Page 40 of Keeping Freya (Warriors of Arracate #3)
Freya
We follow D’Var’s mother, who is a delight, through a broad and open tunnel slash hallway.
It is beautiful, and I cannot get over the way this station is engineered.
The gravity here somehow makes you feel like you’re always walking straight while you should be going up or down.
The houses are located in some sort of hubs, connected by tubes, which have businesses or just open space where children play.
Everybody seems happy, and a lot of people come to greet us.
Lunch is amazing. Kepti has a small but very lovely home, and she cooks up a storm.
I swear I haven’t eaten this well since I woke up in space, and she beams when I tell her.
She talks about cooking and how much she loves that Lauren shares her interest, and when she begins talking about her garden, she doesn’t stop.
We follow her gladly after we’ve eaten, and it feels like I stepped into a medieval fairytale.
The square, which houses the garden, looks like an old Victorian London park, complete with iron gates and overgrown stone.
The garden, which is as big as a park, has its own climate control, and I marvel at the wonders.
“Do you think you can house two jungle cats here?” I wonder out loud, and Kepti stops and beams at me.
“Cats?!”
“Ehu,” D’Var chimes in. “A mated pair.”
“And they bonded with you?”
I look at T’Rak for support, and he nods. “They are extremely protective of Fr’Ya but are also very receptive to all of us.”
“We have Ehu on Novarron,” Kepti says dreamily. “I would love to have them make a home here.”
“We will bring them tomorrow,” T’Rak says, and he gives my side a squeeze.
Kepti begins talking about the Ehu that bonded with her neighbor on Novarron, and I smile politely, but my thoughts wander.
What will happen when I leave? They will be happy here, I decide.
Shoving all the uncomfortable feelings down and focusing on this moment.
We have no clue when or if they will ever find Earth, so I will worry when it gets that far.
After our tour through the Garden T’Rak and I return to the ship. We spend our walk in silence, both lost in thought. To my surprise, we are greeted by O’Rec and Mara, who have grave expressions.
“What happened?”
“Come, sit and have a drink,” O’Rec says, taking us into the Mess Hall. Mara hands me a cup of tea, while O’Rec hands T’Rak something else.
“After encountering you and the other human females, I sent orders to my scientist to look for Earth. It is not something we even thought about doing before, because neither L’Ren nor Marra wanted to go back.
Turns out our scientists are really the best in the Galaxy, because I just got word that they found it. ”
T’Rak
The ground beneath my feet seems to disappear as I look at my King in horror. They found Earth, already? My mate, my Zarra, my treasure is… leaving me?
“You found it!” she exclaims, tears running down her cheeks. She turns towards me. “I can go home, T’Rak, I can go home!”
“There is a catch,” O’Rec stops her enthusiasm.
“It is lightyears away on the other side of the Galaxy. It will take approximately thirty human years, so you must be put into Cryosleep. You will also need a pilot to get you there, one who will also be in Cryosleep for the biggest part of the journey.”
“It also means that you have been gone for at least 30 years now,” Marra says. “So please reconsider; you will not return to where you left.”
Fr’Ya straightens her back, and I sense her stubbornness rising. “I still want to go home.”
“Are you sure? We have already reached out to Novarrond and none of the other girls wanted to take on the journey. They have all settled quite well…”
“Yes.” Fr’Ya’s tone is short and she glares at Marra, challenging her.
I stand brusquely. I cannot bear this conversation anymore. “I will take you,” I growl before I stalk towards my bedroom.
I pace through my room. There is nothing I can do, nowhere I can go. I push a button on the wall, and my punching bag drops from the ceiling. The punches start coming before I give my body direction, and I try to work all the anger, all the hurt out of my system .
“T’Rak.” I hear her behind me, and she gently touches my back.
I sag against the punching bag and turn around. “What do you want?”
She steps back, hurt in her eyes. Fuck, what am I doing? “I am sorry, please. I am sorry.”
She sighs, tears shimmering. “You knew I was leaving.”
“I did. I just did not know it would hurt this much.”
There, I said it. I look up at her, and she is crying. “It hurts me too…” she says in a small voice.
“Then why go through with it? You heard what O’Rec and Marra told you, there is nothing there for you.”
“I will be the judge of that!” she shouts.
“Do you not want to be with me? Is that it? What is this to you, what am I to you?” Too late, I realize I am shouting.
“A fling!” she sobs. “You were supposed to be just a fling.”
“You are still holding on to that?”
“Yes,” she snaps. “You told me you would take all that I could give you. I TOLD you I wasn’t staying.”
My fight leaves me. “I thought I could change your mind. Show you how good I could be with you, show you how much I loved you.”
“You… love me?” She takes a step back, and I take a step forward. She starts shaking her head in disbelief, and I fall to my knees.
“What more do you need, Fr’Ya? You are my Zarra, my treasure, my light. You can always count on me. I will love you until the world ends, I will love you through everything, worship you, and give you the stars. What more can you possibly need?”
“Home,” she sobs.
“Then let me be your home,” I beg in a final attempt.
She shakes her head. “No,” she cries. “No, no, no…”
“Fr’Ya… ”
I try, but she turns around and runs away, taking my heart with me.
For a moment, I am too stunned to move. Then I shove it all down, focus on my Calm, and slowly rise. If she wants to go, I will take her, and we will leave tomorrow. But tonight, I will drink.
O’Rec and Marra are standing in the hallway. Marra is comforting a crying Fr’Ya.
“We leave tomorrow morning, first thing. Can you make that happen?”
O’Rec nods, and with a nod, I stalk past them and make my way to the bar.