Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

ARI

Ari woke.

That was not unexpected. He would have to be alert for his trial, as performative as that would be. What he did not expect was to find Carla sitting next to him, sleeping in a chair. A tablet dangled in her fingertips, threatening to fall to the floor.

His hondassa. He was glad for her presence, but it made no logical sense. Why would the Patrol allow visitation to a prisoner?

“Why are you here?” His voice sounded like gravel tumbling together, and his throat felt the same. He staggered backward, his legs bumping into a bed, prompting him to sit.

Carla woke. The tablet fell to the floor. “You’re awake!”

She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him in a fierce embrace. His wings swept forward, cocooning them both. For the moment, only they existed. There was his mate’s heartbeat, and nothing else mattered.

Carla pulled back, and he felt her loss keenly. She slapped a hand to his chest. “Don’t you ever do that again!”

“I did not plan on sustaining an injury.”

“Honestly, who talks like that?” She chuckled even as she wiped away tears from her eyes. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

He glanced around the room. It was not a judicial center or a detainment unit. It was a rather sterile and bleak medical facility. “I am confused.”

“Listen—”

“How long have I been asleep?” he asked.

“Two months, now stop talking and listen,” she said, her voice growing annoyed. “I’ll explain everything in a bit but be quiet for one minute. First, telling me that you love me right before turning to stone for a century was a dick move.”

“I could not endure the Stone Sleep without confessing my heart.”

“Sweet, but still a dick move. Second, I love you too.” She wiped her eyes again. They were puffy and red now and the most beautiful eyes he had ever beheld.

“You sound angry.”

“Oh, I’m pissed.” She sniffed, swiping the back of her hand across her nose. “I’ve never really loved anyone before, not like this, and it scares me. My parents had a horribly toxic relationship, and I’m terrified I’ll make all their mistakes.”

“No. You are aware of your shortcomings.”

“What happened to being quiet?” She glared at him, but the effect was wasted. She confessed her love. His heart filled with a warm happiness that could not be discouraged by simple glaring. She continued, “So I guess I’m saying that your timing could be better, but I’m in. Whatever this is, I’m in. I’ve got all these feelings and they’re horrible and exciting, and they make me feel—” She waved her hands in front of her face.

He had zero idea what that was meant to convey.

“And I like it. Love it.” She moved in closer now, smiling despite the tears in her eyes.

“You love me,” he said.

“Yes, I love you.” She leaned in, kissing him softly. “And you love me.”

“Beyond reason.”

“I don’t know what tomorrow’s going to be like, but I want you there.”

“I will be here as long as you have need of me.” Gently, he rubbed her back, stunned at his good fortune. She loved him. She wanted to spend her tomorrows with him.

“I’m always going to need you,” she said without hesitation.

He took her hand, stunned at her outpouring of emotions and all that it stirred in him. Fingers laced together, gray against beige, hard against soft.

This could not be real. He had died, and this was a hallucination produced in the last gasps of his dying brain. Or, more likely, this was a simulated reality designed to torture him for the next century as he served his sentence.

“You are my hondassa. My chosen mate,” he said. “I did not know until I was faced with losing you. A century locked in my own mind is bad enough, but not having you there when I woke was unbearable. I took comfort in the idea that you would return to Earth for a comfortable life. Even now, I doubt this is real and only phantoms in my mind.”

“When have I ever suggested I wanted to go back to Earth? There’s nothing for me there.”

He did not understand. Despite his own bitter family legacy, he yearned to return to Duras. “It is your home.”

A soft smile touched her lips. “Home is with you.”

His wings shivered at her words. “Now I am certain I am dreaming.”

“Oh, this is real.”

“How?”

“I’ve got skills,” she said, her voice taking on a teasing tone.

“Carla, what bargain did you strike?” he asked, fearing he would not like the answer.

“It was a straightforward, honest trade. Remember that comm bracelet I lifted off Delandra? Turns out she’s more notorious than you.”

“I murdered the head of an ancient noble family,” he said, unsure why he had to defend the infamy of his crime.

“Well, she’s a blackmailer, and a lot of powerful people want to get their mitts on her. I couldn’t give the Patrol her location, but the comm bracelet was never remotely wiped. It had her messages, contacts, and schedule. I handed her to them on a plate,” she said, obvious pride in her voice.

“For your friend’s care?”

“And yours, but if anyone asks, your name is Gary.”

“That is a ridiculous name.”

“Oh? And your solution was better, Gary? Nobly sacrifice yourself and I get to live out my days without you?” She tried to jerk her hand away, but he would not release her. Never. “Your plans suck. I make the plans from now on.”

“As you like,” he agreed. He had more questions and would start with the most basic. “Where are we?”

“On the Khargal Patrol ship, near some station. I can’t pronounce the name and I’m tired of asking. Your ship is tethered, so don’t worry about that.”

“Tavat?”

“Hasn’t been seen since his ship exploded. Presumed dead.”

The villain escaped justice but failed to escape the consequences of his actions.

“That is not as satisfying as I would like,” Ari said.

“Completely. Would it help to know his island lair was destroyed, his business ruined, and there’s a very large bounty on his head just in case he survived? People are tearing the planet up, chasing rumors of him.” Carla grinned, baring her teeth like a predator.

Yes, it did help.

“You take joy in his suffering,” Ari said.

“Don’t get all judgy on me, gargoyle. I take joy in the downfall of a villain who was also a petty man who held grudges. Do you know what he told me? Poppy’s father defaulted on a loan, so he sent her dad off to prison for the debt. A life sentence over money. How does that make sense?” she asked, tossing her hands in the air as if perplexed at the injustice.

No, that was not correct. Outraged. Frustrated. Both were accurate.

“That’s what she’s doing here. She’s looking for her dad.”

“How is Poppy?”

Carla sighed, the grin vanishing. “Still in a medical thingy. It’s been two months, and they called in a specialist from your homeworld. The good news is the infection is clearing. The bad news is they’re not sure what kind of condition her brain’s going to be in. They want to induce that fever thing her people go through, where she molts, and her body’s immune system gets kicked into hyperdrive. So we wait.”

“That is encouraging.”

“It is.” She glanced down at their still joined hands. “So, since we both agree that I’m doing the planning now?—”

“I did not agree to that.” But he would.

“You need a crew. Specifically, you need a pilot and a fence.”

“It will be difficult to find someone trustworthy but also morally flexible.”

“Very. Fortunately, I have two candidates in mind.” Her grin returned. “Hire me and Poppy.”

“You and Poppy? You just stated that we do not know how she will function when she wakes.”

“The optimistic take is she’ll be the same and can pilot the ship. If all she’s good for is smashing heads, then she smashes heads. I’ll be the fence, obviously. I’ve already got the contacts,” Carla said in a breezy tone. She laced her hands together, stretching the fingers until they cracked. “We’ll start by repatriating the pieces in your collection. I found a wonderfully detailed ledger cataloging most of the hoard and its origins. We can send a lot back to the rightful owners.”

“Convenient.”

“And we can do that hero thing if you want. Liberate people. Right wrongs. Make a difference. I’d like to start by finding out what happened to Poppy’s father. The prison kept records, so we can start there.”

“The prison was abandoned decades ago.” Anything could have happened to one male.

“True, but it’s worth trying. What do you say?”

A human had once sold him the dream of being a hero, but it had been an illusion of gold and wishful thinking. Carla, though, she’d make that dream a reality. She was tenacious and resourceful. He counted himself lucky she included him in her plans.

“I suspect that I do not have a choice,” he teased.

“Not really.”

“Yes, that is a splendid plan. How much will this crew cost me?”

“A kiss.”

A price he’d gladly pay.