But tonight, I had two stars in my arms.
It was enough. It had to be enough.
I closed my eyes. Let the bonds carry me down into the dark.
And slept.
30
Kaede
Kaede woke at 0400 ship time. No alarm. No threat assessment pinging through REI’s neural link. Just the internal clock he’d never been able to shut off—the one that had kept him alive through three decades and would probably outlive him.
The nestbed was warm. Selena lay between him and Zyxel, her breathing deep and even, her face slack with the kind of rest she hadn’t allowed herself in weeks. The soft swell of her belly pressed against his forearm where it draped across her waist. Their daughter.
He watched her for a long moment. Counted the slow pulse of bioluminescence along her shoulder—pink fading to purple fading to blue, her spots cycling through colors even in sleep. Her lips were parted slightly—probably being comforted in a dreamscape with her Shadow. One hand curled against Zyxel’s chest, the other tucked beneath her chin like one of their cubs.
Beautiful. Fragile. Carrying more weight than any single being should ever have to bear.
The neon-green thread between them hummed with contentment—hers, bleeding through even in unconsciousness. Last night had settled something in her. The desperate edge that had been sawing at her composure since they’d left Destima had finally dulled.
Good. She needed more of that. More rest. More peace.
More time he couldn’t give her.
Kaede extracted himself from the nestbed with the precision of a man who’d learned to move without sound long before he’d learned to love. Selena stirred but didn’t wake—instinctively curling closer to Zyxel’s warmth as the space beside her cooled. Zyxel shifted closer to her, his consciousness brushing the edge of awareness before settling back into sleep.
He stood at the edge of the bed, watching them. His star and the male she’d bonded. Two of the most important beings in his universe, tangled together in the sheets he’d just left with the new clanbrother who appeared like him.
Something possessive flickered through his chest. He let it pass. Zyxel had earned his place. More importantly, Selena had chosen him—and her choices were sacred, even the ones that made Kaede’s teeth itch.
He grabbed his living suit disc from the side table and activated it. The smart fabric crawled up his body, settling into its default configuration—dark, practical, unremarkable. The suit of a shadow, not a consort.
Old habits.
He slipped through the door into the adjacent sitting room, leaving it cracked just enough that he’d hear if she woke.
REI materialized before he’d taken three steps. Her teal form shimmered in the low light, hooded and patient, arms crossed in that gesture she’d developed to express disapproval without words.
“You slept four hours,” she said. “An improvement, though still inadequate.”
“Good morning to you too.” Kaede moved to the viewport, checking the stars streaking past. Still on course. Still two days out from the CEG Station. “Status report.”
“TheAbyssremains on projected trajectory. No anomalies detected. The Royal Guard has completed their rotation without incident.” REI paused, her hooded head tilting. “Eshe has requested a meeting with you regarding defensive formations for the station approach.”
“After breakfast.” He didn’t turn from the viewport. “What about Ryzen?”
“The Verya male has confined himself to his quarters. He has made no attempt to contact Selena since the training session yesterday.” A beat. “His biometrics suggest he is meditating. Or sulking. The readings are remarkably similar.”
Kaede’s mouth twitched. Trust REI to deliver tactical intelligence with editorial commentary.
Golden light rippled at the edge of his vision. Euouae materialized beside REI, his ethereal form solidifying into the shape he preferred—the one Selena had grown accustomed to. Long golden hair pulled up in a high ponytail, sleeveless vest hanging open over a bare chest, baggy pants that cinched at his ankles. He looked like a warrior poet from some ancient Earth dynasty, if that warrior poet were made of living sunlight.
The Oetsae emerged directly from Selena’s sleeping form, his projection tethered to her even across the room.
“She sleeps deeply,” Euouae said, his mental voice carrying the weight of observation. “The intimacy last night released significant tension. Her cortisol levels have dropped by thirty-two percent.”
“And the baby?”
