Epilogue

I can almost make out the outline of the First Son ship from my window, the metal wreckage still trailing smoke up into the dark sky.

There are dozens of enemy soldiers still inside, held hostage by the Viathans who surround it, patiently waiting them out. Any who were found in the Estate were arrested, and some accounts even say that a great rolling wind came through and dissipated shadowy figures as they attacked.

The creature in the temple seemed to disarm the ship and any who were a threat to us, but the ward is still down and a stone is still missing.

I have mourned for my friend. Thea is gone, still in grief for the man she loved when she met her own death. She perished trying to protect the Estate, and I will miss her for all of my days.

So many died in the attack, pieces of the Estate broken and damaged, whole wings crumbled to the ground. The Temple of Divine Mothers reduced to ash.

99 and Lord General met with the emperor to discuss Crixa's death during the initial explosion, her body still not recovered from the rubble. A carefully crafted official report built on Leema's quick thinking.

The focus of the temple now is to appoint a new highest priestess before the conjunction peaks. The elders informed everyone in the council meeting after the attack that without a highest, a ward cannot be placed around the city.

So now all we can do is prepare for another inevitable attack as the priestess order elders deliberate who will lead them.

The enormous Viathan ship docked in the Estate courtyard has been our home. Leema is as comfortable as she can be here, her room just next to mine and 99's.

We have even sent a message back to Viathan, letting Allister know she mentioned returning with us when the time comes. His all too happy reply came moments later with a promise to clear out a room if she needs a place to stay away from the capital. It feels good knowing there is joy waiting for us, a life to fight for after everything I have previously believed in has been stripped away.

"Are you ready?" 99's voice pulls me away from my hard stare into the darkness outside.

He stands in the doorway, looking so powerful, so handsome in his newly polished armor.

"You look very nice," I say, noticing him shift on his feet as if nervous.

"You are beautiful."

I jump from the little bench by the window and smooth my black gown. The moment I put this color on again, I felt like myself. When we return to Viathan, I will commission Lady Anne to add deep green beading to every one of my black gowns so they are truly my own.

"I am ready." I smile at his sweet words.

"Are you certain you still want to do this? I don't want you to feel obligated to follow through. We can wait. You are both safe now."

"99, of course I still want this, and no, I will not wait." I laugh. As if my words are not enough, I send through the tether just how excited I am, how hard it is to remain calm.

His shoulders relax in an anxious exhale.

I link my arm in his as he guides us down the metal halls of the Viathan ship.

Guards pass us, pausing and tipping their helmets until we walk by.

"Any word from Calliape or August?" I try to sound positive, but I know the answer.

"No reply." He tilts his head down at me and then back up when another soldier comes into view, standing proud and straight. "We can push this back until they can attend."

"No!" I interrupt. I know he wouldn't mind if I said yes, but I can't bear the thought of waiting any longer.

"I am sorry," he sends through the tether.

I love them both dearly and want them here with us, but I knew it was unlikely we would hear back in time. It is difficult not to feel sad for what has happened, even if today is the happiest I have ever been.

99 caresses me with amber light, hearing the last sentiment and silently agreeing.

I beam up at him as we enter the mess hall. The tables have been arranged neatly off to the sides, the chrome surfaces polished and tidy, much nicer than the last time we dined in here.

Commander Yeva rushes to Leema as she struggles to get up from her chair, her smile so large it makes my eyes water. She has been assigned to act as Leema's personal guard, much more attentive to my sister than she ever was with me, almost smitten even.

"They're here!" Leema announces to the few other Viathans, Commander Wesley being among them.

I greet the room, suddenly feeling a little shy for all the obscured Viathan eyes on us.

"Where is Lord General?" 99 asks impatiently.

"I am here, 99th Commander," the lord general hastily announces as he enters in a rush.

Leema hugs me tightly, breaking my hold on 99. "I tried to find you a traditional ceremony robe but . . ." She gestures over her shoulder to Commander Yeva and rolls her eyes.

"No, it's fine. I don't think I would have worn it," I confess. "I am so glad you are here."

