Page 37 of Storm of Stars (Pride of Praxis #2)

CHAPTER

NINETEEN

Bex

The tent was snug with all of us tucked inside.

A soft hush hung in the air, broken only by the shuffle of cards and the occasional creak of canvas overhead.

The space had been patched together with spare blankets, a few scattered pillows, and someone’s old coat repurposed as a draft-stopper near the flap.

Not much. But it was warm. And it was ours. For the night at least.

Ezra was stretched out on a bedroll near me, arms folded behind his head as he stared up at the tent’s roof like he was memorizing it.

Briar and Zaffir sat in the corner as they played a game of cards on an overturned crate, their playful rivalry was something so beautiful to see. It made my heart ache.

When we were together, I didn’t care where we were. The blood, the war, the waiting, it didn’t matter. As long as I had them. This little stitched-together family. That was enough. But how long would I have it….

Thorne ducked through the flap then, his boots kicking up cold air as he fastened the tent closed behind him.

“The first wave’s getting into position,” he said, his voice low.

The warmth in the tent wavered. My heart clenched. Just like that, the quiet bubble we’d built thinned, and reality came crashing through.

War was no longer on the horizon. It was here. And war meant blood. It meant loss. It meant someone I loved could be gone by tomorrow.

I looked at each of them. Ezra, silent beside me, Briar and Zaffir, stilling mid-game, Thorne, standing near the door, and the thought struck hard and sudden…

What if this was the last time we were all together?

I swallowed against the lump forming in my throat. “Thorne?” I whispered.

He turned to me instantly, the gentleness in his eyes cutting through the weight pressing on my chest. “Yes, love?”

I hesitated. The words were heavy, but they had to be said.

“What are the odds that all five of us make it out of this?”

The question landed like a thunderclap. Ezra stiffened beside me. Zaffir exhaled, slow and careful.

“Brexlyn…” Zaffir started gently.

“I’m okay,” I said quickly. “Really. I know what this is. I know what it means. War doesn’t give you guarantees. It just takes and takes and sometimes gives back something broken. And I know… we all know… that not all of us might make it through.”

The silence that followed was painful. Raw. No one had the heart to lie. That was the kind of truth you couldn’t bandage over.

Thorne crossed the tent and sank to his knees in front of me, taking my hands in his. His touch was warm, grounding, steady even though his voice shook slightly.

“I could give you the odds, but they don’t matter,” he said softly. “Because life isn’t about numbers, or percentages. It’s not about how long we last or how safe we play it. It’s about what we do with the time we’re given. What we fight for. Who we love.”

Tears welled in my eyes and fell before I could stop them. He caught one with his thumb, brushing it away like it physically hurt him to see it there.

“I just…” My voice broke. “Tonight might be the last night we’re all together like this.”

“Maybe,” he admitted, voice thick. “But if it is, then let’s make it mean something. Let’s not waste it being afraid of the end.”

Ezra sat up beside me and reached for my hand.

His fingers trembled slightly as they wrapped around mine.

“If I get to spend the rest of my life with you, even if that’s just the next twenty-four hours,” he said, voice low and rough, “then I’ll count myself lucky.

I’m yours, Bex. Always. That’s what matters to me. ”

I squeezed his hand tightly, afraid if I let go, any of this might slip through my fingers.

Briar stood and crossed to us, crouching behind me and resting her chin gently on my shoulder. “We didn’t survive the Reclamation Run just to die now. I’ve gotta believe that means something,” she murmured.

Zaffir joined us too, sitting on the floor by my side, his voice like a low ember. “I don’t know what will happen after this. Praxis… the world… it’ll be different. We’ll be different. But no matter what it looks like, I want to be where you are.”

I felt their hands on me. Each pressing their skin against mine in a show of comfort, of solidarity.

“For a long time…” I began, clearing my throat as emotion rose thick and unrelenting in my chest, “I thought I’d already had the only family I was ever going to get.”

They all turned toward me, their eyes soft, quiet, waiting.

“I had Jax. And Ava. Her brother. And when my mother died, it felt like that was it. As I got older, I told myself that family only shrinks. That eventually, one by one, people leave, or die, or just stop choosing you. And the circle only gets smaller.”

I paused, blinking through the sting in my eyes.

A memory rose, rushing back in unflinching detail thanks to my mind.

