Page 17 of 3 Secrets to Love (Romance Tales from the Quadrants #2)

Phalon

3 months later…

With a stylus in my hand, I signed away my role as King of Yatak, giving way to the new democracy of the planet.

An election had already been called, and a leader elected for five star cycles, the longest duration possible for any elected official for Yatak in order to have an administration that truly represented what the citizens wanted.

I’d tried to make her role easier by signing trade agreements with neighboring planets, setting forth a constitution to declare the rights of my people, and so many meetings throughout the quadrants.

Though I knew amendments would be made, new trade deals would happen, and only a handful would remember my short reign as king, I wanted to give the planet a good start after being under the rule of Kalpier for so long.

Through all the chases, rescues, and near-death experiences, I never stopped my love for and desire to fly.

Exactly why I was excited to start my new roles as chairman of the local spaceport and the lead flight instructor.

Sure, I would still have a ton of paperwork, but I would be in the cockpit a whole lot more.

Once I stood, I shook the hand of Rockel, the first President of Yatak, before she took my place to sign the same document.

Minister Taleron authorized the document as a witness then officially declared President Rockel as the new leader of the planet.

Cheers erupted from in front of the stage, where thousands of citizens had gathered to attend the momentous occasion.

Then, in celebration, each person released a yaflat from a box they’d been given upon arrival.

The colorful insects flew up and out, signifying our hope for a better future for all those who lived on the planet.

After a quick photo session, I made my way down to the crowd, anxious to find Xacalla.

I knew she would be there with her students, as the new school board decided all children needed to know the true history of the planet in its entirety.

And attending the ceremony was a big part of that.

I found her students first, several of them coming up to me, tugging on my hand with big smiles and saying hello.

Though my girlfriend stood with her back to me among some of the other teachers from the school, she was easy to spot as an Omisuite among Yatakians.

Her colleagues turned her around, and the smile she gave the instant she spotted me made my heart swell.

“Congratulations!”

She glowed with happiness as she wrapped her arms around me.

“I’m so proud of all you’ve done.”

I hugged her back, finally feeling like I was where I needed to be.

“I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish any of this if not for you and your sister convincing me to stop hiding, and you being by my side the entire time.”

Xacalla’s life had changed so much since the moment she was given the assignment to bring the Kalpierene triplets to meet me.

And she’d never complained once, at least not to me.

I was glad that once the threat from Kalpier seemed to dissipate, she stepped into a new role she enjoyed, and one that just happened to be on the same planet and the same community as my upcoming positions.

After a moment, she let go and lightly held my hand.

“I’ll see you later, okay?”

I nodded, knowing she had to get the students back to school. Several celebrations had been arranged over the next couple of days, and I would be by her side for all of them.

***

After a quick meeting to officially introduce myself to the management and staff of the spaceport, I headed out on a hoverboard to my next social engagement.

Xacalla said she would meet me there, and I couldn’t wait to finish off the last of the Yatak democracy celebrations with her before going home to sleep.

Though I had something planned for the evening that I hoped received the response I anticipated.

With Kalpier having forced Yatakians to live in several small communities all close together, we never had the need for hovercars, so the flying scooter was the fastest mode of transportation to travel on the planet.

Yet, it didn’t feel fast enough, my anticipation leaving my armpits sweaty and my stomach queasy.

When I finally reached the building, I was escorted through a back entryway to make my official appearance on the stage.

I wiped my sweat-covered palms on my pants as I heard the announcer introducing me.

Just as I was about to make my appearance, I was grabbed from behind.

I had no time to react, my wrists and ankles bound at the same time as a bag was placed over my head.

Then I was heaved over someone’s shoulder as if I weighed nothing.

“You’re too late,”

I shouted.

“I’m not the leader of Yatak. You won’t get anything by abducting me.”

I heard a familiar laugh. One I knew well and though it took away some of my panic, it only filled me with confusion. “Zander?”

After I was set on a soft surface, the bag was lifted and the restraints removed. In front of me sat Xacalla’s older brother, whom I thought was my best mate. “Phalon.”

Standing around him were the other members from our former team, Tuft, Shanissa, and Kolbin, all with their arms crossed.

No wonder they’d been able to snatch me so quickly.

