{Ishkur | Bridge}
“We don’t need to talk about Rayne anymore, because she’ll come back. And that’s the end of this discussion.”
Tameka knew this was what Xelan needed to hear. Not getting to say goodbye to Rayne would haunt Tameka’s dreams and the corner of every quiet moment. Not one breath would she take that Tameka wouldn’t think, “No one was there for Rayne’s last one.” But Fury knew her best friend. Knew that martyr to her marrow—her soul. Rayne would want them to continue leading the Vast Collective in her name. The galaxy was made safe by one girl—and a truly extraordinary one at that.
Tameka wiped the tears from her raw and scalded cheeks, suddenly wondering what her hair and makeup must look like. Her clothes were singed and torn after the battle and rescuing Silence. She could feel the bruises under her eyes.
Xelan brought her back to him for another hug and whispered in her ear, “You look beautiful, Fury.”
A warmth adhered to their sides, and without looking, Tameka knew it was Pax. Their family was whole again.
Tameka wanted a long vacation, but so much work lay ahead of them. Oh! “Wingmaster, I have this crazy idea, and I’d like you to hear me out.”
It broke her heart to hear Xelan sound so scooped out and empty, but he didn’t hesitate. “I’m listening.” He also didn’t let her go.
Tameka had so many ideas and knew exactly where to begin. Throw herself into rebuilding and save grief for later. “We have work to do. Now. We need to terraform Ishkur’s continents and oceans—”
“Razor uploaded Torrentus here at my request.” Xelan was on the same page.
The thought of adopting the creature lit Tameka’s darkened heart. “That’s great. We’ll need it to make these people some homes and start restoring the planets they’re from, including Cinder. I’m pretty sure I can reverse what happened to Li—”
Xelan separated them enough to crush her mouth with his in a hard and desperate kiss. It tasted of gratitude and loss.
Pax gasped, “Daddy!”
They stopped and looked down to find Pax red as a beet before he snickered and ran under the terminal to continue playing.
A little breathless and feeling less bruised, Tameka asked, “What was that for?” She glimpsed Korac, sitting shirtless and cross-legged at Sagan’s side. He’d heard what she said about Li and nodded in deep regard.
Xelan asked, “What do you think about becoming the leader of a galaxy?”
That brought Tameka back to Xelan’s eyes, blinking. “What? Like President?”
He chuckled, and it reminded her of broken glass. Fractured but repairable. “No. More like Empress.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh, you’re not joking.”
While Xelan shook his head, Tameka thought about how much this man confounded her. Leader of a galaxy. One in need of healing and growth, a mixing of cultures and a blending of histories.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
In Rayne’s name.
Tameka smiled. “I’ve got a better idea.” She climbed onto her tiptoes and whispered in his ear.
When she set back down, Xelan grinned at her, and it was more his true signature one than a ghost of it. After which, he said, “I got you.”
Tameka returned the expression. “Let’s start by restoring the comms. We should be hearing from people by now.”
Hand-in-hand, they walked over to Pax’s playground. Quick to focus on something other than grief, Tameka’s man fell into the task and traversed the Aegis technology with ease. While Xelan worked, there were so many questions Tameka wanted to ask him. About his past and how an empire came to be his future. But even as she considered those curiosities, her body ached for sleep. True rest and a good meal. Some amazing sex. And a healthy amount of crying in each other’s arms—
The conduit to Enki was still open. There was nothing on the other side. The first bridge was gone, destroyed in Rayne’s destabilization. It was the past.
Gently, Tameka tugged on Xelan’s fancy coat. He glanced down, and she gestured toward the conduit. He let out a shuddering breath before pressing a key projected onto his arm and closed the way to Enki forever. She tucked in closer to him and felt Pax hugging him from beneath the terminal.
“She’s coming around,” Kyle announced from his vigil over Silence.
Smith beamed nearby.
Lucas stood beside him, pretending not to glance at Andrew. He said, “There’s much to rejoice.”
Distracted, Tameka almost didn’t notice the lights on her skin. Symbols and shapes. She looked up at Xelan. “What?”
He smiled, proud and cool. “You’ll need to learn how to run this thing. Press this button.” He pointed at the u-shape on her forearm. “It’ll release the signal dampener and allow us to communicate.”
Tameka’s grin was a fragile thing, but she was happy to make it for Xelan. She pressed her arm—
“—Hear us? Over.” Bones was on the all-frequency.
“This is Ginger. T.a.o.’s just arrived. Rendezvous in three minutes. Over.”
Chris came on next. “Okay. Us next, and then we’ll be gathered for when leadership returns. Over.”
Miy asked, “Has anyone seen a trace of Imminent’s army? Did Razor send them here with us? Over.”
“That’s a good point.” Xelan bit his thumbnail before selecting a few more projections. “Here Tameka, this one will show us destinations of Enki’s last conduits from the archives.”
Still delighted with the novelty of Aegis tech, she pressed the button on her bicep. A report appeared over the swirling black flames below. The information in it stunned her. “No fucking way.”
Xelan had ‘I told you so’ face.
Korac was looking at it as he stood and crossed the room to them. “Does that say Razor routed those conduits elsewhere on Enki? So those Imminent soldiers…”
Were all dead. Rayne killed the last of Imminent in the blast. No one needed to say it aloud.
These quiet moments of shared grief would never go away.
Tameka stared through the glass floor at the maelstrom below. Cascading Light spun, endless as the time ahead of them. Softly, she asked, “Were either of you ever tempted to touch it?”
Korac shook his head and looked behind him at Sagan, unconscious, and laid out comfortably on his clothes. “She was unexpected. A complete surprise. Everything made sense the moment she hit me. Seeing into the Probabilities—the futures—would take all the unforeseen away.” He smirked. “Never.”
Tameka smiled and wasn’t at all begrudged to say, “Congratulations.”
Korac nodded. “Thanks. I’d better go coordinate with Bones on the comms.” He stepped away to give them privacy.
Tameka’s eyes went to Xelan, and she quirked a brow.
He was working through some function on his forearm when he said, “I think by knowing the future, we try to manipulate it to our end and possibly make it happen.”
“Self-fulfilling prophecy?”
Xelan smiled at her and nodded. “Exactly. You?”
Tameka glanced at Andrew. “I used to.” Then she looked down at Pax, playing at their feet. “Hey, kiddo?”
Pax peered up at her with a grin.
“When did you first see the Probabilities?”
Without turning away from his drawing, Pax said in three pitches, “When I first existed, I knew. When I first opened my eyes, I saw what the others saw. I knew and could see everything at the time they knew and could see. But not what happened next. I needed the black fire for that. I was the last of myselves to touch it, late because I wanted more time with father. More time with you.” He punctuated it with a giggle and a snort.
Both parents exchanged a look.
“Okay. That’ll take some getting used to.”