“You can trust me,” said Braggs, likely sensing that this was his only way to make it out alive and with the stone in his possession. As he said these words, he deactivated the explosive device he had in his hand and sat it back down in his bag. Jane looked at Damion.
“Fine,” said Damion. “But if you don’t pay us, I will personally come find you and make sure that you live long enough to regret it. We found you once. We can find you again.”
There was a flash of fear in Victor’s Bragg’s face and Jane was pleased to see it.
“Okay,” was all he said.
***
They were alone again after they left Victor Braggs and the planet of Boruna behind. Just her and Damion, alone once more in the Captain’s
quarters.
“It’s been a long couple of days,” said Jane. They were standing apart from one another for the moment, just looking into each other’s eyes.
“Why did you do that back there?” sad Damion. There was no displeasure in his voice, just curiosity.
“Because,” she said, trying to find the words to complete her thought. “People deserve to hold on to their memories. If they can. And…..” she paused as she tried to articulate her thoughts.
“And?” Damion echoed.
“Sometimes, people don’t need to die,” she said at last. “Sometimes, violence doesn’t have to be the answer.” Her mind drifted back to the Umbra. Then Sabetha Grey. And of course, to Bernard Winter and his men. When it came to all of them, violence had always been a part of the solution. So, for once, it felt good that it wasn’t. For once, no one needed to get hurt.
Damion nodded and she could see that he understood. She could also see the longing in his face. The desire to hold her close, kiss her, be with her. These thoughts in her head, Jane thought they might be separate physically right now, but emotionally they had never been closer.
“I’m never going back to Cordovia,” said Jane and she meant it. She would always hold it in her memory, but she was ready to leave it behind for good.
“I never want to see my father again,” said Damion and his voice was strained as he said it, but she knew that he meant it as well.
“Well then. My home. Your father. Our pasts. Without them, what do we have?” She already knew the answer but she wanted to hear him say it.
“Each other.” And then the words materialized. “I love you,” he said. They seemed to drift through the air like whispers on the winds of space. But they were real. They were true.
“I love you too.” It was all she wanted to say. That and nothing more.
They closed the distance between one another in a moment and soon she was wrapped up in his arms, his lips touching hers, a silent, passionate acquiescence to the truth that they had known for a while. Their future was not their past. Their future was each other.
They kissed in front of the window, which offered a vision of what lay just beyond: The mysterious midnight of space and the adventure it promised.
There they stood kissing, while the stars watched them. The past was behind them and their future ahead.
End of Book 3
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About the Author:
Charlotte A. Harper
Charlotte A. Harper was born and subsequently forged in the colds of Michigan. Growing up, she cultivated a sense of adventure and a desire for thrills and spent her time thinking and fantasizing about a great many things. Now she writes those fantasies down. Strong men and even stronger women are what she likes to write about and she loves to explore relationships in which two dominant personalities clash against one another in a battle of wills. She believes that the stronger the fire, the brighter it burns. She currently lives in California with her husband and their two cats, Bobo and Pluto.
Rise of Winter Page 6