Jax curled in on himself after one of his worst nights, his body shaking, my hands too small to do anything but hold him together.

That morning, I truly believed I was going to lose him.

Another person I loved, slipping through my fingers.

“I never thought I’d be lucky enough to grow my family again,” I said, my voice breaking around the truth. “But I did. I got all of you.”

Tears slid silently down my cheeks, but I didn’t wipe them away. I wanted to feel them. I wanted to remember this.

I looked at each of them, letting my gaze settle for a moment. just long enough to drink in the miracle of their presence.

Ezra’s green eyes met mine first. There was still steel in them, always would be. But now I could see through the cracks, where softness lived just beneath the surface. He let me see the version of him no one else did. That was his gift to me.

Then Zaffir. His golden eyes found mine like they always did, steady, gentle, grounding.

He wasn’t in his Praxis metallics anymore, and somehow that made his whole face seem brighter, freer.

Like he’d stepped into the world as the person he was always meant to be.

And he chose to be here. With us. With me.

Briar's honey-brown gaze caught mine next. And it hit me, again, how I’d never truly known what it was to be adored until she looked at me like that. Her eyes made promises, wordless, silent ones, that she would stand beside me in every storm.

And then there was Thorne. Mischief danced behind his bright eyes, even now. He didn’t have to say anything. Just one look, and my chest lightened. That was his magic. The way he turned grief into laughter, fear into flame.

My throat ached, my heart full to the point of bursting.

“This is my family,” I whispered, voice barely audible over the pulse in my ears.

They were silent, but not because they didn’t know what to say. Because they felt it. I could see it in their eyes.

I drew a breath that trembled at the edges. “For a long time, love has felt like a trap. Like the deeper I felt it, the more likely it was to disappear. My mother. Ava’s brother. Jax... almost. It always felt like love meant eventual loss. And maybe it still does.”

A sob caught in my throat, but I let it go. Let it crack me open.

“But being with you… loving you… being yours ,” I emphasized, reaching out to touch each of their hands. “It’s taught me something. Love doesn’t protect you from pain. But when it’s real, when it’s big enough, it helps you survive it. That’s what you are to me. You’re my survival.”

Briar was the first to move.

She crossed the space between us without a word, cupping my face in both hands and pressing her lips to mine. The kiss was soft and deep, full of everything I couldn’t say. Like she was breathing my pain in and exhaling back peace.

When she finally pulled away, Zaffir was there, his touch feather-light as he kissed me next, gentle and reverent, like he was handling something precious.

Thorne followed, lowering his mouth to the curve of my shoulder, pressing slow kisses along my clavicle, like he could anchor me to the present with each one.

A quiet moan escaped me as my head tilted back, and then Ezra was there too, leaning in, his mouth brushing mine even as Zaffir remained close. Our breaths mingled, our lips moved in time, all of it a slow surrender to something far deeper than desire.

Every kiss a promise. Every touch a vow.

Hands and mouths were everywhere. Zaffir and Ezra stole desperate kisses from my mouth, and each other, while Thorne dropped his head and began pressing his lips against my lower abdomen above my waist line.

I felt Briar’s hands slide along my back, crawling their way forward along my skin until her fingertips brushed against my hardened nipples. I gasped.

The sensations were overwhelming, beautiful…perfect.

“Hey Thorne,” Zaffir whispered, his voice darkening on the edges into that dominant tone I loved so much.

“Yes?” Thorne replied from his place at my feet, his mouth and fingers toying with the skin above my waist band.

“If I need our girl to come for each of us at least two times, how many orgasms is that?” he asked, and I felt my core tighten at his words.

Thorne smiled up at me from his knees. His eyes flicked deviously from me to Zaffir. “Does she need to come for herself too?” he asked as his fingers played with the fastener of my pants. I was moments away from swimming his hands away and pulling my clothing away myself.

“Hmm, great question,” Zaffir said, pressing a kiss to my lips. “What do you think, Brexlyn? Think you can show your Wildguard how you like to be touched?”

I moaned into his mouth and Briar’s fingers pinched the hardened peak of my nipples from behind me. I leaned my head back onto her shoulder.

“Answer me, Brexlyn, or I’ll make them stop,” Zaffir ordered.

“Yes,” I breathed.

“You heard the lady, Thorne,” Zaffir said, smiling wickedly.

“Two for each of us, that’s ten,” Thorne whispered against my skin.