The reason why full operation of Heffin's Gate meant so much. Whole cities could be destroyed without risk to the fragile resources of Inar'Ahben.
Valdas muted the tri-comm. ["Keep me informed."]
["Yes, sir."]
She glanced out at the battle. Her army engaged the enemy, while the forces commanded by Dallars and Shourees formed up to flank them. Very good.
At the central holographic display, she touched the green dot marking the Crystal Keeper. The view ballooned to show her the girl and her escort.
Her escort. Him! Rage boiled up within her. He was the one who knifed her. He led the rebels who stole the girl. Valdas noticed her wings up and pulled them close. She wanted to fly out and confront him herself, to repay him for nearly killing her.
She passed her hand over the scar on her cheek. Their medics could only do so much in an emergency; saving her life had been the priority. Maybe when this was over, she would have it removed. Maybe. It had come to represent the sacrifice she made for her empress, and she appreciated the greater respect of others. It should never have happened.
Her nails scraped the metal of the control panel around the projector. He was in the open, but she was stuck in the ship overseeing the entire operation.
["One minute, sir."]
Not enough time for face-to-face combat.
But she had one other option. It would be risky, but worth it. One shot was all she needed.
["Weapons. Give me firing control."]
["Sir?"] The woman turned from her seat across the command deck.
["Do it!"] She wouldn't miss.
* * *
["Cris!"]
Raea caught a flash from the corner of her eye and flapped to halt her forward momentum. Corsa.
The resonance warmed with only a thought. Don't kill her, she said to herself. She lifted her hands. Cris dropped away.
Left with a clear shot, Raea released the energy. The hit sent Corsa spinning away and plummeting.
["Thanks."] Cris gasped.
["You're all right."] Relief poured through her with the chill of using the Starfire.
["Of course I am. Now get moving."] He flapped to swoop up, while Corsa continued to fall behind him.
Raea twisted and caught a smile on Leksel's face, but he said nothing. Ahead, the two armies approached. Several of them opened fire. Those couple of seconds might have cost her the opening she needed.
["Up."] Leksel flapped to climb. Raea saw it immediately. Of course! They could come in from above the portal if they had to.
A flash of light temporarily blinded her, the crack of thunder ringing in her ears.
["Leks!"] Cris screamed over the tri-comm.
Raea blinked away the spots, her wings spread to glide. Two dark brown sets of wings dove, one after the other. No. The spots in her eyes only made it seem that way. She caught one folded set of wings and only one and a partial wing on the other, if it was that. The frame of a wing was there, but hardly any feathers.
["Cris."]
["I got him. Raea. Get to the portal!"]
["But Leksel—"]
["I'll take care of him."] Cris caught Leksel and opened his wings to stop falling. ["Go on. Get home."]
A second shot flashed behind her. The thunder vibrated through her.
Again it happened, but she saw it this time, and this time, the larger ship fired on the smaller ship.
["It's only a warning."] Cris panted, his words seeming more for himself. ["They wouldn't dare fight in atmosphere."]
No way did she want to get between the leviathans. Raea held steady. She was so close now. A head on flight and in a minute she'd be home free.
["Raea…Go. Now…They're too stunned."] Leksel's voice was hoarse between breaths.
She swallowed her hesitations. Leksel was right, and he was alive. ["Thanks for everything."]
__________
Homecoming
"This is so weird. A cool kind of weird. You know?"
Yeah. Elis knew. Josh had said it something like half a dozen times throughout the evening. He should be up in his room on the computer, digging for information. Instead he sat on the sofa in the front sitting room, next to Josh with Nare on the opposite end.
"I didn't know killing aliens could be so much fun," Nare said.
As Raea would say, whatever. He didn't need Nare's sarcasm. She should have returned to Colorado already, but that would defeat her purpose. She intended to stay until she antagonized him to death. He could make that happen sooner if she really wanted, or if she gave up her oath of tying him to the bed if he tried.
Did the temperature go up in the house? He warmed suddenly.
"Your hands are glowing," Josh said.
The Starburst marks, but he didn't seek the resonance. Nare held her bare hands out to check her faintly glowing marks. A second later, she met his eyes with the confirmation he expected.
His heart thumped against his chest, yanking him to his feet.
"What is it?" Josh followed him out of the room.
Elis nearly slammed the closet door open.
"A Starfire portal." Nare reached past for her leather jacket.
"A what?"
"The Shirukan are back." His fingers couldn't work fast enough to tie his shoes. His chance for revenge had come. Whatever they wanted, he'd make sure they didn't get it. But what more could there be, unless…
Impossible!
Emotions choked him. What if he was right?
He finished tying his shoes and noticed his jacket in the air next to him. Nare smiled. "Maybe."
"Maybe what?" Josh gasped. "You don't think—Raea!"
Elis left his jacket open and raced out the front door, pulling his gloves from his pocket as he ran past the blue house on the corner and crossed the street to the field beyond. The stars crept over the east, but the red glow of the sun lingered in the west. The black disk hovered in the southeastern sky. So far nothing came from it. What was going on?
