Page 45 of Alien Mercenary's Wife
"She never told me much about her service." T'Raal kept his voice carefully neutral despite the thickness in his throat. "Just that she'd served with honor."
"She did. More than that—she served with distinction. Her combat record was exemplary." Another pause. "How did she die, if you don't mind my asking?"
T'Raal closed his eyes, feeling Reese's steady breathing against his chest.
"Combat injury," he said finally. "Took shrapnel protecting civilians during a pirate raid. Lasted three days before the damage was too much." The words came out flat, factual, hiding an eighteen-year-old's devastation at watching the only family he'd ever known slip away. "I was eighteen."
"I'm sorry. Losing a parent that young... it changes everything."
"Yeah." He shifted position slightly, careful not to wake Reese. "It does."
"But you have a family of your own now, don’t you? Tell me about her. Your daughter."
A small smile crossed his features. "Raised her from when she was tiny. She's grown into someone I'm proud to call family."
"Family is what we make it," Daaynal agreed. "Blood is just biology."
The comm unit displayed an incoming image file. T'Raal hesitated for a moment, then accepted the transfer. A photograph materialized on the small screen… a younger Daaynal in full imperial regalia standing beside a woman in Praetoviatt armor.
It was his mother, but younger than he remembered her… fierce and beautiful, the same stubborn set to her shoulders, the same determined eyes. Seeing her again, healthy and strong, made his chest ache.
"She was magnificent," Daaynal said softly. "I wanted you to see her as I remember her."
T'Raal stared at the image of his mother, young and vital in a way that made the years between then and her death seemimpossibly short. "Thank you," he managed, his voice rougher than intended.
"There are others, if you'd like to see them. When you're ready."
"I'd like that."
"Good." Daaynal paused. "Would it be all right if I called again? I find myself... curious about the man she raised. About the choices you've made."
T'Raal looked down at Reese sleeping in his arms, thought about the crew who'd become his family... the life he'd built on his own terms. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."
"Perhaps not," Daaynal agreed. "But I'd like to try anyway, if you're willing."
“Yeah, okay.”
“Thank you.”
The connection ended, leaving T'Raal staring at the image of his mother in the darkness.
12
Reese pressed her fingertips to her lips, T'Raal's kiss still burning on her lips hours later. For the first time in months, maybe years, she'd slept through the night without nightmares. No screaming awake in cold sweats, no phantom combat sounds, no reliving her squad's deaths over and over until dawn.
Just the solid warmth of T'Raal's arms around her, his heartbeat beneath her cheek, his breathing somehow telling her body it was safe to rest. When she'd woken this morning, the indent in the mattress beside her was still warm. He'd already slipped away, but not long ago… she could still catch his scent on the pillow. He'd stayed all night, holding her instead of going back to his quarters. She'd forgotten what peace felt like.
The neural stimulator hummed against her spine as she made her way through the galley, searching for Eris. Her left leg worked better than it had in weeks. Tal had worked miracles, but it was more than that. The knot of tension between her shoulder blades had loosened, and her hands weren't shaking anymore.
It was utterly fucking liberating.
She found Eris at one of the bolted-down tables, nursing a cup of coffee and reviewing something on a dataflex. The former pilot looked up and smiled as Reese approached.
"Sleep well?" Eris asked.
Heat crawled up Reese's neck.No way she knows about last night..."I need to contact the other veterans. Check on the lawsuit status."
"Same old captain, right down to business." Eris grinned as she set down her coffee. "Come on, I'll show you where the comm room is. Fair warning—alien tech takes some getting used to."
