Page 39 of Keeping Freya (Warriors of Arracate #3)

T’Rak

I have handed my captain’s duties over to my crew and focus solely on my mate.

We spent most of the days in bed, though we seek out the company of my crew and their females for mealtimes.

The cats have already found their place on board of the ship.

To protect L’Ren’s bushes, D’Var made a crate, which I altered to Fr’Ya’s instruction.

The result is a combination of ledges and wooden panels on the wall, so they will not scratch the wrong things.

I do not understand what those wrong things may be, but I am glad she thinks of everything.

We mate a lot. I barely think of anything that happened on Tekrov. I focus solely on Fr’Ya and the limited time we have left. I push back all thoughts of my brother, the High Commander, or even the future. Now is all that matters.

Right now, we are lying in bed. Fr’Ya is curled up against me, looking at the stars above us.

“Tell me about your home,” she asks me.

“It is not a happy tale. ”

“I know. I also know I have been neglectful, and I want to know. You gave me so much… you gave me back my control, the way I see myself. You helped me become a better version of myself while I was so angry. Just by caring for me. So the least I can do is repay you for that.”

I take her hand and kiss her fingers before intertwining our hands, pulling strength from her touch.

“There is a night that feels like the darkest night of my existence. It is the night the Sternotheri came and destroyed our planet. We just had a big showdown in space and beat them with our allies' help. We were celebrating, it was a big win, because they attacked us with all their force.

However, they came back in the depths of night with some sort of weapon.

We still do not know precisely how they did it, but they destroyed our planet’s core.

After that, it was chaos. I was able to save my crew, D’Var’s mother, and my brother, and as many of our citizens who were close to us at that moment.

But almost everybody lost everything. O’Rec lost his entire family, which made him king overnight.

I managed to get us out of the chaos that followed the destruction, and we made sure as many of our people as possible were hidden by allies.

For a while, we were adrift. We believe there was a special spark in our planet’s core that bound us together.

Coming to terms with living without that spark was hard, and in the end—unnecessary.

A young crew came upon a nebula, barely noticeable because of an enormous void surrounding it.

And there, in that nebula, they found the spark.

It took some time, but we managed to build a space station in that nebula. It starts as a connection of many different ships, but our engineers made it into a beautiful construction we call the Ring, because of its round shape and open center.”

“You’re taking me there? ”

“Yes.”

“Thank you,” she whispers. “For not dumping me on Novarron.”

I huff. “I will not leave you with the little time we have.”

She stays silent. “T’Rak? Do you know if they’ve already started looking for Earth?”

“I do not know. But knowing O’Rec, he immediately gave the order. He is honorable like that.”

It feels as if there is nothing left to say after this conversation, and we stay silent.

“I’m sorry about your planet,” she finally whispers, and I squeeze her tight.

“Captain? We are here,” D’Var tells me through our bond. I thought I was getting homesick from telling our story to my mate, but apparently, the spark was calling me home.

“We should get dressed, we have arrived.”

“How do you know?”

“O’Rec just told me.”

She gives me a funny look. “What am I missing? Told you how?”

“I did not tell you about the bond?”

“Just the bond with mates? But I reckon O’Rec is not your mate?”

I laugh as I rise and get my clothes. “Nope, a crew of Warriors can create a mental bond, much like a bond between a Warrior and his Zarra. When we are close, we can communicate with each other through that link.”

“Like, in your head.”

I nod in confirmation.

She pulls her shirt over her head. “Is that something we can have?”

This is painful for me because, in theory, we should have a full mating bond, but something is blocking our connection .

“We should have.”

She hums but does not continue on the topic, which is fine with me. Once dressed, we move to command, and I sit in my chair, pulling her into my lap.

“Where is that home of yours?” she wonders, and I chuckle.

“Patience, my treasure.”

D’Var takes us out of hyperdrive, and when the world slows down, we see the nebula in front of us.

The beauty takes my breath away, like it always does.

The void stretches out as far as I can see.

The blackness is entirely devoid of any color.

And in front of that swirls the nebula in vibrant pink, purple, and electric blue.

I look at my mate, and she is gasping at the sight in front of us.

“It’s incredible,” she whispers, a tear leaking from her eye.

I kiss her cheek. “It is.”

“Still gives me goosebumps every time,” L’Ren chimes in.

I take control and make my way through the clouds, the bond pulses, intensified by the spark. “Here we are,” I whisper in Fr’Ya’s ear when the Ring appears.

“Now I understand why you call it that way. It IS a ring. A space ring.” She chuckles, and I focus on docking the ship, leaving her to her wonders.

“Hold on tight,” I instruct everybody, and with a slight shock, I dock the ship.

After docking, we make our way towards the back of the ship. For safety measures, we lock the cats inside the Cargo Bay.

“We will be back for them later, right?” She looks at me with pleading eyes, and I can only nod.

Silently, we wait for the airlock to open so we can safely enter the ring.

The ramp opens, and I spot the people waiting for us.

There is, of course, Kepti, who is being hugged by L’Ren the minute they reach each other.

M’Ran is waiting for O’Rec, his most loyal advisor and the one who takes care of the Ring when we are away.

O’Rec and Marra have quite the following; they are intensely popular as King and Queen, and to my surprise, half the station has come to welcome them home.

“Well, was your mission successful?” M’Ran asks, wobbling from one foot to another.

O’Rec holds up his hand, and everybody falls quiet.

“The High Commander of the Sternotheri is dead.” Silence falls, and everybody stares at us.

“Though it makes us and our future a whole lot safer, a killing mission is never a celebration, no matter who we killed. But on the other hand, we also found a colony of Sternotheri, consisting of only females and children. They had broken with the ways of the High Commander, and I have promised them to find them a haven, somewhere they can raise their children in peace. And maybe one day, we can build something, though for now we focus on rebuilding ourselves now that our biggest threat is eliminated.”

Murmurs follow his words, and people look shocked.

“Arracate!” O’Rec booms. “We are NOT a vindictive people. We have peace and honor in our hearts. Justice is what we serve, and sometimes justice is helping people. This is what we do.”

One of the younger warriors steps forward. He places his fist across his heart and lifts his chin. “TO OUR KING!” he shouts out.

“TO OUR KING,” the crows echoes and I join them in their celebration.

The people flock to O’Rec and Marra and I just stand there, with nobody waiting for me. Suddenly, the loss hits me hard, and I miss T’Kar and his easy smile. He was always the light-hearted one, whereas I tend to see the worst in a situation .

Fr’Ya intertwines our fingers and holds on to my arm. She kisses my bicep. “I’m sorry, T’Rak. You must miss him very much.”

“I do.” No sense in denying, not with my mate.

She pulls at me and moves her hands to my face. “It will be better, one day.”

“One day,” I mumble. Something passes between us, but it is gone soon, and she steps away.

“T’Rak, Fr’Ya! Join us for lunch?” D’Var calls out, and glad for the distraction, I accept.