Page 75 of Legacy for the Alien Warrior

“Is that so?” His gaze held a warmth that made her cheeks flush.

“It wasn’t that complicated,” she demurred. “Just a matter of understanding the bone structure.”

“She’s being modest,” Talia insisted. “Everyone at the medical center says so.”

Rory, who had been arranging his food in precise patterns before eating, suddenly looked up and made a quick series of gestures. She laughed and nodded.

“That’s right. Rory helped as well by finding the right instrument when the standard one wouldn’t work.”

Thraxar’s expression softened further. “A healer like his mother.”

The simple pride in his voice made something tighten in her chest. How long had it been since anyone had spoken of her son with such straightforward admiration? Not as a problem to be managed or a burden to be endured, but as a person of value and potential.

After the meal came the promised presents: a delicate puzzle box for Rory that clicked and whirred as different sections moved, and a small data crystal for Talia containing stories from worlds across the galaxy. For her, he produced a slender case.

“Medical instruments,” he explained as she opened it. “Designed for human hands.”

The set gleamed in the soft light—precision tools that would have cost a fortune on Earth. She ran her fingers over them, speechless.

“They’re perfect,” she finally managed, looking up to find his eyes on her with an intensity that made her breath catch.

Later, after the children were settled in bed—Rory with his new puzzle box placed precisely at the foot of his bed, Talia with her stories quietly playing through her headset—they stood in the garden under the unfamiliar stars.

“Did it work?” she asked quietly. “Will they stop looking for her?”

His tail curled around her waist, drawing her closer. “The tracker was destroyed as planned. As far as anyone tracking it knows, Talia Vey’Nor perished in a ship malfunction in the Carellian Void.”

She leaned against his solid warmth. “And the real Talia?”

“Safe. Here with us.” He paused. “Elrin discovered something interesting. The political situation on her homeworld is changing. The reforms her father fought for are gaining support.”

“Does that mean someday she could go back?”

“Perhaps. When she’s older. If she chooses.” His voice rumbled through his chest against her ear. “But for now, this is her home. With us.”

She closed her eyes, allowing herself to fully absorb the moment. The night air carried the scent of unfamiliar blossoms. Distant sounds of the settlement drifted on the breeze. And here, in this garden, stood everything that mattered.

“I was afraid,” she admitted softly. “Every day you were gone.”

His arms tightened around her. “I promised I would return.”

“I know. But promises…” She trailed off, thinking of all the broken promises in her past.

“Not mine.” He turned her to face him, one large hand gently tilting her face up. “Never mine.”

When he kissed her, it felt like coming home all over again. The universe narrowed to the points where they touched—his hands cradling her face, her fingers gripping his shoulders, their bodies pressed together in the quiet garden.

They moved inside without breaking apart, finding their way to their bedroom through touch and memory. Each article of clothing removed was a rediscovery, each caress a reaffirmation.

“I thought of you every moment,” he murmured against her skin. “Of this.”

Her body remembered his—the texture of his skin, the strength in his hands, the way his tail curled possessively around her thigh. What had once seemed so alien now felt essential, as if her body had been incomplete before knowing his.

They moved together with the familiarity of lovers who had learned each other’s rhythms and the urgency of those separated for too long. When pleasure crested through her, she buried her face against his shoulder to muffle her cries, mindful of the sleeping children.

Afterward, they lay tangled together, her head resting on his chest, listening to the familiar rhythm of his heartbeat.

“I spoke with Doctor Sarn today,” she said into the comfortable silence. “About making my position permanent.”

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