Epilogue

He watched her sleep, petting her hair gently as her head rested on his lap.

Behind him, the bloodsun was fading and the city lights were flickering to life outside the darkened window.

It was done, finally. They were one until death took them. It was hard to believe, all his time on Arkona, and never did he imagine he'd make it to this moment.

They'd traveled on from port to port for some time. He wouldn't bring her to his homeworld, deeming it unsafe. But there were few of his kind outside of it. Still, he'd been tracking someone. And he finally found them on a moon planet called Seriph.

Kasora, before he had perished on Arkona, had mentioned a friend, one that he'd aided once in his escape off their homeworld. An elder sidonion by the name of Ambaris.

Ambaris had accepted his invitation but he hadn't been happy in the slightest for Draka's reason in seeing him.

"Is there something wrong with sidionions' brains that they've been utterly poisoned? Turned to nothing more than useless slabs of meat in their thick skulls?" The elder sidionion spat after Draka had asked him to perform the mating rites. Apparently, Draka hadn't been the first to ask to be tied to a human.

"Times are changing, old man." Draka smiled, admittedly stunned and amused by this sudden revelation. His eyes then darkened, making sure the elder knew how serious he was. "Perform the rites, or maybe you'll find a different sort of sidonion at your door, carrying a blade with your name on it." He knew from what Kasora had told him that the elder was hiding from court assassins. Draka wasn't usually one to use blackmail but, in this case, he was willing to make an exception.

Ambaris surprisingly wasn't phased. "I'm protected here," he said matter of factly, showing little fear save for the slight glint in his gaze. "If you threaten me, you'll have to deal with the sidonion whose protection I am under."

Draka's eyes narrowed. "Who?"

"Axaria Shade."

Draka's mouth twitched. Ah, yes, he'd heard of the ex-commander. "Fine, I will go to him then and tell him you did not wish to help me with this."

Ambaris snorted, his frail claws clinging to the seat of his chair. "You'd fight him to force me to do this for you?"

"Yes."

Ambaris stared at him in disbelief. Then he grimaced. "Fine. You go to him first. If you are somehow able to best him in a fight, then maybe I will do this for you."

So be it. Draka called his bluff and went to Shade.

When he arrived at the Hive—Shade's territory, an elite club for all members of Seriph—with Ria beside him and Freys and Kreed at his back, there had been tension in the air. Shade's second greeted them first at the entrance. A tall, bulky guy with stone-like skin called Mika. When Draka informed him why he'd come, the male had looked like he might piss himself with excitement.

"Shade's at his other home with his woman," he said. "But I think him—and his mate—would be very interested in this. Come with me."

Keeping Ria close, Draka and his pack followed inside, up to a private room some levels above.

"I've heard of Seriph but I was told it was a hellhole," Ria said after Mika left and she peered around the room full of pretty furniture, silver-gold lanterns, and a dark marble floor that shined like onyx. "This is not what I expected."

"My kind of city," Kreed commented, looking out the window. "It's been years since I've been here, it's definitely changed."

Freys scoffed as he slumped in a black velvet chair. "Half the people here are worse criminals than us. I'd take this ‘hellhole' over Arkona any day."

They waited for longer than Draka had cared to. As Ria sat by the window talking with Kreed, looking relaxed, and as beautiful as ever as she laughed at one of Kreed"s idiotic jokes, Draka was preparing himself. It was unfortunate that he might have to fight another like him, one he might have called a brother in the wars if their paths had ever crossed. But if he had to take him on to win his mating rites he would do so in a heartbeat.

Eventually, Shade did arrive. Mika and other members of Shade's pack slipped into the room first. Then Shade entered behind them–along with his very human mate.

Draka admitted he was stunned speechless for a solid moment. But then he couldn't help laughing. Because Ambaris was a poor old fool.

Shade's mate stared at Ria as if she were a ghost. The woman was beautiful though not like his Ria. She wore a stunning black dress with silver chains around the torso and on her neck was tattooed the mark of Shade's house.

