Chapter 36

Dante’s heart swelled as the orb that was his home planet grew in the distance. As difficult as his relationship with his kind often was, nothing gave him more joy in that moment than standing on the bridge of the A62 Nebula and bringing home his sister and his mate.

Even if he was sitting in the copilot’s seat.

“Coming out of hyperdrive!” came Tinsley’s voice beside him as she slowed the ship to a comfortable cruising speed.

Lorr had suddenly grown large before them, and Dante glanced over to see Tinsley’s eyes widen.

“Oh my god,” she muttered under her breath. “This is Lorr?”

She turned to look at Dante for a moment, and he could see she had awe written all over her face.

He couldn’t help but smile at her reaction. Introducing Tinsley to his home planet and to the rest of his family, especially on an occasion as joyous as his sister’s homecoming, filled his heart with a happiness he had never quite experienced before.

“Just wait until we land,” he continued grinning. “You’re going to love it.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Tinsley replied as she maneuvered the ship closer to the planet.

“Oh my god, are we home?” An excited voice came from behind him.

Dante turned to see a messy-haired Maraliza emerging from the hallway that joined the bridge to the bunkrooms. She’d slept all the way through the night and deep into the following day, and Dante was glad she’d gotten some rest.

“Almost,” he replied with a smile as his sister came to join them on the bridge.

Tinsley turned to greet her kindly, and Dante could see a bond was already forming between the two women—one that he was grateful for.

Soon they were all preparing to land. As Tinsley brought the ship down outside the royal palace, Dante saw the same look of awe in her eyes as when she glimpsed his planet. It allowed him to see Lorr as if for the first time, too.

He was reminded again of why they had to fight against the Jorvlen uprising. Lorr was far too precious to lose to the hands of a greed-driven and destructive culture such as that of Jorvlen.

“This is incredible,” said Tinsley as they stepped out of the ship.

The palace was surrounded by beautiful gardens as well as vast expanses of natural forests. As they made their way toward Dante’s waiting father, Tinsley couldn’t help but dally.

Dante hated to keep his father waiting, but he didn’t want to rob Tinsley of her first moments on Lorr, either. He slowed his pace a little, and Maraliza did the same, evidently understanding Dante’s intention. He shot his sister a grateful smile before they both turned to watch Tinsley’s childlike glee at all the new and beautiful things Lorr had to offer.

“Oh my gods,” she uttered, leaning over a spotted sararose. Her attention was quickly snatched by a nearby sugarflower and then again by a blue-leafed circia tree.

A moment later, Dante watched as Tinsley’s eyes were drawn up toward the sky—the sky that always glowed golden, no matter the time of day.

For a moment, Dante watched as the most beautiful woman he’d ever known stood silhouetted against the most beautiful place he’d ever known, and peace washed over him.

Despite all the atrocities being committed by the Jorvlens, despite the ever-present threat against his home planet, and despite being sore, sleep-deprived, and strung out from the weeks of anxiety and tension and stress that this latest mission had brought him, at that moment, Dante felt perfectly content.

But all things must come to an end, and soon Tinsley caught on to the fact that she was holding them up.

“Sorry,” she said, sheepishly pulling herself away from the fluttering, iridescent wings of a passing doridora. “We should go.”

Dante smiled at her. “I just hope you like the palace as much as you like the gardens.” He knew that was unlikely, given that his father wasn’t exactly the most personable being.

Maraliza shot him a knowing look but said nothing, and the three of them made their way toward the palace with the rest of the crew in tow.

“Welcome back, Your Highness,” the palace guards said to him and Maraliza as they ventured up the palace steps.

To Tinsley, they said nothing, only bowing respectfully, the way they would for any guest of non-royal issue. Dante hoped that would change soon, but first they had to deal with the king.

“Maraliza!” King Vrondo cried as soon as they entered his sitting room.

Dante watched with a smile as his father rose from his chair, pulling Maraliza into his arms in a rare display of affection. He held her for a long time before drawing back and looking into her eyes.

“I thought we’d lost you,” he said softly. Again, Dante was taken aback by how kind the old monarch was being.

Maybe I should get lost for a while, Dante thought wryly. It’s about the only way I’d get that kind of treatment.

To his surprise, though, his father turned to him with the same warm look in his eyes.

“You’ve done well, Dante,” the king told him, placing a wizened hand on his shoulder. “Thank you.”

For a moment, Dante could hardly believe his ears. Was this a kind word? From the king? The same father who had spent most of Dante’s life chiding him for being a disappointment?

He almost tripped over his own tongue as he tried to answer.

“Of course,” he replied, and he heard pride in his own voice. He knew it wasn’t something he could hoard for himself, though.

He turned and saw Tinsley hanging back, unsure whether she was allowed to approach the king or not. But Dante held out his hand, gesturing for her to join them.

“I couldn’t have done it without Tinsley, though,” he said. “She deserves the same recognition, if not more.”

Tinsley stepped forward, taking Dante’s hand. The king glanced between them for a moment before letting his eyes rest on Tinsley.

Dante knew it was a risky move. The king might very well cast her out, as he’d threatened to do with many of his brothers’ wives simply for being a human.

But to his surprise, the warmth didn’t leave his father’s eyes as he surveyed Tinsley. She bowed deeply.

“Thank you for bringing my daughter back,” he told her, and Dante could hear that he meant it. “You must be very impressive to have taken on the Jorvlens and brought my Maraliza out alive.”

Once again, Dante could hardly believe what he was hearing. His father didn’t like anyone, not even his own children half the time. And had he just called Tinsley impressive?

Dante decided not to overthink it, suddenly afraid he’d jinx the moment if he drew too much attention to it, to use one of the words Tinsley had taught him. Better just to roll with whatever bizarre tear in reality he’d stumbled into.

“It was an honor to serve the kingdom of Lorr,” Tinsley said beside him, bowing slightly again. “And, of course, to serve alongside your amazing son.”

Dante turned to see her gazing at him lovingly, and he knew the next time he spoke to his father, he’d be having a very different conversation.