08:00, January 1st, 2145
“But mom, it’s going to be boring!” The little boy whined.
Like his parents, he had black hair and blue eyes – ones that darted from side to side as he looked for an exit from the floor of the arena – one which had been paved over and filled with chairs. He was only a meter tall but knew he was quick enough to escape his mother’s grasp if he got enough of a head start.
“Benjamin Reynolds, don’t even think about it.” Selina warned him, using the stern voice she preferred to avoid. “The ceremony will only take a few minutes, and it’s important you behave while we’re up on that stage. If I hear one word from Aunt Cassie about you misbehaving, I’ll tell Aunt Ali to turn off your shuttle racing sims for the next month.”
The threat seemed to catch the little boy’s attention. He straightened up before sitting politely on the seat next to him between his older cousins. The blue-skinned, white-haired girl to his left and the red skinned, black-haired girl to his right both straightened as Selina approached, smiling at her.
“Aunt Selina!” The blue skin girl cheered, the spitting image of her Kel mother.
“Auntie!” The red skin girl echoed, looking equally like her Vrul mother.
“Tessa. Nyxeris.” Selina acknowledged them both, running a hand through the hair of each of them before ruffling it affectionately. “Are the two of you going to watch out for Ben?”
“Of course!” Tessa replied on behalf of both of them.
Selina’s face softened before clasping Ben’s face in both hands and kissing him on the forehead. He squirmed at her physical affection in the way only a child can do with their parent, groaning and shouting ‘ew!’
“He certainly has both your temperament.” Cassie observed dryly from further down the row as Selina rolled her eyes. “Rebellious and stubborn.”
Selina laughed good-naturedly and her eyes sparkled as she smiled at the little boy. “Yes, he does.”
“Go.” Cassie insisted, shooing her away with one hand. “I’ve got them. The ceremony is going to start, and you’re going to miss it.”
“Not if I have anything to say about it.” Selina replied, lithely vaulting herself through the rows of Starborn soldiers seated around the children for protection.
When she reached the end of the row she stopped suddenly, looking up and down at a man in a tailored black suit. He wore a white dress shirt with a red tie, shiny dress shoes, and a red handkerchief in his jacket pocket. She grinned appreciatively at him, thinking for a moment that he looked like a mid-2000s movie star.
“Hello husband.” She purred as she slipped her hands around his waist.
“Hello wife of mine.” Kayden replied before leaning in to kiss her.
“Ah ah ah.” She shook her head before pointing to her cheek. “It took a long time to get this makeup on. You can kiss me here for now.”
“What about after the ceremony?” Kayden replied, pressing his lips to her neck.
“After the ceremony… you can kiss me everywhere.” She replied with an erotic groan as he pulled her into her.
For a moment Kayden ran his hands up and down his wife’s amazing body. Somehow she’d become even sexier to her after having a kid: her breasts and hips seemed to grow slightly in size, but everywhere else she retained the same lithe figure she had before – one which was currently draped in a tight, glittery, silver dress.
“Is that a promise, Mrs. Reynolds?” Kayden asked.
“You can bet on it.” Selina replied. “Once the kids are asleep. Now come on – we’ll be late.”
Hooking her arm underneath his, they strode to the front together while doing their best to ignore the murmured gossip and camera flashes around them. They both knew that if the crowd wasn’t made up of ex war-heroes and military personnel they’d be mobbed like celebrities, so they were content for the moment to let them have their quiet moment of whispered awe and close-up pictures.
When they reached the front of the quickly-filling auditorium they were met by two more Starborn officers. They wore the military dress uniforms adopted by every member of their military – a high-necked, plain black jacket with matching black slacks and silver trim. The only real ornamentation on them was the small silver starburst symbol that pinned their jackets together.
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“Mr. Reynolds, Mrs. Reynolds.” One of them said in a gravelly voice.
Kayden looked at the man. While Ali and her sister had done a remarkable job at removing most of their monstrous qualities over time, there was still no way they could be mistaken for human ever again. Their skin was a bluish grey, and their eyes had an otherworldly ethereal blue light to them. If they chose to have hair it was uniformly grey, and many of them still had scars from where the Voidborn Queen had implanted them with cybernetics.
“Officer.” Kayden said, not knowing the man’s name.
“This way please.” The officer said, holding out his hand to the right.
They followed the man into a side entrance where the rest of Kayden’s wives were waiting. Mirana had her hood pulled back as she talked amicably with Elara, recounting a story about their recent adventures. Dawn sat in the corner nursing a baby while Anna, Ali, and Ashley pored over the speeches they were about to deliver. Each woman was similarly attired to Selina, wearing a smattering of ball gowns and cocktail dresses.
“Finally, he’s here!” Anna said excitedly as she looked up.
The unexpected shout startled the baby, who immediately unlatched and started to cry. Anna went bright red and moved to comfort the little boy but Kayden was faster, kneeling by Dawn’s side in a flash. Her tired eyes smiled at the sight of him and she handed him the boy, causing him to stop crying almost immediately.
“He really is a daddy’s boy.” Dawn said, pulling her gown up to cover herself. “He settles as soon as he knows that you’re here.”
Uncaring about the drool he was no doubt about to receive on his nice suit, Kayden turned the boy over before placing his head against his chest and bouncing slightly. His hand ran across the boy’s back softly as he spoke to him in a gentle tone.
“Is that right Grey? Are you a daddy’s boy?”
The boy burped in reply before letting out a little giggle, causing everyone in the room to chuckle. Kayden continued to sway softly as he kissed Dawn on the cheek before turning to Ashley.
“Are we ready?”
“Yes. All we have to do is endorse the inclusion of the Starborn into the Human-Kel-Vrul alliance, smile for the picture, and we can head back to Sanctuary.”
“Good, because I’m already itching to take this suit off.”
“I’m glad, because I’m itching to get that suit off you.” Selina replied, running a hand along his back.
“She’s not the only one.” Anna chimed in ahead of him.
Grinning to himself, Kayden took a moment to look around at the family he’d created. The galaxy still had problems, sure – the frontier of known space was constantly expanding, reintegration of the Starborn into galactic society would be difficult, and dissident groups were always forming: everything from rogue Vrul executors who escaped their purge to anti-Starborn terrorist groups to Kel supremacists. But those were the sorts of problems that the next generation of heroes were more than capable of solving – something he was content to let them do.
In the family he’d created, he’d found the freedom he’d always craved. And nothing in the galaxy was worth giving that up for.
___
Author’s Note: That’s it!
Thank you for reading Synthesis: Retribution. I hope you enjoyed reading the entire trilogy as much as I enjoyed writing it. These books would not exist without your reviews, feedback, support, and comments – so from the bottom of my heart, thank you. You (the reader) are amazing, and I want you to know that.
If you’ll indulge me a little longer…
With this book, Kayden Reynolds’ story is complete. It feels a bit sad saying goodbye to him and his wives but I always planned on ending his story this way. The universe is a big place to explore though, and maybe if I feel inspired I’ll return to tell a different story in the same setting – one with a fresh set of characters and perspectives.
I’ll miss blowing things up with him though.
I plan on taking a bit of a break before retuning to writing, so I can deal with all the ‘life’ stuff that’s happened this year. Royal Blooded isn’t done, and I’ve been sitting on an idea for awhile that I think is going to be truly special. If you’re craving more of my writing in the mean time, I recommend you check out one of my other series – available in both eBook and Audiobook form! I hope to see you there.
-F