“A surprise?”
“One you’ll like, I promise.”
She settled her head back against him. “Humph, I hope so.”
Warmth permeated his chest, sparking through his wires and into every fiber of his body. Cypher wrapped his arms around his woman. He still couldn’t believe after a month of being confined with her in his ship that she was there at all. That she was his. And that his new den had a den-mate.
That she chose to follow him into the stars and trust him with her life.
He tangled his fingers into Vee’s hair until her hairband fell out. He only wished he could’ve helped her win the championship and see her reign as the champion he knew she was.
But there was always next year…
And the year after that.
She didn’t know it yet, but he was already making plans for them to compete again.
Then there were the planets he’d begun to gather intelligence on to take her to that did not yet have a colony but were reserved for future research. When Vee declined the Terraform Zero NeoElite stock shares, he’d begun to funnel them into colony and much-needed expansion supply and development organizations to help fund a better future for humankind.
The airtrain came to a stop amidst a rocky plateau with a view of a forest below that stretched to the ocean.
Vee’s gasp delighted him as they left the train behind and stood with the several others nearby looking over the sight.
“It’s so beautiful,” she whispered. “So much more than anything I’ve ever seen, simulation or not. And it’s real, really real.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Is that so?”
“Thank you for bringing me here.”
He loved the wonder in her voice. “I must confess it’s my first time on Elyria too, seeing this, all of this.” Cypher glanced over the vast landscape and the water far beyond. It took his breath away too. “I would’ve missed this if it weren’t for you,” he whispered.
“I love you.” She smiled. “Thank you for this surprise.”
“This isn’t the surprise.”
“It isn’t?” She glanced up at him.
“No, follow me.”
Renting a hovercraft, he flew them down the plateau to a lower one, closer to the ocean. Amongst the trees, there was a building made of sandstone with large open terraces. A private place he rented. Crystalline water trickled into pools so perfectly blended in with the environment, it looked like the epitome of paradise’s entryway.
Cypher listened to Vee’s racing heart.
A man in a beige suit met them out front. “Mr. and Mrs. Miles?”
“Uh—” Vee began.
“That’s us,” Cypher said.
The man smiled. “Come this way.”
Inside the building, it was just as beautiful, if not more so, with a panoramic view of the ocean where the forest below split away and curled inward.
Vee hesitated beside him.
“Don’t worry,” he reassured.
Their usher led them to the back terrace. There were a large spread of exotic foods and drinks on a crystal table, brilliantly colored flowers spilling out from all sides, and a lilting harp sounded somewhere behind the blooms.
