“That’s what I was thinking,” Baleck agreed. “If Vikkat’s people picked up transmissions, and the weather is clear, we might actually be able to reach whoever’s out there.”
The hope in their voices was painful to hear. Because I wanted the same thing. Wanted it so desperately I could taste it. But looking at Rezor’s expression, I knew what reaching my crew would mean.
It would mean choosing.
Stay or go. Rezor or Zara. This impossible valley with its impossible pull, or the stars I’d always called home.
“We should discuss this with the council,” Rezor said, his voice carefully neutral. “Make plans. But first…” He looked at the celebrating crowd, at the way people kept glancing in our direction with joy and curiosity. “First we deal with this.”
“Deal with what?” I asked.
“The fact that you’ve been declared my mate in front of the entire clan.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Whether you like it or not, Cleo, you’re part of this community. They’re not going to let you leave easily.”
The words settled over me like a weight.
Not going to let me leave easily.
As if I were property. As if I didn’t get a choice.
The crowd pressed closer, people wanting to touch the three people who fell from the sky to cure the blight on their world, to congratulate Rezor, to celebrate this new era of peace and renewal. I stood in the center of it all, nodding and saying the right things, while inside I felt like I was drowning.
The sun beat down on the valley, warm and golden and beautiful. The sky stretched overhead, impossibly blue andclear. And all I could think about was how that clear sky meant freedom.
It meant I could leave. It meant I had to choose, and if my choice went against the seer’s words, I could possibly have that choice taken from me. Would Rezor back me, or placate his people?
I looked at Rezor one more time, saw the way he watched me with those fuchsia eyes full of understanding and pain and stubborn hope. Saw the marks glowing on his chest.
And felt the foundations of my world beginning to crack.
The celebration went on around us, joyful and loud and full of hope for a future I wasn’t sure I wanted to be part of.
CHAPTER 14
Rezor
Two cycles had passed since the storms ended, and I was losing her.
I could feel it every time Cleo smiled at me with that careful distance in her eyes, every time she made another excuse not to move into my chambers, every time she pulled away from conversations about the future.
The village treated the three sky people like honored guests—no, like royalty. Everywhere they went, people bowed their heads in respect. Children followed Mierva through the markets, asking her for more stories about life among the stars. Baleck spent his mornings teaching our warriors new communication techniques, hand signals that could be used silently across distances. And Cleo… Cleo divided her time between the tech chambers and avoiding me.
The council celebrated our bond publicly. They’d made itclear they expected her to move into my private quarters, to formally accept her place as my mate. But Cleo always had a reason why not yet. The repairs weren’t finished. Baleck and Mierva needed her in the guest quarters. She wanted to wait until the power systems were fully stabilized.
Excuses. All of them excuses.
I stood at the window of my chambers, watching the afternoon sun—still strange and wonderful after so many cycles of gray—paint everything gold. Our crops were already responding to the natural light and rain. The forest sectors showed new growth. Everything was thriving.
Everything except us.
A knock interrupted my brooding. “Enter.”
Zelana swept in, her expression grave. “Lord Rezor. The council is assembled, as you requested.”
I turned from the window. “Thank you. I’ll be there shortly.”
“Rezor.” She paused at the door. “Consider carefully what you ask of them. The prophecy—”
“I know what the prophecy says.” My voice came out harsher than I’d intended. “But I also know what keeping them here against their will would mean.”
