It takes her a moment. “Caden was just like you. Kind, sweet, protective, wild when he loved me.”
I clench my teeth to rein in my fury, hearing about another male touching her.
“He left. To protect me. And he died, not for any good reason. Just an accident that no one ever paid for with jail time. Your world sounds pretty fucked up. And I get that we can’t mate until I’m safe. But I can’t help but feel like this is just that all over again. I don’t believe you’ll return if you leave.”
“You have that little faith in me?”
“It’s not you. It’s everything but you. That’s the point.” Tessi looks back at me as Esrynne tells me we’re dropping into the atmosphere.
Marne reports ships in distant orbit, but none where we’re entering.
“Pretty sure I’m the curse on the universe.” Tessi wipes her eyes. “You say you would fall apart if something happened to me. But if something happens to you, I’m afraid all this anger that’s been building is going to erupt, and I’m going to do something I’ll regret.”
I walk up to where she sits on a workbench and slowly wrap my hands around her. Mindor’s atmosphere comes into view. Its bright blue light fills the room. “I understand your fear. I don’t want to let you go, but it’s unreasonable to think that you going with me is a good idea. We run infiltration missions. It’s why weneed Azrim to punch in and snipe the biggest targets with me so the rest of the M-pack can wreck the ship.”
“Why can’t Spike go?”
“He’s a Haunt, a covert recon soldier, and Carnas is trained for large scale combat.”
“Zorin, your mountain is in view,” Esrynne reports.
“Thank you.” I offer Tessi a hand. “We’re almost home. It’s time to grab our things.”
She takes my hand and lets me lead her out of the room and into the hallway where Radar sits, waiting for her.
Ignus and Esrynne set us down beside my house. My ship lands beside us along with Tessi’s new ship that gleams in the sun with fresh blue and gold paint unmarred by frequent travel through debris clouds.
“Wow, is that mine?” she asks as we exit down the lowering ramp. I haul her bags up while my crew carts out the supplies she’s bought to help her raise Rhysan, assuming we can get him back, and he doesn’t reject her.
Stars, so many things could go wrong with all of this. But I’m trying. I have to keep trying.
Onidus, Davarok, and Kren hike across my lawn to the M-pack’s ship.
Marne stands on the dropped ramp as Ignus starts up the engines again. “Stay in touch on coms. The moment you get Azrim on board, call me. And if you can’t in time, we’ll have to make do. I just don’t like it. Vrasler doesn’t either.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Marne grabs an overhead handle and sags like he’s tired. I know he is. But it’s more than physical exhaustion. It’s weariness over the situation that we’re in yet again. “Viriden wants a report tomorrow. I’m going to tell him everything. He always knows when I hold back.”
“But we’ll deal with it,” Spike says. “You focus on what you have to do.”
I nod.
Carnas stalks up the ramp and closes it. I watch the ship lift up and fly toward the base on the other side of the mountains.
Radar runs around the yard, sniffs something in the grass then rolls.
“Oh, Radar! Please tell me you didn’t just roll in poop!” Tessi takes off running after Radar, who gets up and bounds away from her in a playful spirit that makes me smile.
A least someone is happy.
I carry our things to the hangar door, scan my wristband and shove the door open with a boot. A comforting feeling washes over me, being in my own home again, with familiar smells. But there’s a particular one that’s been missing a long time.
My Shifter knows it’s him long before I see him. I walk into the main room and look into the kitchen.
Azrim leans against my island, in upright form, a half drank bottle of Harvest Moon on the counter. He doesn’t turn to look at me as he speaks. “Is that her?”
“Yes. Her name is…”
