“Creds, new ident-chips, and a one-way comm that will get you in touch with someone in-system. Only use this if it’s life and death. Got it?”
I give Leef a look.
“Don’t be insulted. I’m used to dealing with…less experienced people with regards to relocation. You and Talie going to be okay until I get back?”
I look across the room to where Talie sits on a bench near a window that overlooks the grounds of our new residence. Her hair is pulled back into a simple braid, and she wears a gown of white gossamer fabric cinched at her shoulders and waist, flowing around her like mist descended to earth.
Out the window, a thick duraplast fence surrounds lush gardens and a bubbling fountain. The vibrancy is at odds with the white stone buildings of Udia, Rinara’s capital city, beyond the wall of our compound. The metropolis extends far into the distance but melts into the desert-like vista as if carved from the planet itself. The view is incredible, but she can’t see any of it, blinded as she was in the fight against Jas.
“We’ll manage. You’ve got her message for the Phenomena?”
“You’ve asked me three times, mate. I’ll send it when it’s safe.”
I nod. “And you’re going to be okay with your end of this whole thing?”
“Are you kidding me?” Leef’s cocky smile flashes. “I’m a Rimmer. I was born ready.”
“But you’re not a true Rimmer.”
He squirms a little under my gaze, but I’m not foolish enough to think he’s uncomfortable. There’s something there, something under the surface. Perhaps it’s the fate of a spy to feel uneasy no matter the situation. To never truly be themselves. Leef’s good at being who you want him to be, but I don’t know that Talie and I have ever met the real him.
“Stay out of trouble, mate. I mean it.”
I arch an eyebrow at him.
“Or stay as out of trouble as much as you can. Gotta keep a low profile, you hear?” He turns and looks behind me. “Goodbye, Lady Talie.”
She looks at us, but her sightless gaze is off by a meter. Her chin tilts up in acknowledgement of his farewell before she turns back to the window. The warmth of the near sun bathes her face, and she closes her eyes and turns her face into it.
“She’ll be okay. She’s strong, that one.”
I turn to Leef. “I know she is.”
He nods once then turns, exiting the room. The door slides closed but not before the planet’s heat seeps in. The air is cool in the safe house, refreshing, but I crave the warmth to feel something again. Something that can replace this coldness that’s come over Talie since she faced off with Jas.
“Is he gone?” Her soft voice draws me back from my selfish thoughts.
She needs me right now and, as much as I want to know what she’s been thinking since we jumped to this system, I don’t want to push her. I want to give her the time she needs to heal.
“Yes.”
She holds out a hand to me, beckoning. That’s a good sign.
I join her on the bench, her knees a wall between us.
“Talie.” She looks at me, her sightless gaze aimed at my eyebrows.
“I realized something when we faced Jas.” She reaches for me. “I was born for such a situation.”
I open my mouth to counter her, but she continues.
“My mother warned me about the weight of responsibility resting on my shoulders, though at five I couldn’t understand it. I saw it so clearly in Jas. The evil. This power—my power—it’s more than just an ability. It’s a weapon, Renner. I am a weapon. I see that now.”
I squeeze her fingers, but she turns away.
“The corruption might have started with the High King, but the High Council has let it continue. Greed has sunk its claws into them, and I fear it will not stop at the borders of Xerus.”
“From what Leef says, that seems to be the truth of it.” Our debrief with the spy was short and not nearly as informational as I would have liked, but everything he said fit with what Lè Fayrin shared with me, which wasn’t much. “It began in Cerlia, but it has spread to Drawx and beyond.”
Lines of worry form on Talie’s forehead. We jumped to Rinara yesterday, though I spent most of the jump in a heal-cycle, while Talie insisted on rest. She wouldn’t use the med-assist or even see a physician about her blindness, no matter how much I begged her to. She didn’t say it in so many words, but she acts like she deserves this consequence. We’ve been caught up in a flux of preparation without a chance to talk, but I aim to change that now.
“What do you plan to do?” I ask.
“I’ll never allow myself to fall into their power trap.” Her frown deepens, and I want to lean over and smooth it with a kiss. But I hold back. “I only hope Leef can find Merritt in time.”
Tears shimmer in her unseeing eyes. One breaks free to trail down her cheek, and I reach out to brush it away with my thumb. She flinches, but then leans against my hand.
Talie explained she’d directed lethal blows to Jas’s ship, choosing only to disable the other ships, but her presence will be known in the galaxy now. Monarch LeGran will see to that, and it will mean two things. She will be highly sought after, and Merritt will be the next target.
