Chapter 32

Apleasant ache settles between my thighs. Hyadum holds me tight against him, the horse slowly picking his way through the dense forest growth.

"Are you sure we have to go back?" he growls in my ear.

I shiver against him, smiling a little. "Hey," I say, turning slightly in the saddle to kiss him. He leans down, only too happy to oblige my demands, his splayed hand tightening on my stomach. I pull away, unable to keep from smiling at him. "We have the rest of our lives, right?"

He mutters something under his breath I don't quite catch, but he's smiling at me despite his grumpiness.

"I want to see my sisters."

"I know, coruscant. I am a selfish, selfish man." His lips trace lightly over my ear, and I laugh.

"No, you are a horny man."

"Do they bother you?"

It takes me a second to realize what he means. "What? No. That's not… that's not what that means. It means you want sex. It's a saying where I'm from."

"Then yes," he says gravely. "I am horned for you."

A choke laugh makes its way from my throat. "Yes. Okay."

"No, coruscant, as much as I would love to bury myself in you for the next week straight, I know you need your kin. I am grateful you will have your sisters close, and I look forward to learning more about them."

"Do you think I'll like their mates?" I ask, wrinkling my nose. The word doesn't sound weird anymore, and a happy tingle runs through me as I lean into my own mate.

"Aye. Ras and Lesath are different as night and day," Hyadum tells me. The forest clears, and we both blink into the bright sunlight. In the distance, smoke from a dozen campfires billows into the blue sky. The horse breaks into a trot, then a canter, and Hyadum raises his voice so I can still hear him over the wind and the pounding hooves."Ras was always the leader of our group. We were all about the same age, and we trained together often. Lesath can be short-tempered, if I remember correctly, but he's quick-witted and sharp. They were good men then, and I am sure they are good men now."

"I hope you're right."

"Fate would not allow women like the three of you to be mated with men who treated you poorly."

"You speak of it as though it's alive."

"Perhaps it is, Mina."

I sense the frown in his words. "What's wrong?"

"I just… I cannot help but think even though Eldgrim is dead, something else is brewing. That fate has more in store for us."

I sigh, leaning against him and closing my eyes against the hot sunlight. "You're probably right. But you know what?"

"What?"

"We have each other, and we have my sisters, and their mates." I scan the creamy white tents in the distance, like I'll be able to see them from here. "We have a whole family now. And I don't know if you noticed, but we're pretty fucking fierce."

"We did fuck rather fiercely," Hyadum agrees, and I snort.

"Okay." I laugh again, and he tickles my stomach.

"Why do I get the feeling you are laughing at me?" He presses a kiss behind my ear, leaning down carefully so as not to brush his horns against my head.

"Because I am," I tell him, and I feel him smile against my neck.

"Are you sure I cannot join you around your campfire tonight?"

"Oh, I don't know. I could probably be convinced." No sooner are the words out of my mouth than a blonde rider on a dark horse appears at the edge of the camp. The horse tears up the distance between us, kicking up dust, black tail streaming behind it.

"Do you think something's wrong?" Worry spears me, my chest clenching painfully.

"I do not know, my love, but if something is amiss, we have each other."

The rider reins in the horse, and I squint against the sun as they approach.

"Hey, strangers," Ali says, waving and grinning.

"Ali?" I blink. "I didn't know you knew how to ride."

"You haven't learned yet?" She cocks an eyebrow, and the horse rears back onto its hind legs. "It's not like it's hard." My littlest sister winks, her black horse prancing sideways as she pulls it up alongside us, and we slow to a walk. "I mean, it helps when you can talk to animals," she adds conversationally, as though we're discussing the latest seasonal drink at the local coffee shop.

For some reason, the thought doesn't come with any sadness, just a warm nostalgia.

"Oh, is that all it takes?" I snort.

Ali grins at me, her gaze sliding to Hyadum. "So, how're you feeling, champ?"

"Is she talking to me?" Hyadum whispers in my ear.

"Ignore her," I tell him, rolling my eyes. "Talking to animals, huh? Ya know, it fits. What can Lana do?"

"I think she should show you," Ali says cryptically. "But seriously, Mina, are you okay?"

"Yeah," I say, a smile so huge my cheeks hurt. "I am. I'm better than okay. I'm really, really happy."

