Page 112 of Veiled Vixen

Vague forms and shapes. Still. Utterly motionless. But it’s there.

“See,” I say. “See. You’re still here. We’re still here. There’s Serpint. And Lyra. And Crux.”

And the redheaded bitch. But I don’t say that part.

Captain Red is floating in the air, her SEAR sword ready to cut Veila’s head off.

Everyone is still here. And when I look around I see all the Harem Station citizens. Mid-battle, but motionless.

She stopped time.

She stopped everything.

“I could kiss you right now,” I whisper, awed into a new sort of respect for her.

“You probably should,” she says, looking up at me. And now I can see her eyes behind the pink. Her face. Her hair. Her white sweater. “It might be your last chance.”

I don’t let go of her hand. I’m afraid if I do, she will float away and I’ll never see her again. But I bring my other one up and place it on her cheek. And then I lean down and touch my lips to hers.

It’s in this moment that I feel it.

For real.

The bond we have.

The bond they made. That they put into our biology and forced upon us.

But you know what? It doesn’t matter how that bond came to be. It’s here now. And I won’t let her walk into that light and leave me behind.

I won’t give her up or let her go.

“You’re mine,” I whisper into her mouth. “And I’m yours. And we’re gonna do this together or not at all. So if you want to check out, Veila, I’m going with you.”

She shakes her head and pulls away from my kiss. “I can’t take you.”

“You don’t have a choice. I’m not letting you go alone. Ever again. And I’m not going to take away your choices, either. I won’t be like them. I will not force you into agreeing with me, or being my partner, or loving me, or fighting for me, or any of it. It’s all you now, baby. All you. So choose. We can stay and win this fight together. Or we can go. See what’s next on our journey. Your choice. You tell me what you want and that’s what we’ll do.”

She swallows hard and looks around.

The golden fog is fading. And I don’t know what that means. I don’t know if that means time will start up again any second now and we’ll be back in the fight, or that she’s just thinking clearer now.

The only thing I know for sure is that she’s the one in control.

Not me. Not Crux. Not Luck. Not ALCOR. None of us.

Her.

“What happened?” she asks. And then before I even know what she’s doing, her hand has slipped from mine and I swear to the sun, my heart stops.

But she doesn’t disappear. Time does not start back up.

We just… look around.

Everyone is in mid-battle. Serpint and Crux are wrestling with a green-haired princess who is baring her teeth at them like a wild animal, their protective purple bubble of light extinguished.

Lyra’s mouth is open in a scream, her plasma rifle in position to mow down a few more princesses. But no light pours out of her eyes now. They are just… eyes. Filled with fear and desperation.

We look around. Take it all in.