Earth

2027

Jace hadn't been able to prepare himself properly for the transport. Whereas Rory had been given a pod ten years ago, Vehru had said they didn't need the diversion of pretending like any equipment was required. Heat enveloped Jace on his planet as he waited for transport and then he was standing in an empty hallway when he'd expected a conference room with fellow soldiers.

That was when his heart had stopped beating in his chest.

Because there Aeryn stood, bathed in the light of an alien star, with her flaming hair curled about her chin, and her bronze eyes bright. Aeryn. His Aeryn.

This wasn't real. He blinked, disoriented, and certain something had gone terribly wrong during the transport. He was dreaming. Dying, maybe. Aeryn had come to say goodbye.

Another few seconds and his mind finally began to grasp that he was actually seeing her. He was afraid to accept it was real in case she would only be ripped away again, like when Vehru had given him the memory of the beach.

But then she said his name.

She remembered him. Desperation flooded her face when she took one step toward him, and another, and then ran to him, skidding to a stop once close as if she'd hit a wall.

Endlessly long day after day of missing her wrapped around his lungs and strangled him. Jace needed to touch her so badly that he couldn't move. He was frozen.

Tears sprinkled onto Aeryn's cheeks. Her fingers slid into his hair and she gasped.

"Say my name," she whispered.

His view of her blurred and he blinked away the tears, desperate to see her. Could he even speak? "Aeryn."

"It was the first thing I remembered about you. You were saying my name." She bit her lip. "Say it again."

He gazed at her face, wanting to memorize everything. "Aeryn," he whispered.

She settled her nose against his, lips close, and almost his. Almost, but not quite. "Jace."

It finally felt real. Jace had planned on saving her from this pain by avoiding her until he figured out what she'd been through this past decade, so he wouldn't make things harder on her. Here she was, though. Vehru had done this to him, but he was so consumed by Aeryn that he couldn't even feel the anger.

Jace told himself not to touch her, because it would only make it hurt more later, but his hands seemed to move on instinct–to grab what he'd lost and never let go this time. He wrapped his arms around her. "I tried to come for you. I swear I did."

She wilted against him and wept softly. "I know. I know you would never give up."

"How much do you remember?"

"A good amount now. It's still fuzzy but it's coming back." Aeryn sniffled. "What about the baby?"

Jace settled his head against her, pain carving through him. "He's safe. Happy." He breathed in her hair. Oh, fuck him. It was too much. Her nearness cut him straight to his core. He'd needed her so many times and hadn't been able to have her. "Really fucking stubborn."

Aeryn pulled back to see him, but he followed, helplessly drawn. He caught her face in his hands, fingers weaving through her hair, and stared into her eyes. "I will not let Vehru hurt you two." His voice trembled. "I swear it, Aeryn."

"I–"

A door opened and closed down the hall. Her eyes widened. Aeryn stumbled back. Eyes panicked. Voice broken. "I'm sorry." She looked away with guilt and shame evident. "I… I got married…"

The words echoed in his mind. He'd known it as soon as she jerked back, but even knowing, he couldn't actually grasp it. He'd expected she would have started a life here. Had made her promise she would. Still… Jace couldn't reconcile the broken pieces of their lives.

He stepped away from her, locking his jaw to trap any stray feeling that might show on his face.

As this other man approached, lanky and tall, Jace didn't need to see how Aeryn's eyes changed to know with certainty that she truly and deeply loved him as much as she'd ever loved Jace. She was a woman of great devotion. Of course, she would love this other man sincerely.

Where did that leave Jace, when she could scarcely even remember him?

"Rory." The husband rushed to fill in the distance and took her arm. The other man's eyes found him, more than just afraid. Terrified and violently protective. Accusing. "Who are you?"

Rory… So strange to hear…

She held the other man's arm. "He's–"

"I'm no threat to your wife." Jace took a step back. "Not to you either."

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

The man didn't believe him. Good. He wasn't a fool. "How did you get in?"

"Theo, we're safe." Aeryn squeezed his arm. "I promise."

Theo. The man who'd married his forever girl. It felt as if the world slowed.

"Do you know him?" This Theo guy asked.

Jace was relieved to know Aeryn had been loved. That much was clear. But that was supposed to be Jace's arm around her. Their life, their family, had been stolen from them, and now Aeryn loved someone else.

He couldn't even swallow. Had to get out of here. Vehru was such a bastard to drop him here. She better have turned off the cameras so that this encounter wasn't captured.

Aeryn's eyes were the last thing he saw before he turned away to go through a door that he hoped wouldn't be locked. Fortunately, it wasn't.

Unfortunately, it led straight to Vehru.

"You motherfucker," Jace growled.

Vehru stared at blank screens with her arms crossed and waited several seconds before looking at him. "Your plan not to see her was ridiculous."

The utterly mind-shattering emotional shitstorm she had dropped him into erupted as a dangerous rage in Jace's chest. Heat flooded his hands until his palms glowed with energy.

