“Some things we keep secret to protect them.”
“Or to protect ourselves.”
The moonlight caught the shift in Selena’s spots—that soft bioluminescence that betrayed her emotions even when her face stayed composed. They flickered through lovely pinks and purples, settling into worried oranges as she studied him.
“You’re not just worried about the war,” she said. “You’re worried about us. About what happens if you don’t come back.”
He couldn’t deny it.
The Quaww were formidable—their numbers out massed the Aldawi. The Verya remained a shadow threat, their true intentions still unclear outside of wanting Selena. And Zirene would be commanding from the front, leading his forces into battle after battle, each one a gamble with his life.
If he fell...
“Destima will be safe,” he said instead of answering directly. “This system is fortified. The villa is shielded. Your royal guards are loyal beyond question, and our clanmates would burn down the galaxy before letting anything happen to you or the cubs.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“I know.”
Selena made a frustrated sound, her hands fisting in the fabric of his cape. “When will we have peace, Zirene? When will time just stop for once?” Her voice cracked, breaking at the edges. “Let us breathe? Let us live without someone trying to destroy what we’ve built?”
He had no answer.
In all of existence, during all the years of his rule as prince, and he’d never found that peace she craved. Politics and war and threats from every corner of the galaxy—it was the only life he’d ever known. The Aldawi Sovereignty was built on conquestand maintained through strength and alliances, and there was always someone waiting to challenge both.
He’d accepted that reality long ago. Made his peace with the weight of it.
But then she came.
And suddenly peace stopped being an abstract concept and became something achingly specific. Mornings in the nestbed with her body warm against his. The sound of cubs laughing in the hatchery. Odelm’s music drifting through the halls. The steady presence of his clanbrothers, no longer just males bound by duty but family in a way he’d never expected to experience.
Selena had given him a taste of what peace could be. And now the universe was ripping it away.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. The words felt like failure. “In all my years, I’ve never found that peace myself. Not until you.” His forehead pressed against hers, their breath mingling in the narrow space between them. “You are my peace, Nova. The only peace I’ve ever known.”
“Then don’t leave.”
The plea was barely a whisper. He felt it more than heard it—a tremor through their bond, raw and desperate and immediately retracted.
She knew he had no choice. They both did.
“I will come back.” Zirene cupped her face more firmly, tilting her chin up until their eyes met. Hers shimmered with unshed tears. His probably did too, if his species could cry, though his shadow would never let the moonlight reveal it. “I will find you in the dreamscape every night I’m able. You won’t be alone even when the stars separate us.”
“And if you can’t? If the fighting is too intense, or you’re injured, or—”
“Then I will reach for you anyway.” His thumb traced the curve of her cheek, memorizing the texture of her skin. “Becauseyou are the reason I have anything worth fighting for. You and our cubs. This family you’ve built from broken pieces and impossible bonds.”
She pressed into his touch, eyes squeezing shut. A tear escaped down her cheek and he caught it with his thumb, the warmth of it searing into his memory.
“And when this war ends,” he continued, voice dropping low, “I’m taking you somewhere no one can find us. Just us. No crowns. No duties. No galaxy demanding our attention.” His shadow curled tighter around them both, a physical manifestation of the vow. “Just Zirene and Selena, for as long as you’ll have me.”
Her eyes opened. Something flickered in those ocean depths—hope, maybe, or the desperate need to believe him.
“For as long as I’ll have you?” A watery laugh escaped her. “Zirene, I will have you until the stars burn out and the universe goes cold. I will have you beyond that, into whatever comes after, until we fade into star dust—”
He kissed her.
Not gently. Not with the careful reverence he usually showed her when she was vulnerable and fragile in ways she’d never admit. This kiss was desperate, claiming, the kind of kiss that said everything words couldn’t capture.
