could pour into them. Jolie’s eyes met mine, and I watched as they filled with what my human queen called ‘happy tears’—those salty drops that spoke of joy too profound for mere words.
“This means we’ll be together forever, right?” Lilibet asked. Her small hands reached out, tiny fingers touching both of our faces as if to link the invisible threads that bound us together.
Unable to resist, I let my head drop until I could press the gentlest of kisses to her chubby cheek. “When my friends get here, they are going to take us back to Zarpazia to live where we will be safe and happy, forever and ever,” I promised. The vision of our future together painted itself across my mind in brilliant, hopeful colors.
“Forever and ever,” Jolie murmured, leaning forward to press the softest kiss to Lilibet’s forehead.
Our daughter made a sleepy sound of contentment. Her small body relaxed completely as she surrendered to the pull of dreams, her head dropping to rest against my shoulder with the trusting weight of a youngling who knew herself to be completely, utterly safe.
I caught Jolie’s hand in mine, lifting her knuckles to my lips. The kiss I pressed there was a seal upon the promises we’d just made to our daughter, to ourselves. “Forever and ever,” I vowed in a whisper.
“Forever and ever,” she echoed, her voice carrying the same hushed reverence, the same faith in the future we would build together.
I woke again to the subtle shift of air and warmth, immediately missing the tiny, precious weight of the youngling who’d slept nestled against my side. My eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the transformation of our sanctuary as morning announced itself loudly through shards of sunlight, illuminating the small glowing crystals embedded in the cavern walls like captured stars.
Jolie appeared in the doorway, and the sight of her stole what little breath I had managed to gather. The thin sleep shirtshe wore had slipped seductively off one shoulder, revealing the elegant curve of her collarbone. Her hair fell in tousled waves around her face, mussed from sleep in a way that made her look impossibly beautiful—wild and untamed and utterly mine.
She caught sight of me watching her, and her lips curved into a saucy, bold smile filled with promises that made my blood sing. With deliberate, graceful movements that spoke of a female fully aware of her power over me, she moved toward the bed, climbing into the nest of furs beside me.
“Where’s Lilibet?” I asked, though I was already reaching for her, my arms encircling her waist to draw her tight against me. The lushness of her curves sent heat racing through my veins, every point of contact between us igniting like struck flint.
“Ceeka and Numa took her foraging,” Jolie sighed, the sound vibrating against my chest as she melted into my embrace. Her voice carried a note of contentment, tinged with anticipation that made my heart race. “We have about an hour.”
The Peecha healer and the young female who had appointed herself something that Jolie fondly called Lilibet’snannyhad been taking the youngling on expeditions frequently since Jolie and I claimed each other, allowing us stolen moments to explore and enjoy.
“Remind me to give them my most profound thanks,” I growled, my voice rough as I lifted Jolie until her breasts were level with my mouth. The soft, generous mounds with their pert pink nipples that hardened instantly under my gaze were a temptation I could never resist.
“I already thanked them,” Jolie laughed, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Extensively!”
At first, I thought the throb that pulsed through the air was simply my body’s response to the anticipation of making her fall apart in my arms. But the low, resonant thrum that followed,like the muted call of some massive horn, jerked my attention away from my mate’s lovely form.
The sound seemed to emanate from everywhere and nowhere, vibrating through the stone and settling into my bones with an ominous weight that made every instinct I possessed snap to immediate alertness.
“What was that?” Jolie stiffened beside me, every muscle coiling with sudden tension.
“A ship is entering the atmosphere,” I muttered, irritation warring with growing concern. The timing was all wrong.
“Is it the ship from Zarpazia?” Jolie asked, her voice so tight with hope that made my chest constrict painfully.
“It’s too soon.” The words tasted bitter on my tongue as I forced myself to abandon my mate’s embrace, rising from the furs with reluctance and reaching for my clothes. It had only been a handful of days since Vraxxan had said he was dispatching a vessel to retrieve us. From Zarpazia, the journey to Eden required a standard Earth week—even pushing the engines to the limit. I counted the days off in my head. It might be the Zarpazian ship, yet something deep in my soul told me it wasn’t.
Jolie scrambled to her feet, her movements quick and efficient despite the obvious disappointment that clouded her features. She pulled off her sleep shirt, giving me a tantalizing glimpse of her naked form, all curves and pale skin that made my mouth water even in the midst of crisis before donning her tunic and pants.
Hand in hand, we emerged from the cave into the heart of the village. The settlement buzzed with energy as the Peecha scurried about, their chittering voices rippling through the air. My eyes swept the village,worry screaming in my gut until I located the tiny figure that mattered most. Relief flooded through me as I spotted Lilibet’s curls bobbing near thehealer’s dwelling, her tiny hands helping Ceeka and Numa stuff medicinal herbs and remedies into woven leaf pouches.
The thrumming grew stronger, each pulse reverberating through the air like the heartbeat of some massive beast. I felt Jolie’s fingers tighten around mine, the faint, almost minuscule tremor that belied her worry.
“Come on.” I drew her toward the treeline, where mottled trunks in shades of black and purple stood like silent sentinels, and hanging moss created curtains of concealment. From this vantage point, we could observe whatever descended from the sky while remaining hidden in the shadows.
The ship that materialized through the atmosphere wasn’t a Zarpazian battle cruiser. This ship was larger. A city meant to float through the stars.
The barge descended through Eden’s atmosphere, the hull absorbing the sunlight and reflecting it back in prismatic cascades that painted the sky. Kilometers of sleek metal stretched across the heavens, adorned with golden filigree that traced royal symbols across the surface like veins.
Ragged metallic spires jutted from the vessel’s spine, while the ship’s underbelly was a masterwork of architectural hubris—graceful archways and sweeping buttresses that served no functional purpose save to announce the wealth and dominance of those within. This was not merely transportation. It was a statement carved from metal. The air seemed to thicken around it, as if reality itself bent in deference to the power it contained. This was how royalty traveled between the stars. Not in mere ships, but in floating monuments to their own glory.
