Page 47 of Fated to the Alien Rebel

He comes to a stop next to Maeve and wraps his tail around her to gently pull her into him. She goes willingly and, like Sage, she snuggles into his side for warmth.

“My baba once spoke of a mated pair of elders who shared the female’s single soul light. They were both gone before my birth though. That is the only instance to my knowledge.”

“Do you know why the warrior was without one?”

Benham studies me a moment. “The male had nearly died during a battle with the Krijese. The warrior spoke of seeing Deeka and thought he had traveled to the land of the goddess to be with our ancestors. Yet he survived. And although his mating marks appeared when he touched the female who was hiskeeshla, his soul light remained dark.”

I recall my own experience witnessing Deeka while I was injured and believed myself, as well, to be in the land of my ancestors. “So it’s possible then.”

Benham nods. “It would appear so. Or at least it once was possible.”

That is all I needed to hear. I fist my chest in thanks. He returns the gesture and then he and his mate head up the hill. They only take a few steps before he sweeps her up into his arms. I watch as she rests her head on his shoulder. A sudden urge to find Sage hits me.

She is alone when I walk through the entrance. There are no signs that Kala or Sorin were here for so many turns ofthe sun. The platforms are tidied with new furs and the supply table is perfectly organized. My mate is hanging wet furs on the drying racks near the fire. Her attention is on her task. I observe her for several beats. The way her hair curls over her shoulders and shines bright like the flames she stands close to. None of the small colored dots on her face are visible from here, but I do not need to see them to know they are there. I have all of her features memorized.

Sage turns her head and our eyes meet. A reflection of light glows from within them and a powerful emotion fills my body. I nearly stagger from it. My heart skips a beat and then pounds rapidly as though I am in the middle of sparring instead of having finished.

Unable to resist, I stride across the tent and claim her lips with mine. I give everything I have to mykeeshla. Perhaps I do not have a soul light because I traveled to whatever void in which Deeka met me, but it does not change the fact that my heart is filled with Sage. I draw back only far enough so that I may speak the words.

“I love you. The goddess has blessed me with the strongest, kindest, most beautiful mate in all the galaxies. You are perfect, inside and out.” I cradle her face between my palms and stare into her eyes. “It does not matter if it never ignites, because I do not need a soul light to know that I love you.”

Sage lays her hands over mine and the wetness she calls tears fills her eyes. I pray to Deeka that they are the tears of joy she has spoken of. “I love you, too. More than I ever thought I could love someone.”

I bend once more to mouth touch—kiss—with her, but she presses a finger over my lips. “I need to tell you something though.”

“You can speak to me about anything.”

She swallows and dips her head slightly in barely a nod. “What if I told you there might be a possibility you might have a soul light? Or, at least, half of one?”

I cock my head. “What do you mean?”

Sage’s gaze darts from mine before returning. “Remember that heartburn I thought I’d been having? The weird burning sensation in my chest?”

“The human ailment you described? Yes, I remember.” I am uncertain what that has to do with my soul light.

She pauses for a long beat. “I’m not quite certain it’s heartburn. As crazy as it sounds, I believe, somehow—some way—that it is a soul light.Mysoul light.”

“How can that be?”

“I don’t know. It’s just something I feel deep down inside.”

Every mated warrior has said that the humans do not possess a soul light and yet, I think of the two instances in which I could have almost believed that a light shone from Sage’s eyes. Of how a warm heat emanated from her and seeped beneath my skin to warm me as well. I have seen far too many miracles and unexplained things that I have always said occurred because Deeka wished them to. Is it entirely impossible to believe that the goddess gifted mymate with her own soul light? I stare down at mykeeshlasearching for evidence, but nothing is present. Still, there is a voice within me that says she speaks the truth.

“Thank you for sharing your light with me. I will cherish it until I leave this world and return to the lands of the goddess.”

Sage breathes in sharply. “You don’t think I’m being unrealistic or insane?”

I stroke her hair back off her face. “I believe anything is possible. And if you feel a soul light within you, then I believe you have been gifted one.”

There is no movement and then she throws her arms around me, squeezing me tightly. “Oh my god. I love you so much.”

My tail wraps around her and I embrace her in return. Contentment and happiness fill me. As does a sense of completeness. This feeling is what I had always hoped to experience with a mate and now I have it. Sage was meant to be mykeeshla. I will spend the rest of my life thanking Deeka for bringing her to our planet and to our village. This is where she was always meant to be.

Epilogue

Zara

If the Tavikhi made tombstones, I swear to god mine would say “Here lies Zara Black. It was the arrowheads that did her in.”

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