That’s when he realized she had tears glistening in her eyes. ‘My love, what is it?’
She wiped her face and gave a small sigh. ‘I spent so many years dreaming of what love would look like, of praying for my happy ever after, of yearning for you, and now here you are, so excuse me if I sometimes can’t handle the sweetness of it.’
‘Salkia, I too stand in awe of you every singlefokkin’ moment,’ he murmured, as his lips fell on hers for a devastating kiss.
When she sighed and nestled into him, he rested his chin on the top of her head, his eyes closing as the rhythm of her breathing synced with his own.
For a man who spent eons warring, hunting enemies across the void, and waging battles against gods, his woman’s softness and the quiet chaos of this room were the only victories that mattered.
He drifted off with her, the most content he had been in several lifetimes.
A few days later, Kainan, Selene, and Molan escorted Sheba and Idan to Docking Bay 23 within the private Sable Spaceport, where a sleek, obsidian-class corvette sat.
Sheba slowed her roll. ‘What’s this?’
Kainan stepped forward and handed Idan a set of encryption keys.
‘When we induct a Rider to our ever-growing family, we gift them with their own vessel, fresh off the floor. The call name is up to you, but she’s fueled for the long haul,’ Kainan grunted, his hand gripping Idan’s shoulder in a seal of brotherhood. ‘Miragehas already installed a node of her intellect in the ship’s system to help with engineering and piloting.’
‘Not sure what to say,’ Idan muttered. ‘I can pay for it -.’
‘Nada. Your sacrifice is enough compensation, and ‘you’re welcome’will suffice,’ Kainan growled. ‘Plus, it might also be a pre-wedding gift.’
Idan reared back and arched a brow in surprise as Selene choked back a laugh at her husband’s deadpan expression.
Sheba turned to the Sable Khan, clicking her tongue to scold him. ‘Kainan, you’re a trip!’
‘Don’t blame me for wanting to attend another nuptial,’ her brother-in-law muttered with a shrug and a wicked gleam in his eyes. ‘I like wedding cake.’
Sheba shook her head in disbelief. ‘Stop fast-tracking us down the aisle. Regardless, you two are too generous, andsantefor embracing Idan and me with such love.’
‘Of course. You’re freakin’ blood, and you fell for the right one this time, and for that I’m grateful. The fact that he stayed with you the other night babysitting the kids, and helped you clean up after, seals the deal for me,’ Selene murmured.
After final farewells, the couple boarded the vessel in the indigo hush of the evening.
Inside, Mirage’s node sat at the pilot’s throne, her fingers dancing across the haptic interfaces as the engines ignited with a muffled growl.
The corvette soon breached the dome, leaving the neon sprawl of Eden II behind as an iridescent orb in the rearview monitors.
‘What shall we call her?’ Idan asked his woman, as he stroked the high-tech bridge console.
Sheba thought for a moment, then leaned in to whisper into his ear. ‘How aboutThe Ignis?It meansflamingin ancientLatin, and I think it captures our scorching heat, plus it’s a nod to the battle we shared.’
Idan’s eyes lit up at her suggestion. ‘It’s perfect, because I’mma about to flame you out. I want your back with an arch in it as soon as the second we get into FTL and level out.’
‘Such a nympho,’ she teased him.
‘Only with you,’ he growled.
Sheba sank back into the leather upholstery of the crash couch in the cockpit, hands entwined with her man’s.
The pull of gravity washed over them as they made the jump-leap.
The vessel accelerated, a streak of matte black cutting through the star-fields toward hyperspace, bound for Tansinia Minor, the planet where their souls first ignited with a blaze.
Many hours later, the corvette slid out of slipstream with a muffled growl of stabilizing thrusters.
Mirage sat at the controls alongside Idan as Sheba stepped onto the bridge, the deceleration having woken her from a blissful post-coital nap in the guest suite.
