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Together, they boarded the ship, the hum of its engines welcoming them aboard like an old friend. Winn settled into the co-pilot’s chair, marveling again at the quiet elegance of the controls. Jo’Nay moved with practiced ease, his large hands gliding over the interface as he began the pre-flight checks.

“Where will we go?” Winn asked, her voice trembling with equal parts excitement and uncertainty.

“First, Iwish to find my unit and make sure they are supplied with apple seeds if it is their wish,” Jo’Nay said, his tone thoughtful. “Rory, are you with us?”

“I am here. Iwill always be with you.”

“Thank goodness,” Winn said with a grin. “And after we find your unit?”

“We will go somewhere the Council’s reach cannot touch us. Aplace where we can build a life of peace.”

The ship’s navigation systems came to life, amap of the Nine Galaxies and beyond spreading across the screen. “There,” he said, pointing to an uncharted region. “A star system on the frontier. Untouched, unclaimed. Aplace for us to start anew.”

Winn leaned back in her seat, letting out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “It sounds perfect,” she said. “But it’s a lot to leave behind.”

Jo’Nay reached for her hand, his grip steady and warm. “We are not leaving behind. We are moving forward. The Nine Galaxies will find their path without us, and Val’Ander will ensure the truth is never forgotten. But our path lies elsewhere now.”

“Will the Alpha Legion come with us?”

“If it is their wish.”

The ship’s engines roared to life, the vibration coursing through the hull like a heartbeat. Jo’Nay guided the vessel out of the docking bay, the cityscape of the Vettian capital stretching below them in a glittering expanse. As they broke through the atmosphere, Winn cast one last look at the world they were leaving behind.

“It’s strange,” she murmured. “To leave everything we’ve ever known.”

Jo’Nay’s hand tightened around hers. “We carry it with us,” he said. “In our memories, in our choices, and in the lives we create.”

The ship sailed into the vastness of space, the stars spreading before them like a tapestry of endless possibilities.Winn leaned her head against Jo’Nay’s shoulder, her thoughts drifting to their unborn child. Or children, as Jo’Nay had said with such certainty.

“Do you really think we’ll have more than one?” she asked, her tone light but curious.

Jo’Nay’s smile returned, arare but beautiful expression. “Absolutely.”

Winn closed her eyes, letting the warmth of his presence and the hum of the ship lull her into a sense of peace she hadn’t felt in what seemed like a lifetime. They had faced so much together—wars, trials, betrayals—but now they had a chance to create something new. Something beautiful.

Chapter 24

THE STARLIGHTfiltering through the viewport painted Jo’Nay’s face in a mesmerizing dance of silver and shadow. He sat at the helm, his powerful shoulders hunched slightly, his long white hair spilling over the back of the captain’s chair like a calm, silken stream. His gaze remained fixed on the swirling nebulae that stretched before them, but his mind was elsewhere, lost in the labyrinth of their sharedpast.

Winn watched him from the co-pilot’s seat, her heart aching with a love that seemed to grow stronger with each passing moment. He was everything to her—her lover, her protector, the father of her unborn child. He had given her a second chance at life, achance to experience a love she had never thought possible.

Their journey had been fraught with danger, their love a defiant beacon in a universe that seemed determined to extinguish its flame. They had faced trials, betrayals, the very wrath of the Vettian Empire. But through it all, their bond hadonly deepened, forged in the crucible of shared experiences, tested by fire and tempered by the enduring power of theirlove.

Now, as their ship sailed onward, aprofound sense of peace settled over Winn. She reached for him, her hand finding his, their fingers intertwining. His touch, rough and warm, sent a shiver through her, igniting a familiar fire in her veins.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked softly, her voice a caress against the hushed hum of the ship’s engines.

He turned to her, his amethyst eyes, usually so intense, now filled with a tenderness that melted her heart. “I am thinking about how lucky I am,” he said, his voice low and husky, sending a tremor through her. “To have found you. To have you in my life.”

He leaned closer, his hand cupping her cheek, his touch sending a ripple of longing through her. “You have given me more than you know, Winn. You have shown me that there is more to life than war, than duty, than the endless cycle of violence that has defined my existence.”

“But you were a hero, Jo’Nay,” she whispered, her fingers tracing the line of his jaw, memorizing the feel of his skin beneath her fingertips. “You protected the Nine Galaxies. You saved countless lives.”

“I was a weapon, my mate,” he corrected, his voice tinged with a bitterness she rarely heard. “A tool of the Vettian Empire. Programmed to guard, to conquer, to die for a cause I no longer believe in.”

He closed his eyes, his breath hitching slightly, the memory of his past a shadow that lingered even in the brightness of their love. She knew what he was thinking. The Final Flight protocol. The genetic death sentence that had hung over him,the inevitable end that had driven him to seek oblivion in her world.

She had defied that fate, had stumbled into his life, abeacon of hope in his encroaching darkness. Her love had been his salvation, her touch a miracle that had reawakened his soul. But she could tell the memories remained, ahaunting reminder of the life he had left behind, the brothers he had yet tofind.

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