She sniffles and rubs the lovely swell of her stomach. "I am so happy too, even if it's a bit odd." She looks around at the cold metal room, smiling.

"I love you, my sister," I manage to get out without cracking my voice.

"I love you as well and I will never let anything come between us again." Her reply back is as easy as a greeting, like her love for me is a fact of the three worlds.

"99th Commander, Ferren, shall we?" the lord general says.

"Yes," we both answer in unison.

Leema smiles and hugs me one last time before I turn to walk to the middle of the room with 99.

The lord general is in the center, his helmet removed with a data pad in hand. We stop before him, surrounded on every side by the few Viathans permitted to attend and my beautiful sister.

99 removes his helmet, handing it to Commander Wesley behind him, and then faces me again.

"It will have to be a shorter version. I am happy to conduct another on Viathan if you wish," Lord General says. "Join hands."

"This will do just fine." I smile at 99, noticing he won't meet my eyes, and when I take his hand, it trembles slightly.

"99th Commander." The lord general holds the data pad a little farther away to read it. "Do you pledge yourself to this woman in union under the law of the three worlds?"

"Yes," 99 says, finally looking into my eyes.

"Do you forsake all other loyalties of flesh and heart that are not of this union? Do you vow that service, love, and respect for this union are the only values held higher than the ones made to your world and the vows you took to protect it?"

"Yes."

Each time he responds, he sounds even more sure of the words than the previous. The lord general's profound statements land hard on both of us, taking root within our tether.

"Do you promise to foster this union until the stars dim forever?"

"Until the stars dim forever." He smiles.

"Ferren." The lord general turns to me. "I am not familiar with the vows said during unions on Cosima. Would you like to recite them?"

"No," I answer, eliciting an unconscious furrowed brow from 99 until I continue, "I will say Viathan's, the same ones."

The lord general tries to hide a smile, pressing his lips to the side and clearing his throat. "Very well. Ferren, do you pledge yourself to this man in union under the law of the three worlds?"

"Yes." My eyes instantly line with water, and I feel 99 squeeze my hand twice.

I answer each of his questions, vowing, promising, and pledging myself to the man I love, who loves me exactly as I am, flaws and all. And when the lord general gets to the last one, it takes everything in me not to let the knot in my throat take over my words.

"Until the stars dim forever," I whisper and try to blink away the dewy gloss blurring my vision.

99's happy smile squeezes at my heart muscles.

"As Lord General, I authorize this union between the 99th Commander of Viathan and Lady Ferren of two worlds: Viathan and Cosima. Bind this union."

99 pulls me against him, planting a kiss so deep on my lips, it's as if we are alone.

He dips me back, his strong arms holding me as he kisses me again.

I hear cheering all around us, Viathans pounding their signets and Leema clapping her hands and laughing at the all too intimate kiss.

I gasp as he stands me back up, the rush of blood to my head making me feel dizzy.

"99th Commander, I will give you tonight." Lord General says over a few of the Viathans make yipping noises behind us and 99 scowls at them. "But keep your comm on."

"Yes, sir," my husband says as he bends down, hooking the back of my knees and lifting me into his arms.

"99!" I shriek as I am carried out of the mess hall, looking back to see Leema smiling and waving goodbye.

"Let's go to bed, Lady Ferren," he teases.

I kiss and nip at his strong jaw as he strides down the ship's hall to our room.

Lady Ferren.

A title I will have on Viathan, but it is just another title and I have had many.

I have been steadfast in faith and also so rattled by new ideals that I believed myself lost, the people around me my only beacon. And perhaps it is true, in a way I am lost, floating in the space between, believing in a little of every world, but I know who I am.

And I know who I am to 99, to my family, my sister, even after the temple tried to tear us apart.

I know that I am not wicked. I am not just some little girl pathetically seeking affection from a statue of First Mother or Crixa's special project gone wrong.

I am not all Cosima, the priestess order, or Viathan.

I am Ferren, born of a Cosima woman, found divine by the priestess order under false circumstances but as powerful as any priestess amongst them. My magic is of Frith, and my light is my own, but my heart gladly belongs to a Viathan.