Page 150 of Shadows of Stardust

A small but sturdy body wraps itself around my legs, still giggling as I pretend to be surprised by her attack.

Astrid is almost three, and has already started developing the tendency to plunge headlong into life first and ask questions later.

A gift, that she has known enough peace and safety in her short life to be able to live so boldly and fearlessly.

Turning and crouching down, I lift her and set her on top of my shoulders in one swift movement. She cries out in delight, small fingers clinging to my horns in an unnecessarily tight grasp, but I don’t correct her. Instead, I rock her a little and she burbles over with laughter again.

I hope my darling girl knows I’d never let her fall.

Like so many hybrid children birthed by humans all across the sector, Astrid is a delightful amalgamation of my mate and I. She has skin a lighter version of my own cool grey, and is just developing some protective plated ridges up and down her arms and legs, though I hope she never needs them. Her hair is dark brown like Roslyn’s, and she has green eyes flecked with my silver threads.

Her personality… well, her personality is entirely her own. A devilishly quick and spirited little girl, she both astounds and confounds Ros and I daily.

“Astrid,” Ros calls out just before she appears around the bend in the path leading back to our small home. “What did I say about running—oh.”

A grin splits her face as she sees me and our daughter, and like it has since the very first time I saw that star-bright smile, my heart aches in my chest.

“I’ve got her,” I say softly as Ros reaches me and leans up on her toes to give me a quick kiss.

Or, maybe not so quick as I place a hand on her lower back and keep her pinned against me when she would have pulled away. She laughs against my lips as she opens for me, the sound turning into a gasp when I drag my teeth over her bottom lip.

“Ew!” Astrid complains from my shoulders, tugging at my hair. “That’s gross, daddy.”

Rumbling a laugh into the kiss, I reach up and squeeze Astrid’s leg, tickling her behind the knee and grinning when she dissolves into peels of laughter.

Together, the three of us return to the little home Roslyn dreamed up here on Terra Spei. Set into the hills overlooking Haven—a small but growing village populated mainly by humans, though it becomes more diverse each year as new arrivals land on the planet to start their lives here—it’s our own little slice of paradise.

The house is a single story, with its back wall tucked into the hillside and its front skirted by a wide balcony that looks out over the valley. A few bedrooms, a cozy living space with a fireplace that keeps us warm in the winter, and easy access down the hill to the village where we’ve made countless friends over the years. It’s perfect for us.

The first couple of years we lived here still seem like a blur in my mind. I ended up spending more time off-world than on as I established the regulatory board and practices within the Aux to govern recruiting and bring those who’d abused their power to justice. And Roslyn, fates bless her, didn’t decide having a partner who was continually sent to the far corners of the sector was more hassle than I was worth. She encouraged me to pursue that dream while she tended her own here in Terra Spei. She oversaw the building of our home and the launch of her greenhouse, and we both made the most of every moment we had together.

But it wore on her, and on me, and after a few years of the whirlwind life we were living, it was time for a change.

I still oversee the board, but only leave Terra Spei a couple of times per year now. I have a team in place who I trust implicitly, and though delegating does not come naturally to me, I’ve learned to be better at it.

Roslyn’s business is thriving, she has a team of her own to help her with all the work that goes into the care and tending of the plants she grows, and we’ve carved out more time for each other, and for our growing family.

At the front door of our home, I lift Astrid off my shoulders and set her back on her feet. She darts inside, no doubt off to cause more chaos somewhere, and I place a hand on my wife’s back as she steps across the threshold.

Ros’s stomach is gently curved with our second child—and last, as she likes to loudly proclaim. I don’t disagree with herlogic that if our future children are anything like Astrid, we would do well not to let ourselves be outnumbered.

Two is more than enough for me, when we were never certain we’d be compatible in that way at all. Two children and the woman who changed my entire universe, a family I’d protect at any cost.

Settling on Terra Spei was the best choice Ros and I could have made for ourselves, the perfect place to find our peace, to live our lives, to raise our daughter.

And now we’ll have a new life to make that full life even fuller, to add to the joy some part of me still can’t believe is real at times.

If he’s a boy, I hope he’s like my Ros. I hope he has her gentle soul and her bravery. I hope he’s kind and sensitive, and that he grows up in a universe that will allow him to remain that way. I hope both he and Astrid never know fear and violence, that Ros and I have done everything we need to give them the best chance in life.

As Astrid disappears into her room, I snake an arm around Roslyn’s waist and tug her back against me. She sighs and melts into me, turning her face so she can nuzzle against my chest.

“I’ve got dinner if you’re still busy with your orders,” I say, and she nods.

“I’m almost done. Just a few more custom requests to enter.”

“Go,” I say, nudging her toward her office. “And send the tiny terror my way if she decides she hasn’t wreaked enough havoc today.”

Roslyn’s laughter drifts back toward me as she goes. One more blessed sound in the joyful chaos we’ve built together.

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