Arrival.
My teeth crunched on my sweater tie as I picked at the sheets. We were nearing Kal’s planet. The closer we got, the harder time I had breathing. Being with Kal didn’t scare me; rather, I worried about what living on another planet would be like. How would I get along with his family? Would we be able to stay mated?
Kal flopped on the bed behind me, yanking me onto his lap. He bit my neck, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to get my attention, then licked it. “My Husband, it will be alright.”
“I’m freaking out.”
He paused, and I knew ‘freaking’ probably hadn’t translated well. Kal said, “It will all be fine.”
“What’s going to happen tomorrow?”
“We’ll dock at the space station. A group of guards will meet us, and you, Lucy, and I will take a private shuttle to the palace. We will have the night to get situated before meeting my family.”
“And Lucy?”
“It will be the same as here. A force field will surround our quarters. NAID will be uploaded to my system, since I’m overseeing the project on her. There is also the matter of the scientists not wanting to unite her with the main hub, as she’s showing independence. But NAID will keep Lucy safe.”
“Alright.”
“The Admiral Ven is going to be shut down for a few months while it’s finished and a new NAID is installed.”
“What’s going to happen to Captain Talvax and Urgg?” I asked.
“They’ll be transferred to a new ship, or she’ll request desk duty until the Admiral Ven is finished.”
Our little home of a few months wasn’t going to be here. Well, it would be, but we wouldn’t be here.
“I think I’ll miss it here,” I said.
“We can come back someday.”
Clutching his hand, I asked, “You’ll stay with me tomorrow, right?”
“I won’t leave your side for even a moment. I promise.”
“I’m going to miss you,” Urgg said, hugging me. I swear my bones creaked from the force of their tight grasp.
Patting their back, I squeaked, “Air.”
Urgg released me. “Sorry. I’m just going to miss you so much.”
“You’re going to be on the same planet with me for a few months,” I commented. Talvax had decided to wait for the Admiral Ven to be redone rather than have a new assignment.
“That’s true.” They wiped the tears away. “But we won’t be on the same ship.”
“We’ll be in the same city. We can still see each other every day.”
“It’s not the same,” they warbled, smacking my back and sending me reeling.
Stretching, I glanced at Wyn who stood beside me. He was going to join the research team regarding NAID’s independence. I would see him all the time, which was unbelievably nice. Urgg, Wyn, and NAID were my first friends in a very long time, but they were more than that—they were my family.
I fisted my hands in the pockets of my hoodie. “We’re friends, right?”
Urgg said, “We drank together. Next time, we’ll bleed and puke together. It binds people. We’re comrades, friends, and siblings.”
“Not how I would put it,” Wyn remarked dryly, “but they’re right. You’re not getting rid of us, Seth.”
Smiling, I, for once, was looking forward to my future.
