I’m here. We’re here.I feel him in my mind like a warm constant, thoughts and emotions intertwined in ways that will never be separated.How do you feel?
Different. Complete.He raises his head to look at me, and I see that his markings have changed color—no longer pure Zephyrian violet, but shot through with streaks of blue that match my eyes.You?
I consider the question, taking inventory of changes I already sense. Enhanced awareness, deeper perception, connections to energy fields I never knew existed. “Like I finally found the missing piece of myself.”
The comm system crackles to life, and Blaine’s voice fills the room. “Captain, whatever you just did, it worked. The spatial distortion is collapsing, and the hull stress readings are dropping to normal.”
I reach for the comm controls, noting that my movements feel more fluid, more precise. “Status report, Commander.”
“All systems stable, no casualties, and the Zephyrian artifact has gone dormant. Captain, how did you?—”
“Later, Diane. I need a few minutes to...” I glance at Zylthar, who watches me with eyes that now carry flecks of green alongside the violet. “To process what just happened.”
“Understood. Bridge out.”
Silence falls between us, filling with the gentle hum of life support and the distant vibration of the station’s engines. Through our link, I feel Zylthar’s thoughts—wonder at the success of the ritual, fear about what comes next, and underneath it all, a love so deep, it takes my breath away.
“No going back now,” I say softly.
“No going back,” he agrees. “Are you sorry?”
I consider the question seriously, weighing what I’ve gained against what I’ve lost. My place in human society, my purely human identity, the comfortable certainty of belonging to a single species. All of it gone, replaced by something unprecedented and terrifying and absolutely right.
“No,” I say, and mean it completely. “I’m not sorry at all.”
He smiles, and through our bond, I feel his relief and joy and fierce protective love. “Then welcome to the space between worlds, Selena MacGray. Population: two.”
“I can think of worse places to live.”
Through the viewport, the stars shine with new clarity, and I realize that our story is just beginning.
CHAPTER 7
SELENA
The warmthof our joined consciousness wraps around me like silk, constant and comforting in ways I never imagined possible. Zylthar lies beside me in the narrow bunk, his breathing deep and even, markings along his skin pulsing with soft bioluminescence that casts gentle patterns across the bulkheads.
Through our bond, I sense his dreams—not the confused fragments that humans experience, but vivid, memories of his homeworld. Towering spires that sing with harmonic frequencies. Purple skies filled with aurora that dance to the rhythm of planetary consciousness. It’s beautiful and alien and somehow familiar, as if I’ve carried these images in my DNA without knowing it.
You’re awake,his mental voice whispers through our link, warm and intimate.
Hard to sleep when I feel your thoughts like a second heartbeat.
He shifts against me, skin warm and smooth under my palm.Is it uncomfortable? The constant connection?
I consider the question, testing the edges of our mental bond. His consciousness feels like an extension of my own—familiar despite its alien origins, comforting in ways that have nothing to do with romance and everything to do with recognition. For the first time in years, I’m not alone in my own head.
No. It feels right. Like this is how minds are supposed to work.
My people would consider that heretical.His amusement colors the link with gentle warmth.Zephyrian philosophy holds that consciousness is meant to be individual, isolated, pure.
Your people are idiots.
The mental laughter that follows makes my chest seem light and effervescent. Through the bond, I sense his wonder at the freedom to share such intimate humor—something forbidden in his rigidly formal culture.
The comm system chirps softly, and Blaine’s voice fills the room. “Captain, sorry to disturb you, but we have a situation developing in Docking Bay Three.”
I reach for the controls, noting how my movements are more fluid than before, as if the joining has enhanced my proprioception. “Definesituation, Commander.”
