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She considered the question carefully. “When I was on Earth, being a nurse wasn’t just what I did—it was part of who I was. I lost that part of myself in the mines.” She looked up at him. “Maybe it’s time to reclaim it.”

“Then you should accept.”

“What about Talia? The people hunting her?”

His expression hardened with determination. “I have been thinking about that. The tracker gives us an advantage they do not know we have.”

“How?”

“We can use it to set a trap. Draw them out, deal with them permanently.” His hand found hers. “But first, we make sure you and the children are safe.”

She squeezed his hand. “We’ll face it together.”

As they walked back toward Elrin’s home, she felt a strange sense of peace. For the first time since being taken from Earth, she could clearly see a future taking shape—one with purpose, with family, with belonging.

It wasn’t the life she had planned, but watching Thraxar guide Rory around a puddle in the path, seeing Talia’s ears flush purple with happiness as she collected colorful stones, she realized something profound.

Sometimes the family you find is the one you needed all along.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Thraxar watched the tracker glint under the lab lights, now harmlessly contained in a small stasis box. Such a tiny device to cause so much danger. He turned the box over in his hand, studying the malevolent technology that had nearly cost them everything.

“The Lumiri civil war was particularly brutal,” Elrin said, settling into a cushioned chair in his study. The old Treveloran’s feathered crest ruffled slightly as he sighed. “I’ve made some inquiries through secure channels. What I discovered is… troubling.”

He set the box on the table between them. “Tell me.”

“Talia’s father was indeed a political leader—Kerran Vey’Nor. He advocated for democratic reforms on a world ruled by hereditary houses for centuries.” Elrin’s beak-like nose twitched. “The traditionalists labeled him a terrorist, but by all accounts, he was a principled man who refused to use violence even when attacked.”

Outside the window, he could see Kara in the garden with the children. Rory was methodically arranging stones in intricate patterns while Talia mimicked his movements with her owncollection. The afternoon sunlight caught Kara’s hair as she laughed at something Talia said.

My family.The thought no longer startled him.

“The ruling houses eventually united against him,” Elrin continued. “When they couldn’t discredit his message, they decided to eliminate him entirely. They bombed a public gathering where he was speaking.”

“And Talia’s mother?”

“Meya Vey’Nor. She was a scientist, not political, but she supported her mate’s cause. She escaped the bombing with Talia and went into hiding.” Elrin’s voice softened. “The bounty hunter was correct—there are those who fear Talia could become a symbol for the resistance that still simmers on Lumiri.”

His tail lashed in barely controlled anger. “She’s a child.”

“Children grow. Symbols endure.” Elrin leaned forward. “The houses that ordered her father’s death will never stop hunting her. Not as long as they know she lives.”

The implication hung in the air between them. He stared at the tracker again, an idea forming.

“What if she did not?”

Elrin’s crest raised slightly. “Explain.”

“What if Talia Vey’Nor died?” he asked slowly. “I could take this tracker into deep space, place it on an unmanned pod, and program it to self-destruct. The signal would disappear. They would believe she perished.”

“It could work,” Elrin mused, his nose twitching rapidly now—a sign Thraxar recognized as excitement. “The bounty hunter’s disappearance would support the narrative. They would assume he found her, but something went wrong.”

“And if they believe she is dead…”

“They’ll stop looking,” Elrin finished.

The plan crystallized in his mind. Simple. Effective. Final. Yet the thought of leaving his newly-formed family, even temporarily, created an unfamiliar ache in his chest.