"Good." Ali's whole body relaxes, returning my grin. "I'm so glad. Damn, we have so much to catch up on. Hyadum, I can't wait to get to know you, now that you're not rampaging."

"Rampaging?" I say, looking over my shoulder at him. His lips quirk to one side, and I feel his dry amusement, along with a sliver of guilt.

"Come on, let's race back."

"Like we're five?"

"Rude. What, are you afraid to lose?"

I snort. "Never." I squeeze Hyadum's hand, still resting on my stomach, sending a clear emotion through the bond. "Okay, ready, set?—"

Ali takes off, dirt billowing in her wake.

Hyadum chuckles behind me. "You do not want to race your sister?"

"No." I snuggle into him, resting my head on the curve of his shoulder. "I'm pretty happy right here."

It turns out my sisters want me to meet their mates too, and Danielle's dying to hang out with more women from Earth. It might not be the sisters only camping trip we planned over a month ago, but it's even better.

Lana sits in Ras' lap, looking happier and more relaxed than I've ever seen her. Ras is perfect for her, attentive and kind, gregarious and outgoing. They complement each other, and she's so much stronger than she was when I saw her a month ago.

I spread the marshmallow-like fluff Dabin, Danielle's mate, made over some thin cinnamon flavored cookies. There's no chocolate, but it's close enough to s'mores to scratch the itch. That, plus the delicious sausages we're roasting on sticks, some spiced wine, and we have ourselves a damn party.

I catch Lana's eye, and she stands up, coming to sit on one side of me. From across the fire, Ali disentangles herself from Lesath. I can't get over the fact he turns into a giant scorpion, but the two of them are adorable together, so I'm trying not to think about it. Mostly failing, every time I meet his dark eyes, but whatever.

Ali sits on the other side of me, and I impulsively reach for their hands.

Hyadum returns from getting me wine and places the cup in front of me with a soft smile that makes my heart squeeze.

The men and Danielle are laughing it up like old friends, mostly giving the three of us some semblance of privacy as we sit quietly in front of the fire, holding hands. Overhead, the three moons hang heavy in the sky, a sight I don't think I'll ever get used to.

Lana clears her throat, and we both look to her. "Do you think Dad knew? What we were?"

Ali sighs, and a familiar pang goes through me.

"I mean," Lana continues, tracing a shape in the dirt, "he named us after the stars in Orion's belt. He always told us there was the possibility of other dimensions, and here we are, House Orion, with magic to boot."

I've been through too much in the past month for it to sound ridiculous, but it is surreal.

"Yeah, I think he did," Ali says, laying her head on my shoulder. I put my cheek against her soft hair, extricating my hand from hers and wrapping it around her waist instead. "He should have told us."

I laugh a little at that. It's such an Ali thing to say. "Ali, we already thought he was weird. Imagine if he tried to tell us we were superpowered beings from another dimension. We would have thought he'd lost his marbles."

We all share a laugh at that, because we spent many, many hours in our teens making fun of our poor, sweet dad, who couldn't find his way around a grocery store but managed to teach advanced astronomy at the local university.

"I miss him," Lana says quietly.

"Me, too," I agree. My eyes prick with tears.

"I think he'd be proud of us," Ali says. "Look at what we've done. We're living his dream. Don't you think? I mean, he dedicated his life to the stars, to science and to the idea something else was out there. And here we are."

"He would be proud of us," I repeat, because she's right.

"I wish he was here." Lana squeezes my hand then wraps her arm around my waist.

"He is," I tell them both. "He lives in all of us."

Ali sniffles, and for a second, I'm on the verge of tears, too.

"Do you think it was the wishes?" I ask, casting my memory back to that fateful night.

"I talked about it with Danielle a lot, actually," Ali says, surprising me. "She's all but dissertation for a PhD in theoretical astrophysics."

"Damn," I say, my eyes widening. "I guess she won't get that PhD now, though. That sucks."

"Yeah," Danielle agrees, apparently hearing us across the fire. "I thought so too, at first, but you know what? I have Dabin, and I'm kind of a badass, so who's laughing now, grad advisers? Besides, I was right, dammit!"

Ali snorts. "Anyway, Danielle said we probably got here the same we she did?—"

"Through an interdimensional wormhole, an anomaly tied to the meteor showers and other—" Danielle starts.

"Yeah, yeah." Ali waves her hand. "So, no. I don't think the wishes had anything to do with it."

