Page 37 of Champion (The Outlander Book Club… in Space! #6)
A wide smile split his handsome face as he spared Emmy a glance. His arm went around her shoulders and hugged her close before answering. “As long as our mates can remain onboard at our side, the Bardaga will gladly accept this honor.”
The Lady Prime threw back her head, the sound issuing from her lips definitely a laugh. “It is mainly because of your mates that I bestow the honor. I’m sure the humans you will rescue would feel much safer in the care of other humans.”
“I agree,” Khaion said, accepting the assignment with a curt nod.
“May I suggest another ship for your fleet?” The Duke spoke the words softly and intently.
“Ako?” Lady Prime asked curiously.
Duke Ako pushed himself to his feet, shoulders that had remained rather slumped since the mention of Helene straightened.
“I will join the rescue effort as well, on my battleship, Historia .” He shook his head, lowering his gaze.
“My heartbreak over Helene made me blind to my son’s pain and his actions…
and thus partly responsible. Joining the rescue effort will be my way to make amends. ”
“The Alliance is honored to have your service.” Lady Prime rose to her feet, giving the Duke a bow. The respect and affection between them felt like a warm current sweeping through the room.
I was so lost in thought about what this could mean for Charick and me that I nearly jumped out of my seat when Khaion’s comm buzzed. He glanced at the golden band, much like the one Charick wore, his eyes going hard before he cast a glance at my mate.
“I must answer. It’s Hakkar.”
Recognizing the healer’s name, a fissure of worry shot through me, like a stroke of ice on my spine. I grabbed Charick’s hand, holding it between my own and squeezing so hard I feared I might crack his bones.
Khaion frowned at the symbols beaming up from the surface of the comm for only a minute before relaxing with a smile. “The Garoot Healer was able to repair Adtovar’s injuries. He will make a full recovery.”
Expressions of relief filled the air, with mine the loudest and happiest. Charick drew me into his arms, and I buried my face against his chest, tears of relief stinging my lashes.
“I am most happy at this news.” Duke Ako punctuated his words by smacking his palm on the tabletop. “Adtovar is a good, honorable male. If willing, he will make an excellent first mate for the Historia and an asset to the rescue mission.”
“Hear, hear!” Charick said, raising his glass in salute. I followed, grinning so widely that my cheeks ached.
The entire table took a drink in Adtovar’s honor.
“Now I just have to find the rest of the crew,” Ako sighed, signaling for his glass to be refilled, to which a small blue male responded immediately.
“You will not use members of your guard?” Khaion studied him curiously.
“No.” Duke Ako’s lips grew tight. “I cannot be sure of how many were affected by my son’s treachery. I’d rather the Historia be manned by a small crew of males I can trust.”
“What about the other gladiators?” I sat up, my gaze darting from the Duke to my mate and back again. “They are all good men—good males—imprisoned because they stood up to Nansar or Ambassador Yaard in some way.”
Duke Ako studied me intently for a moment before his gaze flickered to Charick. “You concur?”
“I do, my Lord,” Charick agreed immediately.
Duke Ako nodded, his gaze going to Sahikas as though he regretted providing even more information for the poor guy to note. “Any gladiator who will vow to work with the rescue mission and would like a place on board the Historia shall have it.”
The chef appeared, carrying a frothy pink concoction that looked like Pearl’s Raspberry Bavarian Cream but tasted like Pineapple Fluff.
And although everyone indulged their sweet tooth, the conversation remained on serious matters.
Namely how Seimba, the head of the spy network the Alliance relied on, had already found evidence of humans trafficked on both the merchant planet Westarzo and a hedonistic planet in the Qxatso system.
The Lady Prime assigned the Bardaga the mission of traveling to the merchant planet while Duke Ako and the Historia would leave for the farther reaches of the galaxy by week’s end.
I heard Sahikas’s low groan of relief as the Prime dismissed him for the night. As he left, he tucked his alien iPad under his arm, flexing his long bony fingers.
After dessert, Pearl and Jutuk adjourned to the kitchen. She needed to speak to the chef regarding some tweaks to the pizza recipe. Emmy and Khaion stayed in conversation with Duke Ako, with the Chieftain suggesting some of his crew to help ready the Historia for departure.
I migrated toward the large windows flanking the stone fireplace, lured by the stillness of the landscape that lay beyond.
After weeks of nothing but desert and sand, it was comforting to gaze out over the lush scenery.
Serene, despite the foliage tending toward shades of blue and purple rather than the greens of Earth.
Adtovar was going to recover, Earth would get even more protection from the Alliance, and Charick and I were together.
Since the moment those cat aliens snatched me from the Appalachian trail.
.. since before that even... I felt content.
“Happy, my heart?” Charick pressed close behind me, his nose nuzzling my hair as he handed me another glass of the sweet, fizzy wine.
“So happy.” I leaned against him, loving the way the thud of his heartbeat echoed in my chest. I squirmed, rubbing my butt against his crotch and feeling the immediate indication of his desire for me. “I’ll show you exactly how happy later when I fuck….”
“Do you enjoy the wine of our home world?”
The Alliance Prime’s voice was like a bucket of cold water. I jerked away from Charick so forcibly I would have stumbled had he not caught my arm. My cheeks felt like they were on fire, but a glance at my mate told me he found no embarrassment in the situation. Instead, he was grinning.
Damn him.
I turned toward the Lady Prime, expecting a scowl of disapproval, but found her smiling warmly, glee dancing in her dark golden eyes.
Charick shifted his stance, fully facing the Alliance Prime, and gave a curt nod. “Lady Prime.”
Now the regal female seemed pissed. “While I appreciate the show of respect, do you not have a kiss for your mother?”
Mother?
What the actual fuck?
“Mother?” I spun to face Charick, torn between anger and humiliation, neither emotion preferable at the moment. “The head of the Alliance is your mother?”
Charick shrugged his broad shoulders, his grin teetering on becoming an all-out smile. “I told you my mother was in diplomatic service.”
Anger won.
“Yeah.” I poked his chest with a finger. “You just didn’t mention that she is basically the leader of the whole freaking universe.”
“You are right, my son.” The Prime made a chortling noise that I realized with a start was laughter. “She is extraordinary.”
“You approve of our mating then?” Charick grabbed me around the waist, hauling me against him. I squirmed for propriety’s sake. I was meeting his mother, after all.
“Of course I do. How could I not?” Her golden eyes turned to me, and I realized I no longer gazed at the leader of the universe. She was just a mother who loved her son. “Are you sure you want to be mated with this one?” She hitched a finger at Charick, to which he rolled his eyes.
For a split second, I could see them, behaving just as I had with my son through his teen years.
God, I missed him. I’d miss him forever.
The place he had in my heart, along with that of his father, would never wane.
But a different vision came to me, this one of Samuel standing with Mark, both of them watching over Charick and me, urging me to move forward and be happy.
I would.
“Only for the rest of my life.”
“Welcome to the family.” She reached out and cupped my cheek, her touch affectionate and supportive—like a mother. “I hope you will visit often….” She cut her eyes at Charick and cocked her brow, an expression she’d definitely passed on to her son. “Perhaps with younglings?”
Younglings, children… children with Charick, and a life lived among the stars.
I let my hand press over where the Prime’s touch lingered on my cheek, not bothering to blink back the happy wash of tears.
“It’s a promise.”