Page 125 of Veiled Vixen

“It’s as much yours as it is his. Or mine. It’s really just… ours. You know?”

He’s still silent. And for a moment I wonder if he left me here.

“I hope,” he finally says, “that you can see the similarities.”

“To what?” I laugh.

“To Veila. Because she was like me when she arrived. She was like everyone when they first arrived. She was lost. And then, slowly, over time, she realized that this was a place for all the outcast people. All the wandering ones. All the loners. All the ones who failed miserably at first. She realized that this station was her second chance.”

“So I should trust her?”

“You should consider it. That’s all the advice I have to offer. You should look at her now, not then. Just like you look at me now, not then. Just like you look at ALCOR now, and not then. Did you love him the day you arrived?”

“No. He scared the shit out of me.”

“And Veila scares you too. But we have something good here, Valor. And she was the one who made that good possible again.”

I’m the one who pauses now.

“No,” Baby says. “Not just her. Both of you. This time pause—whatever it is—this is not something she does. Or you do. It’s something the two of you did together because you are connected. Because of the bond you were forced into. I believe humans call that… a team. So all I’m saying is that you should not throw away the greatest gift that time gives.”

“What’s that, then?”

“A new perspective.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT - VALOR

I go back to my quarters and the door closes behind me.

I turn to lock it up, the way I have been since I woke up in this situation. But just as I’m about to press the locking code into the data pad on the wall, I hesitate.

Who do I really think will come into my quarters and hurt me? Who exactly am I locking out?

Flicka? Baby? The bots and cyborgs?

No. I’m locking Veila out.

I leave it unlocked and go shower. Put on a pair of cut-off sleep pants. Lie down in bed. Stare at the ceiling. Think about how absolutely fucking off the rails my life has gone since I stepped off this station with Tray. Then how, seemingly out of nowhere, it all went right back on track when Veila lost her babies.

And how unfair that is.

Not for me. For me, this all works out pretty great. I’m back home. We literally stopped the war mid-battle. We fixed all the shit that went wrong after ALCOR died. And Harem Station will be better than ever when this is over.

I fuckin’ won big.

But Veila lost everything.

She has the ship she lives in, and that’s it. She has no people, she has no real friends. I guess, maybe, some of those borgs probably like her enough to have a drink with her in the future. And she has that bot who acts like her personal assistant.

But she is utterly alone in this universe.

No one—and I do mean no one—is coming to save Veila.

Nyleena had Lyra. Lyra put her life on the line to save Nyleena. And now Nyleena has Luck. And Luck will mow down this entire universe to keep Nyleena safe. He literally jumped galaxies with her and left us all behind to try to save their babies. And when he comes back—because he will come back—then he has me. Not to mention Cha-cha and Ladybug.

Lyra has Serpint. They are the truest soulmates of all of us. Their attraction was immediate and complete. There were two days, if that, where they fought that attraction. But if there is a real soulmate connection, those two have it. And everyone—except for the pissed-off princesses—loves Serpint and Lyra. We’d all put our lives on the line to save them. And they have that bot they call Fling and Booty. Who is gone, but does anyone doubt that Booty will be back to save Serpint’s day? No. We all know how much Booty loves him.

Jimmy and Delphi might not be soulmates—and for sure, the moment that girl wakes up she’s in for a world of hurt when she realizes that she and Jimmy are no longer in the same galaxy—but Jimmy is coming for her. No matter what. No matter who he meets, wherever he is, Jimmy is coming for her. And she will never stop looking for him. And she has Tycho back. She doesn’t know that yet, but he’s here with her. And she has Flicka. That poison-farting dragonbee bot took out hundreds of cyborgs on Lair Station to save her and Jimmy. And her true soulmate, Leonis. Even if she has no use for him, he is still hers. And Dicker and Xyla too. Delphi and Jimmy have more people than most to help them get through this tough time that’s coming.

Tray and Brigit—wherever they are—are so connected soulmate doesn’t even come close to describing their bond. Tray lied to everyone to save Brigit. And maybe that worked out in the end, and maybe it didn’t. But Brigit always knew Tray had her back. Their personalities are out there somewhere. They are eternal now. Merged together in a way most of us can’t begin to understand.

Crux has always had Corla. And us. He’s our leader, even if he doesn’t feel like it right now. We respect him. And he has ALCOR, dead or alive. And the Cyborg Master. And the whole station. This is really his place more than anyone’s. He stayed behind to build it. He kept it all on track. One word from Crux and thousands of dangerous people drop what they’re doing and come to his aid. And Corla might not be here—or hell, even want him the way he does her—but she is protected like no other person in this galaxy.

I have Luck. He might be mad at me right now, but he’s still mine and I’m still his. And I have Baby now too. And Tray. And Brigit.

And we all have ALCOR—if he’s still alive, and I believe he is. And Harem Station.

Even if you don’t count the credits we have or the freedom that gives us, we have so much.

I guess I always knew that, but I never appreciated how fortunate I was until I met the real Veila.

Because she has nothing.

Even though she helped save this station, not one of those people will have her back upon waking up from this time pause.

But maybe I can change that.