"I don't know," Lana says slowly. "I think mine might have come true. I wished I'd figure out who I was supposed to be. I may not know that completely, I may not ever really know it, but I wonder… if part of me knew there was something missing. The part of me that was supposed to help our people here, in Vraya."

The wind whips her curly blonde hair over her eyes, and she pushes it behind one ear before turning to smile at me.

"What did you wish for again, Mina?"

I cast my mind back, trying to remember. "I think I wished I was doing more. That I was doing something more important with my life."

"I'd say you got that wish," Ali chimes in. She turns a rock over with the toe of her boot, sipping her wine. "And I remember mine. I wished we would all find love and adventure."

Goosebumps break out down my arms, the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. Next to me, Lana shivers. Ali waggles her eyebrows at us.

"I think we can all agree we found love, and we definitely got that adventure."

"I'd like a refund on the adventure part," I say weakly.

"No take backs," Lana and Ali shout in unison. Across the fire, all three of our men share a quizzical look, before shaking their heads and returning to their conversation.

"You know," Ali says, tucking her knees into her chest. "They don't do marriage ceremonies here."

"Do you want to get married?" Lana asks, bewildered. "I mean, we're already tied to them forever."

"Do I want to wear a bitchin' white dress and have a massive party? Yes."

I smile at my little sister, squeezing her to me. "We should do it."

"Yeah?" she asks, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Yeah." My mind goes into overdrive, remembering the festival at Westshear. "We could all do it. A triple wedding."

Lana barks out a laugh next to me. "You can't be serious."

"I am completely serious. There's a tailor in Westshear, that's our town, and it's a set of three sisters, too. They could make our dresses; you should see the gown they made me for the festival Hyadum threw for me, it is stunning. Oscar worthy. Met Gala, eat your heart out. And we could?—"

"Hold on," Ali stops me, waving the palm of her hand. "You're telling me Hyadum threw a festival for you, in which you got a gorgeous dress to wear, and my mate locked me in a tower for nearly a week? That's just fucking unfair."

"Hey, we worked it out," Lesath calls, humor glinting in his eyes.

"I know, but still," Ali grouses, crossing her legs.

"He threw you a festival? That's so romantic," Lana says on a sigh.

"It was," I agree. "And we should do it again. We could do an all day celebration. One of us could get married in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening."

"We could invite the rest of the Houses," Ras' voice booms across the space, and I realize with a start everyone is staring at us, listening to my plan. "This could be an opportunity to reforge forgotten alliances. That is, if that is all right with you, Lana Kit."

"It's a good idea," my sister muses, scrunching her lips together.

"I love it," Danielle says. "I love weddings. All of us Starbound women could be your attendants. That is, if Giselle can come. But Lyn will love it, and Cass is such a romantic—" her face falls.

"I can't believe she did that," Ali says, slapping a hand on her knee. "What the fuck was she thinking?"

"She knew what she was doing," Lesath interjects. "She was different from the rest of you from the first moment."

"What are you talking about? We were all terrified."

Lesath shakes his head slowly. "I don't think she was. I think she was playing a part, so she could slip out and do whatever it is she thinks she's doing."

"All right," Danielle claps her hands. "I can't think about Cass right now. It's going to make me cry. So, I want to talk weddings. Three weddings. It's happening."

"It's happening?" Lana shifts next to me, but she's smiling at Ras.

"It's happening," Ali says, sticking her tongue out at Lesath. "For better or for worse, Lesath."

Lesath groans, rolling his eyes, but strides over to my little sister and pulls her onto his lap. "Of course, my Ali."

"Is it happening?" Hyadum asks me, clearly confused. "You would like another festival, with an Earth custom? Like a mating ceremony?"

"Exactly like that," I tell him. "And yes. I would like that very, very much."

"Triple wedding!" Danielle yells, then runs around with the jug of wine, topping off everyone's cup.

The rest of the night unfurls with talk of dresses and food and who they think we should invite. At some point, Arietis and Kaus wander over, already somewhat sloshed. We have to explain what a wedding is to them, but if it involves feasts and entertainment, they're in.

Later that night, Hyadum holds me tight against him. "I am excited to show the people of Westshear my mate. I am excited you want to celebrate with them. You are a better partner than I could have ever imagined."

He makes love to me sweetly, slowly, and reverently.

"I love you so much," I tell him.

And when I fall asleep, it's with his arms around me and a smile on my face.