I nod. “I will never let another come between us, my Little Vaeyark. You are mine forever.”
My mouth descends on her delicate flesh, licking and tasting in tune with the writhing of her body, and when I claim her, and we are joined, it is with the desire that my seed will take root, and that we will be blessed with a child of our own, a daughter or a son, a little version of us that will forever bind us more than we are now. If that is even possible.
And when she falls asleep in my arms, exhausted and sighing, I make a silent vow to do anything in my power to keep her safe.
Even if it means disavowing my allegiance to Tempest.
Epilogue
RAMSEY
It is late when we meet, after the sun has gone down and the village is settled.
Grixis and Eddard are waiting for me in The Tomb, and to my surprise, Jacek was sent away.
“What is this about?” I ask, feeling tension as thick as the brisk season fog.
“Let us go to the communication room,” Grixis says. “So that you might show me the message that so worried you.”
Grixis and Eddard watch the message three times before turning to me, their faces rife with dismay.
It is Grixis who finally speaks. “I called you both here as we are the only three who have truly joined with the Penticari, blending our lives and homes.”
“There will be others—” I start.
“And when there are, they will join us here.”
“What is here?”
Grixis sucks in a breath and crosses his arms over his chest. “A council, of a sort. One different from the one meant to lead the tribe.”
“Why?”
He looks at the screen, his face tense, his teeth baring. “We cannot let this happen, but in order to stop it, there must be great sacrifice.”
My brow pinches. “But can we stop it?”
“That is why we are here. To mull over that question, as I have yet to find an answer.”
“We cannot do this alone,” Eddard insists.
“There is no other we can trust, for if some were to find out what I intend to do, anyone conspiring with me would be tried for treason.”
I nod as the implication of his words hit.
“What can we do?” I finally ask.
Grixis looks to Eddard, then back at me. “It is unclear, but we cannot let it get to a point where Tempest is alerted to our progress.”
“How could we stop that?” Eddard asks. “Is there a way we can turn off the alerts?”
Grixis looks down and closes his eyes for a long moment before looking back up at Eddard. “I think it best it never gets to that point.”
“You mean to stop the terraformer altogether?” I blurt, shocked by the audacity.
“What is the point of terraforming if we never intend for Tempest to come?”
“Because we could delay it,” I argue. “We could have it come decades later, after we have joined with the Penticari again and again, and our offspring are strong…” My words trail off as I realize how foolish they are, because with the engineering of the planet comes certain death for the Penticari, for what hope do we have of keeping them alive in the blistering cold? “I…I understand.”