He ran over the hill and called on the resonance. His back ached with the rapid growth of wings, but it didn't stop him. He flapped hard in his anxiety.
Raea. Please let it be you.
A glimpse of white-blue flashed beneath him. Nare followed.
Could the portal have opened any farther away? It took forever to even get close, like a dream where the target moves farther the faster one runs towards it.
Was it Raea? Was it the Shirukan? Was it someone else? Who would come? Or was it Saffir waiting for him? Had something happened?
Please be all right.
The winds swirled stronger the closer he flew. He adjusted without problems, shifting his wings to stay balanced. The resonance kept him warm, but the evening was warmer than usual too. It wasn't a dream. The portal was real.
A lone figure emerged. Not the black-clad figure he feared, but one of lighter clothes.
Elis angled slightly, gaining momentum with the gravity. That figure struggled against the turbulence caused by the portal, heading straight for him and growing more familiar with the shrinking distance.
His breath froze in his lungs. It had to be! Raea.
Emotions choked him, spilling out in tears that blurred his vision. Elis wiped them away, flying for the brown wings. She was alive.
* * *
Raea hesitated. Elis didn't seem to be slowing down. A midair collision was not her idea of a homecoming. "Elis!"
Okay. That didn't slow him. In fact, he seemed to speed up. Did he wear his tri-comm? Duh. Big help that would be if he wasn't on the same frequency. There had to be another way to stop him.
The warmth of the resonance faded, leaving her chilled. Raea held her wings out in a glide and glanced back. The black disk shrank away. No one followed, nor could they now. A few Shirukan had pursued her on the other side, but the flyers from the larger ship had intercepted them a few seconds before she passed through the portal.
She hoped Cris and Leksel would be all right. Leksel was a big guy for his smal
ler brother to fly with, but Cris had seemed to manage through sheer determination in what he lacked for strength.
The winds died with the disappearance of the portal, leaving a calm night. So much peace. She'd forgotten.
She'd also let her herself get distracted from Elis until he bumped into her, but not the hard slam she expected. Rather, his body knocked her gently, and his arms wrapped tight around her bare back. The faint musky scent she caught from him fueled an onslaught of fond memories. Oh, God. She'd missed him.
"Raea." He sniffed. "You're alive."
"Yeah." She had survived, and in his arms, she felt more alive than any of the time she had run for her life. Her eyes watered with tears, but she had no time to cry. He flew carrying her, but he couldn't keep that up long.
A ways off, Nare's bright wings stood out against the dark sky. She flew away towards the lights of town, which called Raea home.
Elis didn't let her go while circling back, and Raea held on tight, her chin on his shoulder. She took a deep breath and noticed fresh air. Prairie air. Not the fishy, ocean smell of Inar'Ahben. So much better, although a bit chilly.
Elis landed in their field east of town, flapping to slow his descent with her in his arms. This was where she belonged. With him. In his arms. Forever.
He felt the same as she remembered. His unsteady breath blew warmly through her hair. Tickles ran down her spine with a shiver from the cold air. He trembled next to her, but she snuggled close, her arms beneath his coat to keep warm as much as to be close. Her hands brushed the feathers of his wings on his back, like the small feather with her crystal.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "Please, don't leave again."
"Never again." She swallowed and lifted her head. The faint light of the streetlights touched those deep purple eyes. She loved that color, but not the redness around them.
He lifted a hand from her back to wipe his eyes. "I thought…" He sniffed, fresh tears shining from his eyes. "I thought you were dead."
He did? She hadn't thought of that. It made sense that he would consider her dead. The Shirukan intended that.
Raea cleared her throat. "The rebels rescued me. They helped me reach Saffir." She could tell him the details later. Right now she could barely talk through the emotions choking her.
His lips trembled, and he bit them.
"I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I'm so so sorry, Elis." Seeing him cry made her weepy. He shouldn't be crying. It was wrong on him. She wanted to soothe his tears, to see that beautiful smile.
Raea lifted a hand to his face to brush the black hair that fell in his eyes. She missed everything about him, even the wild hair that refused to stay out of his face. Her hand slid to his cheek and he held it there with a hand over hers.
"I missed you so much it hurt…I don’t care about bonding. I—" She inhaled and let it out slowly to steady her breathing and the rush of her pulse when he leaned down with his forehead next to hers. Her insides fluttered in anticipation. "I'll never leave you. Whatever happens, let it. I can't imagine my life without you."
Black wings lifted, cutting off the light from the street lamps.
The touch of his fingertips on the skin of her back sent shivers of pleasure though her. His touch had always inspired her, but not like this. It stopped the tears. She wanted more. She always had. Just do it, Elis. He was afraid now, although she knew he wanted to. He brushed her hair from her face.
Enough already. Raea slid her arms around his neck and pulled him close. The touch of his lips stole her breath and sent a ripple through her body that lifted her wings. He pressed against her, his arms tightening so she couldn’t have escaped if she wanted to. She didn't want to.
Those few seconds couldn't make up for several days lost apart, but it evaporated the time.
