Chapter 24

Levi's heart raced as he looked down into Cora's eyes and thought of how close he came to losing her. Now that she was there in front of him, he remembered the vow he made to himself when he feared he had lost her forever without her knowing exactly how he felt.

Technically, he had told her already. But if she was aware of it, it was only subconsciously. He needed her to know as fully as he knew. He was nervous, but it didn't stop him from doing what he knew he had to do. He owed it to her.

What he felt for Cora was entirely new, and he wanted to get everything right when he conveyed his innermost self.

"I can't believe all we've made it through together," he told her, squeezing her hand again.

Cora smiled. "We're an amazing team. And we're going to take down Umbrosis together. I know it. Speaking of which." Cora raised her wrist.

She tapped on the comm, and a small holoscreen appeared. Flicking through, Cora brought up a couple of files, and as Levi peered at them, a broad smile crossed his face.

"I didn't get the chance to show you everything," she told him. "But those files I got from the ship's computer are exactly what we've been looking for."

Levi saw the Jorvlen term for the Desolation Stone in the files and the name of the ship it had been transferred onto.

"The Imperial Surfer," he translated.

Cora nodded. "The Jorvlen mothership, from what I can tell," she added. "The last travel log had the ship leaving Jorvla with the stone on board. We just missed it, I guess. It's headed to a space station on the edge of the star system. If we can find a fast enough ship, we might be able to intercept them before they get there if they haven't docked already."

Levi nodded, looking over the files again.

"Well, we have the ship's code, which might be enough to track its whereabouts. We should be able to pick up their signal if we get close enough."

Cora smiled. "You're really good at this, you know."

Levi felt his heart swell at the compliment. "So are you."

Cora smiled back before frowning a little.

"The next thing is getting off this planet," she said, closing down the holoscreen and looking a little defeated.

"Don't worry about that for now. We'll find something," Levi told her, taking her hand again and caressing the soft skin of her palm.

Cora smiled a little, as if his reassurance was all she needed to hear.

"Until then, we just need to lay low for a little while," Levi continued. "I'm sure the guards are still looking for us, so we shouldn't try anything until things settle down a bit."

"In the meantime, I guess we play house?" Cora asked. A mischievous smile spread over her lips.

Levi's heart skipped a beat at her words. He wanted nothing more than to sink into domestic bliss with Cora, to share a home with her for real. This was the preparation, he hoped. "In that case," he told her. "I guess it's time for dinner, huh?"

Cora groaned as if she'd just realized how hungry she was.

"Don't joke," she told him. "I'd honestly kill for some food, even that disgusting Jorvlen stuff."

Levi smiled. "Well, luckily you don't have to kill me for it. I give it willingly."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a scruffy napkin stuffed with that "disgusting Jorvlen stuff" Cora mentioned. He was about to hand her the napkin when he had an idea.

"Wait just a second," he told her, turning to the dilapidated kitchen.

What he wanted was to find a plate and serve up the gray food pellets as if they were a real meal. If they were playing house, he wanted to play it properly. He pulled open one of the cupboard doors in the hopes of finding some crockery, but he found something even better.

"Oh my gods," he muttered under his breath.

Cora must have heard him. "What?" she asked.

Levi turned toward her with a grin, brandishing one of the many cans that lined the cupboard.

"A feast."

The look on Cora's face filled his heart with pure joy, and that very first impulse he'd had to make her happy came flooding back to him. What he wanted most in the world, what he'd wanted for what felt like an eternity but was only a few days, was to make her happy forever.

He found a couple of bowls and peeled open the can. Inside was some sort of ready-made soup, and he was elated to find that it wasn't gray.

"I guess they only serve the slop and animal droppings to their prisoners," he told her, returning to the bed with the soup and a couple of spoons.

Cora laughed before eagerly taking the bowl and eating.

"Oh my god, it's actually pretty good," she told him.

"And there's more than enough to spend a few days here if we have to," Levi replied.

Which was just what they did.

For two days and two nights, they played house. They slept together, ate the canned food, and planned the next steps of their mission.

I could get used to this, Levi thought as they woke up together on the third day.

Not the part where they lived in a shack under constant threat of being found out. The part where they shared their lives.

The words I love you threatened to spill out every time he looked at Cora, which was all the time. But he let them simmer there. Instead of saying it, he endeavored to show her his love, which came easily.

That second morning, he showed her by kissing her head as she awoke, by serving her breakfast, and by brushing the hair from her face as they spoke.

As he cleared away the dishes and rejoined her on the bed, he saw something spark in her eyes. She looked up at him with adoration, and at that moment, all he wanted to do was take her in his arms and kiss her.

"I love being here with you," she told him, the look of adoration unwavering.

Levi's heart raced at her words. It was the closest she'd come to confirming what he thought she felt… what he hoped she felt. "So do I," he replied, and before he could stop himself, he was leaning forward, cupping her cheek in his hand and pressing his lips to hers. "But I don't just love being here with you, Cora."

She looked at him with uncertain anticipation.

"I love you, Cora. I've loved you from the moment I saw you. I said the words when you weren't yet awake after the blast. I was so afraid of losing you, I vowed that I would tell you. And it's bursting out of my heart."

Her jaw dropped, and he feared her response might not be the same.

"After the blast, I had a vision of you saying those words to me. I must have heard them when I was unconscious."

He looked at her expectantly.

"And I remember wanting to tell you so much that I love you, too, Levi."