Epilogue

LYRA

Three months later…

T he mist from the waterfall floated in the air. A silvery veil that shrouded us from the rest of the universe. Magical and right.

Crystalline blue eyes peered at me through that veil and I looked right back into them, fighting the smile that was tugging at my lips.

The baby moved, a sensation that I didn't think I'd ever get used to.

"Kicking again," I murmured.

Droxan's wide, warm, calloused palms were there in an instant. Cupping my bare stomach below the surface of the lagoon. He pressed close, that familiar purr sounding in his chest. I moved my head, tucking my face into the crook of his neck. Inhaling deep. His scent was a dangerous thing. It both calmed and soothed me. But it almost always guaranteed that I'd be ravenous for him too. Pregnancy had made me even more insatiable for him…and those damn fated mate pheromones he seemed to breathe out every moment of the day.

The baby wiggled and kicked against his father's touch. I listened to Droxan's pleased chuffing, feeling it warm my very soul. He was going to make an amazing father to our son. I just knew it.

"Only a little while longer," he told me, his voice deep and husky.

He had indeed gotten me pregnant the very night we'd decided to stay together, all those months ago. The potent male.

As such, we regularly visited a doctor who specialized in hybrid pregnancies, on a colony close to Nikk—the market colony—much to my delight. Every week, Droxan was dragging me out there, eating up more expensive cruiser fuel than my frugal mind was okay with. But this was Droxan. And he would pay any expense if it meant I was safe, if the baby was healthy.

Just last week, we'd learned it was a male. A male with budding little horns, which had made me burst out with happy tears when I first saw the doctor's scan. Hybrid pregnancies were unpredictable. Luxirian females typically only gestated for three months. As such, since the baby would take on predominantly Luxirian traits, the doctor believed I would be pregnant for four months, maybe a little less.

So I was due in a few weeks.

And with Droxan being Droxan, we would be traveling off-planet and staying close to the doctor's facilities. We would leave in just a few days because he didn't want to risk it if the baby came early.

The way he fretted was sweet . I thought that I'd be the nervous one about the pregnancy in our relationship but it turned out…that was all Droxan.

It had been a long three months.

Yet, I wouldn't trade them for anything.

In the first month, I'd said goodbye to Wero. We'd gone to the colony together, to pack up my apartment, loading everything into Droxan's surprisingly spacious space cruiser. I'd said goodbye to my employer, Mr. Kee, who told me that if I ever wanted to come back, the job would always be here for me. And we spent a wonderful final day on Wero. Droxan finally got to see the infamous lava blow hole, which had been a pitiful little display given the colder weather—though he'd acted like it was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen for my sake. And I showed him the Hyrinn racer's hologram signature that was proudly displayed on the local tavern's bar. He'd only grinned at me, shaking his head in his amusement, as I cuddled on his lap in one of the back booths.

In the second month, we'd officially applied for a marriage certificate, a purely human custom that he was only too pleased to agree to, and filed the paperwork of our joining with the Uranian Federation. He was officially my husband . And I was officially his wife.

Yet, we were so much more.

We still hadn't journeyed to Luxiria for the ravraxia . We decided to wait until after our baby was born and then we would visit there together. I was excited to see Luxiria. I wanted to see where Droxan had grown up, where he'd spent most of his life, though I knew he had mixed feelings about seeing his family again. But we would take baby steps. One at a time. Maybe one day, there would be a reconciliation, though I knew that my husband would always hold them at arm's length.

And this month, our third month together, we'd been traveling through our Quadrant extensively. Even though he'd been reclusive since he left Luxiria and his business behind, Droxan still had connections throughout the entire universe. Old friends and business partners. And for me? He'd called on them.

He'd been granted access to Bvaro through one of those friends. The planet of waterfalls. We'd stayed in a luxury resort that I'd never wanted to leave, the mist from the waterfalls making me feel like we were living among the clouds. We'd gone to Horrin, where we'd purchased another bed—a crib—meant for our child. He'd taken me to Nikk, as promised, and we'd spent nearly three days on the colony so I could explore every last vendor. Droxan hadn't complained once, dutifully lugging around anything that I wanted to purchase for our home.

Traveling was wonderful. It felt surreal, journeying to places I'd only ever read about, places I'd never thought I'd actually see . And it was made all the better because I was with the male I loved and I was pregnant with his child. He'd opened up this entire new world to me and I would always feel grateful to him for it.

While traveling was amazing, it always felt like a relief coming home. Coming back home to Ullima. Back to our planet, back to our bed.

