Page 75 of He Will Always Love Me

Everyone shouts their hellos. Sarai looks intensely at her brother. “Are you staying out of trouble?”

Next to him, Raylia lets out a short bark of laughter. Kai elbows her. “Come on, sis. You know trouble finds me, not the other way around.”

“Sure,” Sarai says, dragging out the word. She smiles. “It’s good to see you little brother.”

“Likewise, big sis.”

“What about me?” Raylia asks, crossing her arms, though there’s a grin on her face.

Sarai snorts. “Oh, please. I trust you to take care of yourself. How’s the research going?”

Raylia beams. “Fantastic. We’re closer than ever to unlocking the secrets of an extinct race that I believe left behind some advanced technology we could use.”

She has gotten her mother’s brain and is using it to unlock the secrets of the universe. Speaking of her mother, Libby steps closer to the device.

“Are you both sleeping well? No one’s given you a hard time about your appearance, have they? Are you eating well? Raylia, I know how research can go and how you can get sucked into it and forget to eat.”

Kai laughs. “Mom, we’re both adults now, remember? We’re fine, I promise.”

“Yeah and if anyone tries to mess with us, we’ll just use the moves Dad taught us,” Raylia says with a smirk.

That had been one of our greatest fears in letting our children go off into the galaxy. That people would hunt them down for being Ishani. So far, they had only been met with wide-eyed fascination, but I’d taught them to be wary. And how to kill a person in a couple of blows if it came down to it.

“Well, tell us everything,” I prod. “What have you all been up to?”

Kai shrugs. “Oh, just much of the same. Exploring, seeing the sights, living it up.”

Raylia elbows him. “Aren’t you going to tell them about her?”

That catches my attention.

“Shhh!” Kai says, looking mildly betrayed. “That was supposed to be a secret until I could introduce her in person.”

“Kai,” Libby says in her best mother voice. “Who is this ‘her’ you’ve failed to mention?”

He rubs the back of his neck. “Well, I was going to wait to tell you until I brought her with me on my next visit home, but I guess I can tell you now. I found my fated mate.”

There are various gasps and squeals from all around. Everyone starts talking at once.

“What’s she like?”

“What’s her name?”

“When are you coming so we can meet her?”

Kai holds up his hands. “Don’t worry, you’ll get a full introduction when I come home in a week with her.”

“Kai, that’s wonderful!” Libby exclaims. “I’m excited to meet this girl of yours.”

“I’m happy for you son,” I add. “Treat her right and never let her slip from your grasp.”

I smile at my own mate, and she smiles softly at me, too. Then that mischievous glint enters her eyes, and she turns back to Kai. “Yeah, don’t do something stupid like running off without telling her.”

“If I hadn’t done that, we wouldn’t be here,” I point out.

Libby clicks her tongue. “You act like I wouldn’t have gotten on a ship with you to go on some crazy adventure. You know me better than that.”

It’s true. It seems we were always destined to come here and finally find our paradise. And I couldn’t be happier about it.

---