They knew exactly how I moved. Yet, this didn’t seem like a friendly reunion. Was there something I’d missed? Were they working for Kalpier.

“What do you want?”

Zander tilted his neck to either side, a cracking noise emanating as he did.

“I heard you’re involved with my sister, yet I haven’t once been contacted by you to ask my permission.”

When I opened my mouth to respond, nothing came out. I didn’t know whether to laugh at him or take him seriously. Instead, I gapped like a shiffer.

With the hint of a smile, he crossed his arms and shook his head.

“I thought we had respect for each other. And I thought we all agreed that family was off-limits.”

“I…um…”

I had agreed to that back in my racer days, but I was hardly living the same lifestyle as back then.

Once our team had dissolved and we’d gone our separate ways, I hadn’t really thought about the rules we’d set for each other.

Only that I wanted to do right by Xacalla because she was Zander’s sister.

A sudden commotion caught my attention.

Several footsteps bounded toward us in the hallway.

Then the door opened to reveal Reena with her baby belly, Xacalla looking gorgeous with her hair up and wearing a sparkling red dress that hugged all her curves, and a couple guards.

“What’s going on here?”

Xacalla’s face wrinkled as she stared down her brother.

Cracking his knuckles, Zander grinned at her.

“Oh, just reminding Phalon of an oath he gave me back when we were racers.”

Xacalla placed her hands on her hips before leaning to one side.

“No. Just because you’re my brother, you do not get any right to say who I can or cannot date. You need to stay out of it and be happy for me unless I tell you I need you to dispose of a body.”

I didn’t know whether to be happy or terrified by Xacalla’s response, but I knew I didn’t want to upset her. Ever.

Zander chuckled, along with Reena and the rest of the team.

“Then I guess I’m happy for you, even if you are with this scruffy ass.”

He stood and reached out his hand to me. Reluctantly, I took it then accepted his hug.

“It’s good to see you again. And I mean it when I say you had better take good care of my sister. I know you already did when the two of you were hightailing it across the quadrants, but I want to be sure you stick around when things are calm and peaceful.”

“To be honest, I look forward to those days.”

Xacalla and I hadn’t had much time to relax together, and I couldn’t wait to simply lay in bed with her and enjoy our downtime.

One of the guards cleared their throat.

“So, it’s all good here? No one’s in any danger?”

“We’re all good, thank you,”

I responded, unsure what to tell them about the situation.

“Please assure everyone I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

The guard nodded before the two of them left.

Reena came up and gave me a hug.

“Look at you, finally finding purpose in your life.”

I chuckled.

“And you, finally giving up flying the way Kareen wanted you to for star cycles.”

She swatted me.

“I’m not done flying. Only taking a break to create new life.”

“Well, good for you.”

The rest of my teammates came up to greet me. It was good to see them all again. I had hoped to meet up with them all individually in the future but hadn’t expected any of them to come to Yatak.

As everyone got ready to head out to the bigger celebration in the main hall, I fished for something in my pocket.

“Excuse me,”

I called out, hoping to get their attention.

“I have a question for someone in this room, and I’d like to ask it in front of all of you.”

Reena gasped and covered her mouth. With his signature side smile, Zander sighed and shook his head. Yet, Xacalla wrinkled her brows and stared at me.

I stepped toward her.

“On Yatak, we don’t have any type of exchange or ceremony when beginning a relationship. And though I already refer to you as my girlfriend, I would like to make us more official in some kind of way. That is, if that’s what you also want.”

Her eyes widened and became glassy as her bottom lip quivered. Yet, she didn’t back away.

I found the item I’d bought and held it out for her.

“This is apparently what one gives to their companion on Orez when they want to commit to them. So, Xacalla, I’m asking you if you want to be my mate? My life partner?”

A tear trailed down her cheek as she nodded. “Yes,”

she whispered.

I slipped the ring over the finger she held out for me before wiping the tear away and kissing her.

“Oh, come on.”

Zander nudged me from behind.

“It’s bad enough knowing you do that stuff with my sister, but I don’t want to see it.”

I enjoyed the taste of her lips for a little longer before resigning to head out to the party, as we had one more reason to celebrate. My heart would forever belong to Xacalla.