Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

As soon as his parents left, Valen thought he was going to collapse with the receding adrenaline. He could barely hold Logan upright, but he refused to let go. He'd come too close to losing everything, to losing Logan.

His mate's skin felt cold against his tentacles, too cold. His mate was shaking, breath coming in short gasps.

"Logan?" Valen held him closer. "Are you…can you…?" He couldn't even form the words. The memory of his father's psychic assault, of feeling Logan's consciousness starting to fade, made his tentacles coil tighter.

Logan's hand came up to touch one of Valen's tentacles. The simple gesture sent relief coursing through their bond. He was alive. He was here.

"That was..." Logan's voice was hoarse. "Your father tried to..."

"I'm sorry," Valen whispered. "I'm so sorry. I never thought he would." He broke off, rage and guilt warring inside him. "I should have protected you better. Should have known he might..."

Logan's other hand reached up to touch Valen's face, fingers brushing away the iridescent blood still trickling from his nose. "You did protect me. You fought him."

The awe in Logan's voice made Valen's hearts clench. "I've never defied him like that before. Never even knew I could." He helped Logan to his feet, supporting him when his legs wobbled. "But when I felt you slipping away..."

He guided Logan to sit on the bed, still unwilling to break contact. Every beat of Logan's heart, every breath, reassured him that the worst hadn't happened.

"You should rest," Valen said, noticing how Logan's hands still trembled. "That kind of psychic assault... it takes a toll."

Logan shook his head. "I can still feel you in my head. More than before." His eyes met Valen's, full of questions. "What you showed me, before your father..."

"All of that was true." Valen's tentacles curled around Logan's wrists, seeking his pulse points. "The heat inducers might have started this, but they couldn't have given me the strength to defy my father. You did that."

"You chose me." Logan's voice was quiet, wondering. "Over everything."

"Yes." The word came out fierce, certain. Valen touched his forehead to Logan's, their bond humming with shared emotion. "And I would do it again."

He felt Logan's lingering doubts through their connection, saw flashes of memory. Jeff's death, years of loneliness, the fear of being left behind again. But underneath that was something warm and bright, growing stronger.

"When your father was... when he tried to..." Logan swallowed hard. "You were furious ."

"He tried to take you from me." Valen's tentacles tightened possessively. "No one gets to do that. Not my father, not the alliance, no one."

A soft knock at the door made them both tense. The Queen stood in the doorway, looking composed despite everything that had happened.

"Your father is resting in his pod," she said, her voice neutral. "I would like to speak with you both, if you're able."

Valen's tentacles tightened protectively around Logan. After what his father had tried, he wasn't about to let anyone near his mate. "I'm not leaving Logan."

"I assure you, Valen, I have no intention of forcing you now," the Queen said, remaining in the doorway. "What your father attempted was..." She paused, choosing her words carefully. "Unconscionable."

Logan's pulse still raced under Valen's tentacles, but he straightened slightly. "Why are you here?"

"Because we need to discuss what happens next. Your bond," she gestured between them, "is clearly too strong to be severed."

The Queen stepped further into the room but maintained her distance, seeming to understand Valen's protective stance.

"The alliance with Prince Seren's family..." she began.

"I won't—" Valen started, but his mother held up a hand.

"Let me finish, my son. The alliance is important, yes, but what your father tried to do..." She shook her head, her perfect features showing the first crack of emotion. "To kill an innocent being, to destroy a true bond… It goes against everything our people stand for."

Logan shifted slightly in Valen's embrace. "But you were willing to try to separate us before."

"Through persuasion, yes. Through showing Valen his duty." The Queen's gaze settled on her son. "But what I saw today... The power you wielded to protect your mate. That kind of strength only comes from a genuine bond."

Valen felt Logan's surprise through their connection. His own tentacles relaxed slightly, though he maintained his protective hold.

"So what happens now?" Valen asked, his voice still carrying an edge of defiance.

"Now," the Queen said, "we find another way. The alliance is still necessary, but perhaps..." She paused, considering. "Perhaps, we've been too rigid in our thinking. Your brother Kix has expressed interest in diplomatic service..."

Valen looked at his mother in surprise. "Kix? But he's only just completed his transformation cycles."

"He's of age," the Queen pointed out. "And unlike you, he's shown genuine interest in leaving the planet."

"I didn't know that."