It couldn't go on forever though. He lifted his head, the sparkle returning to his eyes with a hint of a smile. Now that was the Elis she knew.
"I love you," he whispered.
"I love you too."
That crooked smile infected her. But she wanted more closeness, especially to warm her bare back, although the wings helped there.
No objections came from him when she slid her arms around his body and laid her head against his chest, except for one thing. She'd almost forgotten the tri-comm. Raea pulled it from her cheek and pressed against him. His heart pounded in her ear. Life was perfect again.
"Now can I interrupt?"
Raea tensed. She knew that voice.
"I think you just did."
Raea stood up on her toes and peeked over Elis's shoulder and the black wings now against his back. "Josh!" He stepped away from Nare.
Elis turned with her to face them, his arm around her waist.
"Where'd you come from?" He'd seen her, all of them.
"Well, that's a lovely greeting after we've been worrying about you for four days."
She pulled her wings tight. Too little too late. His face said as much; he didn't look surprised in the least. Wasn't he the smallest bit excited about seeing Elis with wings, his Dark Angel, which had fascinated him so much?
Something was up.
Josh's eyes looked past her. "My turn?"
Elis's hand vanished from her back.
Okay. What was going on? Not that she wasn’t glad to see Josh. But what the hell was going on? They were both way too calm about this.
Josh embraced her without hesitation. Now she was really confused. Still, it wouldn't be home without her friends. She welcomed his hug.
He stepped back with a big grin. Now that was the Josh she expected.
"Elis told me, or showed me."
He did? What else happened while she was gone?
And only a shrug from Mister Dark Angel himself.
"You're not mad I didn't tell you?"
"That's all right. I understand. Really." His eyes lit up. "But this is still wicked cool, Raea. You gotta admit. I mean, you have wings!"
His enthusiasm made her laugh, partly because she agreed, but mostly because she was ready to smile and laugh after all the fear and worry about returning. "It is pretty cool, but that's not the half of it."
"You have to tell me about the other world. You were on another planet!"
"I know, but can it wait? I'll tell you some other time."
"Sure. No problem, but you are going to tell me."
Raea grabbed the finger he pointed at her and laughed with Josh.
Beyond Josh, Nare's wings shrank behind her, a good idea.
"Now, I just want to go home." If she could get past shrinking her wings. She hadn't done it in several days. Living without the pain of transformation had been the least of her concerns. Living without the wings, she would appreciate for a while.
At a thought, she found the resonance and focused the heat of it on her back. Pain seized her body from the quick degeneration of bone and tissues. Just when she had gotten used to not having to change. Oh, well. The price of being home was worth it.
None too soon, it ended. Raea took a deep breath and shivered, rubbing her hands on her arms for warmth.
Until a warm coat settled over her shoulders and back. The familiar scent made her smile. Elis returned her smile, his arm sliding around her waist.
"Thanks." She slipped her arms in the oversized sleeves and wrapped an arm around his back. "Let's go home."
Josh walked with Nare ahead, leaving her alone with Elis. She leaned against him on their walk. It was over, at least for now. She was home and doubted Saffir would be captured. Starfire Tower seemed to have some good defenses.
At the crest of the hill, she stopped and stared at the sleepy town dotted with lights for the night. McClarron. Her aunt's and uncle's house stood at the end of the street sloping down to the school. In all the houses, one or more windows glowed with the soft lights of occupancy. The streets ran into the distance, mostly empty and quiet but for the few cars parked along the curbsides.
Josh's and Nare's unintelligible voices carried
through the quiet to them. They reached the road at the edge of town and crossed.
"Nothing's changed," Elis said.
"I have." More than she expected. This place felt strange now. In all her years, she'd never experienced that. "These last few days I saw more wonders than I would expect in a lifetime."
"Inar'Ahben?"
She recognized the smile in his voice.
Mmm. The light squeeze around her waist chased away any doubts about Elis. He loved her; that would never change. A lifetime with him wouldn't be enough for her to make it up to him, but she would cherish every moment trying.
"You'll have to tell me about it." His breath blew through her hair a moment before his arm pressed her forward.
The night was perfect. And with Josh aware of her secret, a weight had lifted from her mind. "You showed Josh the truth, huh?"
"Yes."
"What'd he do?" Oh, to have been there!
"Fell over."
She could imagine it. A perfect comedic Josh moment. Raea giggled. "I wish I could have seen it!"
"Me too. I wish you could have been there to see it." His voice dropped. "That was the night you were taken."
Oh. That night. Guilt had a horrible way of returning.
Raea bit her tongue, staring ahead at the sobering memories. Josh and Nare passed the yellow house. Nare must have decided to walk Josh home. He lived only a few blocks away and the night was perfect for a walk.
After a few steps, she shook away the guilt and asked, "Anything happen while I was away?"
"Not much."
"That's good. I guess."
They walked in silence. At the paved road, Elis tensed next to her. She saw nothing to alarm her.
Then again, maybe there was something—the silhouettes of two people in the car parked across the street from her house.
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