Page 96 of Aria's Desire

Rellik, his bright eyes blazing with love, laid his hand on her chest, directly over her heart. “I have been yours from the moment you looked at me in that cave. You saw me, when no one else had ever cared to. That was a gift I can never repay, but I swear to spend the rest of my life trying. I love you, my Queen, more than the desert flower loves the moon. Marry me.”

Aria kissed one then the other with tear-wet lips. “Yes.”

* * *

They hadthe ceremony that day, in the sands of the arena.

Victoria and Spar had helped her get ready, dressing her in a stunning white silk dress and doing her hair up in some kind of complicated style that left curled tendrils hanging down to frame her face. They also painted makeup on her face, which had her grumbling and squirming, but when she caught sight of herself in the mirror, she almost didn’t recognize herself. She looked… delicate. Feminine. Radiant.

Her men, when she walked onto the sands, took her breath. So much so, she barely noticed the flowers and decorations that had been set up.

They were all dressed in suits, which could have looked strange being that they were all aliens, but, somehow, it didn’t. They’d obviously been specially made for each of them, the fabric clinging lovingly to their tall, muscular forms, emphasizing their otherness in a way that, to her, made them appear even more handsome.

The ceremony was beautiful and perfect, with all four of her mates surrounding her. They each exchanged words of love and commitment, not following any set script, but choosing to, instead, speak from the heart. By the time they finished, Aria saw more than a few wet cheeks and watery smiles, though her own weren’t dry, either.

During the celebration that followed, Lexi caught her eye and let her know everyone leaving on the transport was ready. Finding Skaa, Aria hugged her tightly, then pulled back and gave her friend an encouraging smile, though she knew it was tinged with sadness.

“Go. Find your children, help your people. And let yourself be happy. If you need me, I’m here, always. I’ll see about having the transport pilots stop by when they’re close just to check on you, see if you need—”

Skaa cut off her rambling with another hug, nearly squeezing the breath out of her. Voice gruff, she whispered in Aria’s ear, “I will be okay, my friend.” Pulling back, Skaa held her gaze, her expression becoming stern. “You will listen to your own words, yes? You will let yourself be happy, as well. You will tell me this now, or I will not leave.”

Smiling, touched and amused by her demand, Aria nodded. “I will.”

“Good. This is good.” Skaa nodded sharply and straightened away from her. “I hope to see you again, my friend, in this life or the next.” With a pained sound in her throat, Skaa nodded again and returned Aria’s words, rasping, “It was an honor to know you, Aria of Earth.”

With that, Skaa spun on her heel and walked away.

Aria’s mates enveloped her in a hug in the next second, offering her their support and comfort as she watched the ship take off with tears sliding a slow trail down her cheeks. It was a bittersweet end to the ceremony, but knowing Skaa would be reunited with her children eased the ache of losing her friend, knowing she was returning home at long last let her smile past the pain of knowing she’d likely never see her again.

* * *

After composing herself,Aria and her men returned to the celebrations, but she discovered a short time later that the wedding wasn’t their only surprise.

Directly after the celebration, her mates led her to the labs. Not only was her new body ready… but so was Kix’s.

Turning to him, eyes wide, she caught the serene smile curling his lips. “I’m ready.”

Aria didn’t think she’d ever been more grateful to hear anything as she was those two little words. That he was ready to move into a body without the ability that had grown to torment him, eased the hard knot of worry she’d lived with for months now.

The last thing Aria saw as she lay down was Kix’s sparkling eyes, and they were the first things to greet her as she opened them again. She immediately searched for that sense of him in the back of her mind, that awareness of his emotions.

“I can still feel you,” she breathed, reaching up with a shaking hand to trace his features where he was leaning over her.

He turned his face into her touch, his expression almost euphoric. “And I can feel only us,” he rasped, his gaze moving to include her men hovering around them. His focus turned inward before sharpening back on her. “I can hear only your song, as it should be.”

* * *

If she thoughtthat was the last of their surprises, she was proven wrong, yet again, when they carried her, blindfolded, onto a runner. None of them answered her numerous questions during the short flight, or as Sin carried her up what felt like stairs, or when she heard the hiss of a door opening.

Only when Rellik removed her blindfold, revealing the cave extending out around her, did they close around her and respond.

“Welcome home.”

Aria was stunned speechless. The cave was massive and had been completely retrofitted, so it had all the amenities of the complex. The smooth walls and the openings she could see leading to numerous other rooms told her the space extended far deeper than this first, large room. It was also beautifully decorated and furnished, with pieces she recognized as Thorn’s work, one of Victoria’s mates.

“How… when… ?”

“Everyone helped,” Tirox announced proudly then began pointing to different things, listing who did what. “Vee decorated. Thorn crafted the furniture. Vi’kail installed security. Lilac designed a room to house the stasis pod.”

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