"You were... occupied with your own preparations at the time." The Queen's lips curved in what might have been a smile. "Of course, such arrangements take time. We would need to offer Prince Seren's family something in the interim to maintain good faith."

"Like what?" Logan asked, tensing.

"Access to some of our outer crystal fields, perhaps." The Queen's perfect features took on a thoughtful cast. "It's not ideal, but after today's... incident, we need to find a way to manage." She fixed her gaze on Valen. "Understand that no one can know what you've done here. Taking a primitive mate instead of your intended…" She shook her head. "No. The universe must think your accident was fatal."

"You want to tell everyone I'm dead?" Valen had known there would be consequences to choosing Logan, but this...

"It's the cleanest solution," his mother said. "Prince Seren's family won't be pleased, of course, but they cannot object to an accident. And it will give us time to arrange... other possibilities."

Logan's hand found one of Valen's tentacles, squeezing gently. The touch helped steady him, even as his mind raced through the implications. No more royal duties. No more diplomatic obligations. Just him and Logan and whatever life they chose to build.

But also no visits home. No more family gatherings.

"What are you going to tell my siblings? You can't hide the truth from family. That is not our way."

His mother's features hardened slightly. "They will know the truth. The only truth that matters…" Her gaze swept over them both, "Which is that they can never see you again."

There was finality in her words. Through their bond, Valen felt Logan's surge of guilt and quickly sent back reassurance. This wasn't Logan's fault. This was his choice, his defiance, his... freedom.

"Valen." His mother's voice came out softer now. "May I speak with you alone? Just for a moment?"

Valen felt Logan's immediate tension through their bond, but his mate's voice was steady. "I'll wait in the kitchen." Before Logan could move, Valen caught his hand, sending a pulse of reassurance through their connection. Safety. Love. Trust.

As soon as Logan left, his mother's human form dissolved into pure light, her familiar energy pattern swirling in the light of the sun that shone into the room. Valen hesitated only a moment before letting his own form shift, his consciousness expanding as his physical constraints fell away.

His mother's essence reached for his. It was not an invasion like his father's attack had been, but the gentle mingling he remembered from his childhood. Love flowed between them, tinged with sorrow and pride and the cautious hope for mutual success and happiness. In this form, there could be no lies.

My brave, foolish child, her energy pulsed. You've grown so strong.

I'll miss you, he sent back, letting her feel the depth of his grief at their separation, but also his absolute certainty about his choice. Give everyone my love.

They'll have it always. Her energy wrapped around his in a final embrace. Be happy, my son. Be free.

Her light faded from the room like mist in the morning sun, leaving Valen alone with the lingering warmth of her farewell. He remained in his energy form a moment longer, processing the finality of what had just happened.

Then he heard the sounds of his parents' pods taking off.

They were gone.

The door to the room creaked open slowly, cautiously.

"Valen?" Logan's voice was concerned. Through their connection, Valen could feel his mate's desire to help warring with uncertainty about whether to approach.

Valen shifted back to his physical form, and Logan crossed the room immediately, reaching for him. The simple touch of his mate's hand against his skin anchored him, helped him remember that he'd made the right choice.

"They're really gone," Valen said, his voice rougher than usual. "My mother, she..." He trailed off, struggling to explain the depth of what had passed between them in their energy forms. "She wanted me to know she understands. That she loves me, even though I can never go home again."

Logan's arms tightened around him, and Valen sensed his mate's complex mix of emotions: guilt at being the cause of this separation, fierce pride in Valen's choice, and underneath it all, a deep, steady love only for him.

It was worth every sacrifice.

"I'm sorry," Logan whispered against his skin. "I know how much you're giving up."

"No." Valen cupped Logan's face. "Don't apologize. I don't regret this." He pressed their foreheads together, letting Logan feel the truth of his words through their bond. "My mother saw our bond, saw what my father tried to do, and she..." He took a shaky breath. "She blessed us, in her way. Gave us her permission to be free."

"I'm glad," Logan said.

"Me too." Valen guided Logan to the bed. "Let us rest for a moment."

They were both exhausted, from the psychic and the emotional battles they'd fought.

Valen looked out the window as he lay down, at the planet that was to be his new home.

It wasn't the ending he'd expected when he'd left home to meet his mate, but as he felt Logan's warmth against him, their bond humming with contentment despite their exhaustion, he knew it was the best thing he could possibly have found among the stars.