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“I should be happy about the news today and to see you,” I murmur against his chest.
“Don’t apologize for your sorrows,” he says, pressing circles with his warm hand against my back. “But I have news that will please you. Do you want to hear it?”
I look up. “Yes?”
“Mak and I have come to an agreement,” he says. “He would like me to train some warriors to create a special force within his royal guard. And while I work on this project, I will only carry out his most important missions that suit my skill set. With your permission, of course, it would require me to live on Kar’Kal and work at wherever we arrange for a military complex.”
“With my permission?” I repeat with a little grin of self-satisfaction. “You requiremypermission?”
“I’d obviously prefer we move to Kar’Kal, but if you insist on a dusty colony, I’ll have no choice but to obey.”
I squint at him playfully. “And you’re feeling alright?”
“No,” he replies flatly. “My cock is so desperate for your attention that I’ll agree to any terms at this point. If you take advantage of me in this weakened state, you’ll feel guilty for all your life.”
“I have no reason not to accept,” I say, squeezing my arms tight around his waist. “If Frankie wakes up, and she needs to recuperate, it’s alright if she stays with us, right?”
“We’ll be sure to have a place with plenty of room for whatever wards you’d like to collect,” he tells me. “But maybe no more rebellious little punks that throw their blades around the place and don’t listen to instructions.”
“Oh really? And what do you imagine your children will be like?” I quip.
The expression of surprise and laughter on his handsome face makes my stomach flutter with excitement.
EPILOGUE
KALLA
Kaye sleeps soundlyin my bed while Raffa sits with me on the bridge of my ship. Although his more boyish obsession with my alter ego, ‘Ashbringer,’ seems to have faded with time, he’s still fascinated by my weapons and gadgets. I even toss him my cloaking marvel, the cape that makes me virtually invisible. Raffa touches the bead-like screens that create the masking effect, bringing it to his face for closer inspection.
“You’ll be of mating age within this passing or the next,” I comment. “Do you still intend to pursue a warrior’s lifestyle?”
He sighs. “I don’t know. Not sure I’m cut out for it.”
I cock my head, noticing the way he clenches the cape and then tosses it onto the back of his seat.
“And why is that? You were nothing short of determined last time I saw you.” I recall our conversation about his plans to seamlessly infiltrate Captain Arakka’s crew.
A shrug. “I know myself better now.”
“Well, we can sit at this dashboard in silence for intervals or you could spit out the reason for me now.”
The kid throws me a glare.
“I’m not like you,” he says, as if this is a bad thing. “So maybe I’d be better off fighting in a stadium with a costume. Or better yet, just deliver food on my speeder for the rest of my life.”
“If I believed that’s what you wanted, I’d be the first one to call your delivery service. The other option… You’re talking about those Station City Fighter tournaments?”
“It’s half pretend anyways,” Raffa mutters. “The point is, being a warrior is the last thing I should be doing.”
I don’t reply for a while, crossing my arms over my chest and wondering whether his resigned tone is something I should be concerned about. But without my additional prompting, he eventually continues with an explanation.
“Did Kaye tell you what really happened that day the bounty hunter came to Raina’s farm?”
I nod. “She told me everything.”
“That hunter was terrible. He had her tied up, hurt her, and I’m sure he planned to get as much information from her as he could,” Raffa recounts with his hands balling up into fists. “So when I went to attack him, I was so angry. I felt this rush because I knew I needed to help Kaye. I was amazed for a minute because I wasn’t even scared. But then I killed him. He bled out right there from my blade. And the moment I realized it, I felt awful. I was actually guilty over that jerk.”
“That’s normal,” I tell him. “Do you think that killing comes easily?”
