Page 44 of Starfall

“Null.”

Emery paused. “Wait, Null and Void? Are you serious?” She broke off into peals of laughter.

Rowen slid his arm around her waist. “Are you good?”

“I am good. Avaknell is younger than I thought.”

Ava stuck her tongue out at Emery. “Mean.”

Void paused. “They aren’t our names, but Avaknell Blue likes to categorize things, so they are our manifestations.”

Ava started eating again.

Kel came by and shook his head. “You should have said.”

“There was never a good time. How long do we have?” She glanced at Void.

“We need to leave. The stars are shifting.”

She sighed, handed him the plate, and hugged Emery. “Be brave, be strong, be bright, and call me if you need me.”

“Do you have live births or lay eggs?” Emery stared at her.

Avaknell sighed. “Depends on what form I am wearing when I get pregnant.”

“Oh, wow.”

“If it is the scaly one, big eggs. Huge.” She grinned and kissed Emery’s cheek. “Remember, car, glove box. Really big house.”

“Wait, so you knew this was happening.”

Avaknell shrugged. “They move through the space between worlds like a semi in need of a tune-up or a cement truck. Either way, they were going to be here tonight, but I needed to make sure you were safe and secure. Now, I have to head back and figure out the rest of my life with these two bozos. Wow, this world is full of fun words.”

Emery looked sad, so Avaknell kissed the slight peak in her hair and exhaled power into it. “There. I am with you always. I would have adopted you if I could. I did try.”

Emery nodded. “I read my file. I know. You were the best mentor I could have had, though.”

“Good. Now, live a life, have a family, and let Rowen’s family become yours. They really want to be. They think your natural hair is cool.”

Emery laughed, hugged her one more time, and then turned to Rowen. He held her as tightly as she held him.

Avaknell turned to her dragons. “Let’s go before I start crying.”

Null and Void put their hands under her wings and walked out to the open area where they had landed. They explained the procedure, and Void changed first. He opened his mouth, and she walked into it, settling on his tongue.

Darkness surrounded her, and she was still able to breathe, but then, they shot skyward, and she felt the strain in his body as he pushed the air out from under his wings.

She felt the moment that they left the atmosphere, troposphere, and stratosphere. When they were free of gravity, she focused and crouched, and as Void opened his mouth, she shot forward and took on her glowy white wings and scales. They moved next to her, and their wing claw linked with hers. Void opened a rift, and they flew into it, gliding through space with delightful ease. Well, it was easy for her. Her mates were doing all the work. She took a nap.

---