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‘Feel that? That’s the pulse of my heart. That’s how alive I am; you are why I live. For you and now, our son.’

His eyes danced, and she realise he was caught in euphoria, bracing herself for the pain and accusations yet to come.

Meanwhile, she had so many questions. ‘How did you track me?’

He huffed, and for a moment, she witnessed the weariness of hunting her down etched in the lines of his face. ‘It took years of searching, my love. Working with The Sable Group’s AI, I became Pegasi’s best surveillance operator. I set up my ship, which was programmed to the hilt with facial recognition tech, to try and find you. I uploaded your image to the ship’s hard drive, and when we captured footage, we studied everything at high speed, using the latest programming. Casting just for you.’

His impassioned explanation, his rich, deeper voice, the singular rasp that had haunted her for years and tracked her through the darkest reaches of the galaxy and her soul, chased away all her doubt.

Élisa shook her head. ‘I can’t imagine what you went through.’

He shrugged, but she sensed his adrenaline was wearing off. ‘It was arduous, but I never gave up. I also hacked and infiltrated systems and databases across Pegasi with only one goal.’

Élisa teared up, reaching for his upper arm. ‘Oh, Riv, my love, I’m so sorry.’

He shot her a half-sad smile. ‘Over time, we found a few weak leads. Neron N13 was one of the last places I had to search in this region of Pegasi. Then your friend, Halima, at the bar let on that she was acquainted with you. It blew my mind, and in that instant, I narrowed down your location. While you, too, were tracking me for your side plan. And so here we are.’

She stroked his face in fascination. ‘For so many years, I wondered if you’d moved on, forgotten about me?’

‘Never,’ he chided her, flicking a finger under her chin. ‘Did you think I’d just let you go without looking for you? After everything we shared? You were hours away from being my wife, forfokk’ssake.’

She caught a flash of the latent anger he was suppressing, and her eyes closed for a moment as sorrow flashed over her face. ‘I did what I thought best. I hoped you’d be angry at me, you wouldn’t want to follow me. If you’d done so, you’d have brought harm to yourself. While exposing our unborn child to a relentlessk?stofkhoraand even worse, K?str?l Sab?r Hawks.’

He raised a brow.

She expanded. ‘They are the Katáne’s most imperial warriors who strike at my father’s bidding. They are whom I - and more so Killen - cannot fall captive to.’

‘You won’t if I’ve anything to do with it.’

She gave him a quizzical look. ‘Your abilities have changed over the years.’

He nodded. ‘They have. All of us Riders had meta capacity decades ago, but we only honed it after you left Eden II.’

She ran a hand down his muscled arm. ‘You need to tell me all that you are. I wish you’d told me long ago.’

He caught on to the fierceness laced with fleeting sadness in her voice. ‘Why Élisa? Would it have made a difference?’

She looked away. ‘Naam. I know it’s not fair to have expected you to share your truth when I hid mine, but if I’d known you were able to protect yourself from the K?str?ls, perhaps -’

He shook her head. ‘I was not this strong then, neither did I have the shields, the firepower, or the honed metanoids I now possess. If what you say is true about your people, perhaps you did make the right choice.’

She squeezed her eyes shut as if pushing away old memories. ‘One dipped in a poison chalice.’

He gave her a long look, then inclined his head. ‘Hush, my love, don’t torture yourself. Let me luxuriate in all that you are, all that you have become. It took me so long to find you, and now that I have you, I’ll never let you go.’

He smiled and ran his fingers down her cheek.

She turned her face into his roaming hand. ‘I’m not going anywhere. At least not tonight.’

Eyes glittering, he bent over and kissed her for the first time in over twenty-five years.

The second he touched her, Élisa melted.

His lips, firm, pliant and ever sensual, sucked on her own, and she felt a rush of even more emotion as she welcomed her lover, the only man she’d ever given her soul to.

Peace flooded her as she rediscovered her resting place, her stronghold. Cradling his jaw, she returned the passion and intensity, their tongues meeting in an age-old dance, tasting each other’s nectar, bonding over their shared essence.

At one point, he kicked off his boots and fell onto the bed, reaching for her to pull her close. She closed her eyes and let relief wash over her. He was here, and his heart was hopefully still hers.