Epilogue

EPILOGUE

RENIKK

A week later, late at night after the party her parents held to introduce me to their friends, my sholani and I lie in her bed. Two days remain until we leave Earth for Zyan. She has packed her belongings and I’ve downloaded a language training program on a comm for her. Even though alien technology is illegal for humans on Earth, her father arranged for her to have the comm, to aid her on Zyan. And I suspect as a way of keeping in contact with her on a regular basis. This is good, for Raven as well as her parents. I do not treasure taking her from them, as they are important to her, but for now at least, my duties require I return to Zyan.

While Raven approaches our life with excitement and determination, she has an entire world to learn and I must ensure she has everything she needs. I’ve already contacted my family via comm, asking them for help in preparing a house for us. They were shocked to hear my sholani is human, but very pleased to hear I’d found my heartmate.

Raven’s hand drags across my chest. “This is one of the few times I wish I could see.”

“You may explore my face, or any part of me anytime, sholani.”

Her fingers dance over my face, an act I’m now quite accustomed to, and enjoy, because of the intimacy involved. I will have to be careful not to become jealous when she does this with other males, when she wants to ‘see’ them in this unique way. I will not deny her anything, least of all the opportunity to explore the beauty of the universe in the only way open to her.

“I hear your mood in your voice, Ren, but I also read them in your expressions. And I have an excellent sense of every inch of you, from the twist of your horns, including the slight gouge at the tip of your left horn, down to your huge thigh muscles. I can tell a person everything there is to know about you, your size, and your shape. While I know you’re blue, I can’t understand color, but that’s fine. You don’t miss what you’ve never experienced. But it’s the rest of you I want to learn.”

“I’m still confused, my sholani.”

“My mother said you have tattoos on your biceps and torso.” Her fingers caress my right shoulder and travel diagonally to my left hip, close to the band of tattoos. “She explained that all zyanthan warriors have these and that they are some sort of honor. I wish I could see them, to know this part of you.”

My heart aches at the sorrow I hear in her voice, as if her blindness stands in her way of knowing me. Raven has never allowed anything to keep her from doing what she wants. That is one of many qualities I love about her. As her sholan, it’s my duty—my honor—to remove any barriers to her happiness. But I cannot return her sight.

I draw her fingertips to my lips. “I will tell you about my tattoos, sholani, so you can repeat the story to our younglings one day.”

“When did you get them?”

“My first tattoos were upon completing warrior training. Future ones followed various battles and assignments. Our tattoos tell our story, though they are incomplete, as they do not include our sholanis.”

“Should they? I mean, I wasn’t exactly a conquest.”

“No, you were a treasure I found on a small, chaotic planet. But you are my one, the person who completes me in ways I never could have imagined. My greatest joy was finding you, followed by the deepest pain of thinking I could never have you. A warrior fights for his people, his planet, but mostly for his sholani, even when he has yet to find her. Each day, I will strive to prove myself to you.”

“You already have, Ren. Now kiss me and promise me you’ll never stop.”

“Ah, my little bird, that is an easy promise to make.”

Thank You for reading! - Julie

Keep reading for the bonus scene!