"We already are," he says.
Simple.
Certain.
Solid.
And somehow, I believe him.
The stars are still burning overhead when Traz shifts beside me, pulling something small and rough from his pocket.
I blink, confused.
It’s a ring.
Handmade.
Crude and beautiful, twisted from a strip of salvaged wire, polished smooth by calloused fingers.
My breath catches.
He holds it out, voice low and steady.
"No priest. No papers. Just you and me."
I stare at him, heart hammering so loud I’m sure he can hear it.
"I’m not just your protector," he says, voice rough with feeling. "Not just your mate."
He swallows hard.
"I’m your man. Forever. If you’ll have me."
The world goes soft and sharp all at once.
Tears burn down my cheeks before I can stop them.
I laugh through them, nodding so hard it makes my head spin.
"Yeah," I whisper, choking on it. "Yeah, you stubborn, beautiful bastard. I’ll have you."
Traz slips the ring onto my finger with shaking hands.
He presses his forehead to mine, breathing me in.
And under the endless stretch of stars.
We make a promise no one can ever tear apart.
Not this time.
Not ever.
CHAPTER 30
TRAZ
The fire crackles low in the hearth, casting amber light across Kelli’s bare shoulder as she rests her head on my chest. Her breath still comes uneven, her fingers tracing idle patterns over the scar beneath my collarbone—a relic from a job on Xyris Prime. I catch her hand, press her palm flat against the steady thud of my heartbeat. She smiles, her lips brushing my skin.
