Page 21 of Protected By the Alien Knight

Ven’ari’s towering silhouette emerges from the Avenian ranks, one clawed fist raised in silent challenge as tendrils of dark energy writhe around him. “The forsaken Cruxian has fallen from his sworn duty...”

“I have strayed no further than you from the paths we once swore, Ven’ari,” Crux growls, slowly panning his blaster across the knights. “These Radicals pursued an atrocity I could not abide.”

For a tense moment, it seems the clash will be inevitable. But then Crux’s eyes find me shielding Alice and Max, and some fight seems to go out of him. When he speaks again, his voice is laced with weariness.

“Enough blood has been spilled this night. I’m putting up my blade and leaving with the innocents you so grievously misjudged.”

Ven’ari stares him down, energy crackling around his fist. The knights hold their aim, waiting for his signal. The standoff could shatter into violence with a single twitch. For a long moment, the tension thickens until it seems to reverberate from the chamber walls themselves. Then, finally, Ven’ari’s burning glare flits past Crux to linger on me, shielding Alice and Max with my body.

The ancient warrior’s posture seems to... shift, almost imperceptibly. As though some immovable calculus has finally been upended in that endless instant.

“I...” Ven’ari’s voice rumbles across the stillness, suddenly stripped of its bravado and conviction. “I did not comprehend the full extent of the situation. The severity of the threat to the... to the family.”

He holds Crux’s stare for a breath, then gives a solemn nod.

“Take them and go. Remove them from this bloodshed that I... that we... have allowed to go too far in the name of noble causes perverted by ambition.”

The words seem to hang in the scorched air, more unraveling with each passing second. Slowly, Ven’ari’s raised fist unclenches as realization—or something much more damning—washes over his ancient features.

“I will not pursue you further this time. Not while there are... innocents to be preserved at all costs. We were sworn to protect such inno—to uphold the light, after all. No matter how faint its glimmer.”

The knights part ranks in silent acknowledgment, allowing Crux to gently guide Alice and Max toward the exit. Though young adults in their twenties, my children seem diminished; their faces pale and streaked with grime, bodies battered and sluggishly compliant after their ordeal.

Max leans heavily on Crux’s steadying grip, one arm draped over the warrior’s broad shoulders for support. Alice doesn’t protest when Crux loops his free arm around her waist to keep her upright, her head lolling against his chest plate in a haze of pain and fatigue.

I fall into step beside them, meeting each of their glassy stares with a watery attempt at a reassuring smile before sharing one final look with Ven’ari’s looming sentinel.

There’s no mistaking the regret burning behind the ancient warrior’s eyes now. A soul-scouring reappraisal which might mark the start of a path back toward the light his order has so drastically strayed from.

Crux ushers us onward without breaking stride, his jaw flexing tightly as we put the ravaged chamber behind us. Though battered themselves, Alice and Max seem to draw reserves of strength from his unwavering presence at their side.

“It’s over, little wanderers,” he murmurs, more to himself than us. “At long last, the bloodshed ends here.”

But that relief is swiftly crowded by a multitude of other tumultuous emotions. Fear for what new storms may yet await on this path of upheaval. Guilt over the staggering violence unleashed to deliver us to this point. And an achingly tender longing as I chance furtive glances at Crux’s austere profile.

He’s risked everything—defied his sacred vows and rebelled against his own brotherhood—to safeguard my children and me. A staggering debt I can scarcely comprehend, let alone fathom how to repay.

I find myself watching him with unveiled hunger now. Cataloging the austere angles of his jawline, the penetrating amber that scorches from his eyes, the unconscious prowess in every sinuous movement as he clears our path back to his gunship so we can make our way to the capital of Venturis and get medical help for the kids. The thought of how close I came to losing them, to losing him, almost overwhelms me.

Does Crux realize how much he’s done for me?Not just saving my family, but awakening parts of my soul I’d locked away. Vulnerable, passionate parts I thought were too dangerous. With every sacrifice, he reveals depths of honor, loyalty, and light I’d only theorized. In his scorching intensity, I find what I’ve starved for—conviction and sacred purpose.

This yearning consumes me, body and soul. It’s more than lust for his striking form. I realize with profound clarity that I love this legendary warrior, every fiber of his being that defies the darkness.I love him and I need to tell him.

eight

Crux

I stand in thebedroom doorway, my gaze fixated on Annie as she rifles through her closet for her last official work event. She’s clad in nothing but a sheer slip of crimson lace, the delicate fabric skimming over the lush curves of her body in a way that has my mouth going dry.

After the harrowing incident with the Huxarian Radicals, she’s stepped down from her ambassadorial role, leaving the successful Folmodian treaty signing as her hard-won legacy. Everything we’ve endured to get to this moment—the violence, the sacrifices, the upheaval of our entire existence—she remains the single point of radiance that guides me through the storm.My starlight burns ever brighter.

Annie turns, a flicker of a smile tugging at those full lips as she catches me staring so brazenly. Rather than rebuke my intensity, she simply holds my stare, one elegant brow arching in playful challenge.

“See something you like, my star knight?”

The husky purr of her voice is enough to fray the taut leash of my restraint. In two strides, I’ve crossed the room and captured her in my arms, crushed her against the scorching hardness of my battle-worn form.

A throaty chuckle spills from her lips as I claim them in a ferocious, smoldering kiss. My hand rakes over the exposed skin of her lower back, searing paths that leave her trembling and arching into my ravenous caresses.

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