The decision for Leef to go after Merritt was the obvious choice. Talie shared with us what Beta advised, but we all agreed a trip to the Sarcoa Nebula can’t be our next move. Not yet.
“Are you sure the High Council won’t change the Rule of Gravless?” It’s the only other option I think we should consider.
“I’m certain.” She faces the warmth of the window again, though her fingers remain entwined with mine. “It would seem the easy choice, but there are safeguards—things my mother taught me that ensure the High Court can only be ruled by a Gravless. They would need a Gravless to be in agreement in order to change those rules.” She shakes her head. “They need Merritt or me to take the throne—to be manipulated or to change the inheritance rules. Either way, we’ve gone from being ghosts in some faraway galaxy to being sought above all else. We will never know true peace again, Renner.”
“Talie.” My movements are slow so as not to frighten her, but I reach out and cup her cheek, drawing her closer. “Peace is not something you wait for—it’s something you fight for. We will seek peace for Xerus. Corruption will not stand. You said it yourself. The council is split—half in support of High King Praxin and half opposed. There’s still hope.”
She shakes her head. “It’s not enough. Those who oppose him will only be replaced—like Freyda’s father was.”
I draw her head forward and press my forehead to hers. “As I’ve pledged in the past, I am loyal to you and will do whatever it takes to create that peace you seek. With you. When you’re better, we’ll go to the Sarcoa Nebula.”
“What if I never regain my eyesight?”
I lean back. “You don’t need to see to—”
“You should leave me here.” She pulls away.
“Never.”
When she looks up at me, not quite meeting my gaze, my breath shallows. Her fingers slide up my arm, trailing heat as they reach my cheek. She’s still crying, but her worry has softened to openness.
“I let my duty keep us apart, and then fear took its place. I’ve warred with my heart, whether giving in to my feelings for you would mean I had turned my back on who my people need me to be…but I see now, I’ve never been who they need.”
“Don’t say that, Talie.”
“No.” Her thumb on my lips silences me. “The people of Xerus don’t need a Gravless High Queen. They need a voice. And I am going to fight with them for that right.”
Pride draws my smile wide. Her thumb traces the action, and my lips tingle.
“Will you stand by my side? Fight with me for that, Renner?”
“I thought you’d never ask, Le’è,” I whisper.
She turns serious. “There’s one more thing I thought of when I faced down the missiles.”
“What is it?”
Her hand drops back into mine. “I choose you.”
My heartbeat thunders, and my grip tightens. Just the warmth of her skin against mine ignites a fire in me.
“You once said you would take me as I am. I’m taking you up on that. I love you, Renner.”
Her words pop in my mind like fireworks at the Solax Festival, exploding into sparkling light and warming me from the core out.
“You do?” The questioning whisper slips out before I can stop it.
“Do you need me to spell it out on a datapad or something?” Her teasing smile melts every part of me.
“Well…if you think you can manage…”
Her mouth drops open, but then she laughs. “Teasing the blind girl after she rescued you. You should be ashamed, Fly Boy.”
The familiar nickname makes me reach out to her, drawing her into my arms. “I am very ashamed.” I modulate my voice to sound as repentant as I can.
“I don’t believe you.”
We laugh together. Then I angle back to see her expression. “There’s a long road ahead for us. For the rebellion.” The lines reappear on her forehead, and this time I press my lips there.
“It is a fight worth fighting.”
“It is,” I agree.
“And we’ll fight it together.”
I lean close, rubbing my nose gently against hers to indicate my intentions. She tilts her head back so her lips are a whisper from mine. I savor the closeness. We’ve been through so much and have come so far, but this feels like coming home.
Impatient, her hands pull me in, and I close the space. The fire of her kiss burns through me like thermite, igniting every molecule of my being until I’m sure we’re burning as bright as the stars. Our kiss is a promise. No matter what happens, we will tackle it together.
We move closer as if drawn by a magnetic force. I savor the softness of her curves and the sweet scent of her as it invades every thought. Her hands sink into my hair and fist the back of my loose-fitting tunic, making warmth swirl in the pit of my stomach. My feelings for Talie are deeper than anything I’ve ever known, and I’m willing to offer everything I have in order to love her the way she deserves.
Our path may be set, as Talie said Elixa foretold, but the future isn’t a guarantee. There’s no easy road to a happy ending where the galaxy is rescued and we’re not wanted criminals of Xerus, but this life is worth living to its fullest as long as Talie is by my side.