Envy squirmed inside him, desperate to have his mark on his mate just the same.

"I thought this might be some prank of yours, Mika," Shade said softly. He glanced at Ria before locking onto Draka. "I'm glad to see it wasn't."

Shade's woman stepped across the room to them. Her eyes shifted to him then back to Ria.

"You two are really together?"

Ria came up beside him and Draka took her hand. "Yes. She's my mate."

"You've marked her?" Shade asked.

Draka's mouth twitched. He looked to Ria who only nodded, then he took hold of the collar of her suit and pulled down so that they could see the mark he'd placed on her skin with his teeth.

Shade smirked. "An old way. I should have considered that with you, Maddie."

"Too bad you didn't," his mate answered, smirking back at him.

She slipped over to Ria, speaking to her quietly in her ear. Ria's eyes widened and, when Maddie offered her hand, Ria took it.

"We are going to talk," Maddie announced. "You two do the same—without fighting."

Draka gazed at Ria and she glanced at him, nodding her head, "It's okay."

He watched her go, forcing himself not to follow and to trust them—and her.

When they were gone, he and Shade sat down. "So, brother," Shade said after ordering everyone to leave the room. "Why have you come here?"

Draka told him everything. There was no fight planned after that, instead, they talked of their mates and the strange impossibilities of the universe. He told Shade his wish to have the mating rite performed and knew no one who could do it but Ambaris.

"He is set in his ways," Shade said, tapping his claws on the table. "But…I have been meaning to gift him something. A trinket I found at an auction. Something I think he will find special to him. If you take it to him for me, along with a message…I think you might be able to convince him."

"It's very generous of you to help us with this," Draka mentioned. "Ambaris told me I"d have to fight you to convince him. I was prepared to win that fight."

Shade laughed. "I'm sure you were. For your mate, you'd do anything. As much as I'd gladly take that challenge, Madelyn would prefer the more peaceful route." His claws curled along the table. "If we keep it to ourselves, however, I haven't had a good fight in a long time."

Draka grinned. "Accepted. As long as it's not to the death like the old ways. I don't think our mates would appreciate that."

Shade smiled back. "I think not."

By then Maddie and Ria returned. When Draka looked around for his mate, a gasp escaped him, his heart nearly leaping into his throat. He rose from his seat and went to Ria, who now wore a stunning dress like her new friend, a deep green that turned to black at the ends, the fabric glittering like stars. Her deep black hair was braided and tied from behind, sweeping down her back.

"My sweet Ria," he whispered, bringing her close. She buried her face in his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Go to Ambaris," Maddie said, now standing beside Shade. "And when you"re done come back here. You"re welcome to stay as long as you like."

They did go back to Ambaris, taking Shade's gift with them secured inside a long black box. Ambaris allowed them back in only after he read Shade's note. In his study, they stood watching as Ambaris opened the box. His eyes widened and the look he gave could only be described as devastated as he took out a long black and silver blade and held it to the light. Draka had seen that kind of blade before, weapons given to a queen's guard.

Ambaris put the sword back and cleared his throat, giving Draka a cold glare.

"Let's be done with this then," he said. "Quickly."

Once the rites were performed Draka didn't hesitate to find an artist to ink the mark into their skin. It took three cycles to schedule someone and to have it made but it was worth the wait.

Now was their last night on Seriph under Shade's roof and he wished only to sit alone with her while she napped. The travel, and the strange cycles of Seriph, had taken a toll on her. The sun was almost gone and they would soon be gone too. Freys and Kreed had gone back to the ship to prepare to leave. To turn for the stars and begin their journey out to other worlds.

His eyes saw nothing but her, and the mark now on her throat—the green star—which he grazed with his fingers.

She stirred as he trailed his fingers over her. Her eyes opened slowly as she looked up at him.

They stared at each other for a long time. Then she smiled and, as always, it warmed him like nothing else could.