"There's something I want to discuss with you," came Droxan's rumbly voice right then, breaking me from my dreamy thoughts. His hands were still cradling my belly though our son had stopped fidgeting. For now. "To see what you think about it."

My curiosity was piqued. "What is it?"

His hands moved from my belly to wrap around my back. In response, I wound my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist as he carried me through the water. We had been relaxing underneath the waterfall for most of the day. When we wanted a break, we'd make love on the banks, on the soft towel Droxan had packed for our ‘waterfall day' as we called them. We'd nap. We'd eat leisurely from the cold box. We'd talk. Laugh. Kiss.

Some of my favorite days had been spent right here with Droxan. Lazy, sunny, warm, beautiful days.

And since it was abnormally hot that particular day, we took advantage of our lagoon.

His blue eyes peered at me carefully as he said, "I've been thinking about breaking ground on Ullima."

I gasped, my eyes widening. "What? Really?"

His smile was sheepish. "I've been thinking a lot about what you said all those months ago. That once our child is older, he'll need a lot more than what we can give him here. At least with just us. An education, for starters. I want to see him playing with other children. I want him to be curious about other beings in this universe. I want him to ask questions and understand that we are not alone here. And I know that we will surround him and all our future children with love but I…I also want to give them more. They can't be like me, hiding away from the universe for years. I don't want them to be like me. I want them to have a community. So…I thought why not build one? Right here on Ullima."

His words made my eyes prick with tears, hearing the love in his voice for our son already.

"I'm thinking of their future. And our family's legacy," he told me. Then a note of excitement threaded through his voice as he admitted, "I've been drawing up plans for a city here. A small one, mind you. And truthfully, it's more like a town than a city. But I figured it's a start."

I loved hearing that excitement enter his voice and that was all I needed to hear to want to say yes to him. To give him my full support.

"The town will lie to the north. Towards the coast," he told me. "Far from here so we still have our privacy, but easy enough to reach on the cruiser."

"Good," I whispered, grinning. "Because I like our privacy."

"I do too," he growled, his hands tightening on me. "Never fear for that, luxiva . But it might be nice to have other amenities on Ullima, so we don't always have to travel off-planet."

"Like a market day?" I asked, perking up at the prospect. "And a general store? The soil is so good here that if farmers came, we'd have plenty of crops for a store. Or a tailor shop! We could import bolts of cloth and silks. And of course, a tavern. We can?—"

His bark of a laugh cut me off but I couldn't help but grin. Now I was getting excited about this. So many people were looking for safe colonies that they could call their home. Human females, for one. Females like me. Families, hybrid families, just like ours that feared discrimination on some of the smaller colonies. But if they moved to larger ones, they risked their safety. They'd have to deal with space pirates and mercenaries, traffickers, drug runners and weapon dealers, who all had a strong hold on the criminal networks in those colonies.

But Ullima…

Ullima was a paradise.

Despite the stormy season, the weather was moderate nearly all-year, at least from what Droxan had told me. There was a wide coast to the north and jungle towards the west, where we were. The soil was rich. The ground stable. The water clean.

It would be perfect.

"A small, private colony," he told me, studying my face, seemingly relieved when he saw my excitement. "But tev , there would be room for expansion. If we decide to do that. Together."

"I love it," I told him truthfully. "I love that you're thinking of us too. And that you're also excited about building something new here."

"It's all for you. It's all because of you, Lyra," he told me. My breath caught in my throat and I felt the connection rise between us when he pressed his forehead against mine. The Luxirian version of a hug, an embrace, meant for loved ones. "You made me realize how much I'd turned my back on the universe. Cutting myself off from people, from life ."

"Oh, Droxan," I whispered.

"But then you literally fell out of the sky," he rasped, a small smile lighting up his features. "You gave me your love. You gave me renewed purpose. These last few months with you have been the best of my life and I know we have so much more to come. But you've made me feel hopeful again. You've made me feel optimistic about life. And I want to grasp onto that feeling with both hands and try to build this place up to something wonderful. Something for you. For our family. I promised that I would always take care of you and I meant it."

"I love you," I breathed, my vision going blurry with my tears even as I grinned at him. " Gods, I love you so much, Droxan."

"And I love you, luxiva ," he murmured, leaning forward to press a kiss to my lips. "Always."

"You're going to accomplish so much here," I told him. "I can feel it."

He smiled. A slow grin that made me feel as light as air.

" We will, luxiva . Together."

I kissed him again.

"Sounds like a plan," I said, smiling, against his lips.