“Be safe, and good luck with that mate of yours.”
The connection went dark.
Maelic stood in the cold silence of the escape pod. His heart pounded against his ribs.
He had been a fool.
He had let her push him away. Let his own wounded pride carry him out the door when he should have stayed. Should have fought harder.
He thought of her face when he’d called her a fool. The way she’d flinched. The way her voice had gone flat and cold when she told him to leave.
Good luck out there. It was nice knowing you.
She hadn’t meant it. He knew she hadn’t meant it. But he’d left anyway.
Vreking idiot.
He burst out of the pod and ran.
The trees blurred past him. Snow crunched under his boots. His wings ached to unfurl—to carry him faster—but the forest was too dense.
Hold on, astara.
He should have told her about Barvarti sooner. Should have explained why he crashed, why he was really here. Instead, he’d hidden behind half-truths and let her believe he was just some wayward alien who’d stumbled into her life by accident.
As if anything about finding her had been an accident.
He broke through the tree line—
And stopped.
She was there. Running toward the woods. A bag clutched in her hands, her face streaked with tears, but her eyes wild. Determined.
She was coming for him.
They saw each other at the same moment. Both froze.
Then she was running. And so was he.
They collided in the snow. Her arms wrapped around him, her face pressing into his chest, and he held her so tightly he feared breaking her. He didn’t care. Couldn’t make himself let go.
“Maelic—”
“I should not have left.” The words came out ragged. “But we must go now, there is dang—”
“No, shut up, listen to me.” She pulled back just enough to look at him. Her eyes were red and swollen, but blazing. “I signed it. The papers. I’m selling the farm.”
His brain stopped working.
“You… what?”
“Grandpa was going to sell anyway. He wanted me to be free. He wrote it all down, and I found it, and Rus confirmed it, and—” She was talking so fast he could barely keep up. “I don’t care about the farm. I mean, I do, but I care about you more. I’m coming with you. If you still want me to.”
If he still—
“Del.” He cupped her face in his hands. She was so small. So fierce. Sovrekingperfect. “I have wanted nothing else since the moment I saw you.”
She laughed. The sound was wet and broken but beautiful.