She sighed. "Control yourself or I'll have to do it for you."

"When I choose to see Aeryn is none of your business."

"It is my business when I'm the one who separated you. Besides, I need for you both to reconnect. This is important to her emotional state and her ability to decide what to do as Witness."

"I don't care."

Vehru faced him now with her voice softening. "Cut off the energy. You're going to start a war."

"Thought we were here to do that."

"You're not yourself. I'm shutting down your emotions."

His nostrils twitched. He let the energy die. "What did you expect when you dropped me right in front of her and the husband you didn't bother to tell me about?"

"I gave you the chance to ask questions after I saw her."

"And you told my kid he could come here. You have no excuse for your twisted games."

"I didn't tell him that. I said it was up to you."

Jace slinked closer to her. "Don't fuck with my kid anymore. And keep out of my relationship with my wife."

Vehru smoothed her hands over his temples. "Take the relief, for once."

The numbness spread and he tried in vain to reject it. He didn't want anything from her, not even something he desperately needed.

"I know you think I'm torturing you for fun." She leaned back against the wall, the look on her face something he didn't recognize on her. If he wasn't wrong, she looked pensive. "I'm sorry. It's not an option for you to ignore her, though. There's no time for your stubbornness."

There was no reason to talk to Vehru. She'd taken his rage from him, because she couldn't let him have anything, and without that tempting him, he wouldn't bother with her. So he clasped his hands behind his back and waited silently.

Soon the others arrived and the meeting Jace had been expecting began.

Faces he recognized filled the screens. He'd learned a great deal about each of the leaders and about plenty more Earth politicians. After so much time preparing, it was all happening, and there was no stopping it now.

"In order to continue our discussion," Vehru said. "I would like to introduce you to several of my generals who will be important to our operations here on Earth. I want you to know that there can be peace between us."

Jace could have snorted. Vehru brought them here to intimidate. Pure and simple. Judging by the looks on their faces, it had worked well enough.

When Vehru introduced him, he said nothing and didn't shift his gaze. Assauging their fears wouldn't help them but he wouldn't contribute to their panic either.

As the meeting continued–a pointless gesture because no one here would simply surrender their planet to Vehru without a fight–Jace thought about how Aeryn was still nearby. He remembered the look on her face when she'd recognized him and let the warmth he'd felt wash over him. It broke through even with how Vehru had numbed his mind.

There were some things she couldn't control.

Ten years and he'd never stopped loving Aeryn.

Vehru couldn't be allowed to hurt her again. Jace had promised to fight a long time ago and those plans had never changed. Only grown.

It would more than likely cost him his life to get away with what he planned, but that was a price he'd gladly pay if meant bringing Aeryn and Levi back together.

----------------------------------------

An Aerolux escorted Jace and the other generals away from the base far too fast for the Earthlings to be able to track. They each were dropped at different locations Vehru had chosen for them.

As he walked toward the cabin where he and his squad would hide out, he knew Vehru was taking actions right now that would turn this world upside down. He couldn't even think about it. Sleep. One night of sleep where he could stop existing for a few hours and then he could worry about the terrible mission before him.

When Jace entered the cabin, his body felt as weak as if he'd just returned home from a long battle against the rebels.

"Hey." Alix knocked on the wall next to him and hopped off the couch as Jace entered.

Nikka and Lyon rushed out from the room where Alix had just hit the wall. They all watched him nervously.

"You okay?" Nikka asked.

He was too exhausted to talk but he had to say something. "Yeah."

Nikka gave Lyon a side-eye that Jace tried to ignore as he walked for the back room where he spotted an empty bed.

"We got a message already from the nanny," Lyon said. "Levi's doing much better. He played with that annoying neighbor boy and trained for a while before bed."

Jace slowed to a stop and looked up at his old friend, thinking of his son back home. Almost managed to smile. "That's good. Will you write back for me? Tell him we're safe and I love him."

Lyon nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, sure."

He walked forward again when from the third room, he noticed the Replica that had hijacked Trin's body and mind watching them. Jace slammed the door shut in her face so hard he heard the wood crack. He didn't bother looking to see what he'd broken. Instead fell face down on the bed.

"Go," Lyon said.

Not necessary. Jace needed to say it but nothing came out. His eyes slid shut.

A soft hand settled between his shoulders as Nikka moved onto the bed beside him. Instead of talking or asking questions, she just sat there, and the mercy of her not making him speak actually managed to bring a small amount of comfort.

They deserved to know that he'd seen Aeryn, who apparently went by Rory now and had married someone who seemed very protective of her. The conflicting emotions all that brought made it impossible for him to speak. He was just too tired.

Everyone had grieved the loss of Aeryn, especially after what had happened to Trin. It was weak of Jace to lay there silently.

But they let him. They didn't ask him a single question.

"She remembers," he said and that was all he managed for a while.

The moment they'd spent their lives preparing for quickly approached and Jace still didn't feel ready. He had to pull himself together before Liberation Day began.