“Everything’s going to be fine,” I said. “You’ll see. If the storm brought us here, it can take us back again.”
Ava snuggled her face against my chest as I clutched her close.
“Promise me nothing will change between us,” she said. “When we get back. Promise me everything will stay the same.”
I thought back to my original mission: to capture my fated mate and bring her to the Shadow Citadel for the ceremony.
The thought of handing her over for other Shadow to use made me feel sick to my stomach.
I couldn’t force her into that situation.
I had learned things that altered the way I saw the empire and the Elders’ iron grip on their people.
I had changed and there was no going back.
But to go against the Elders was to sentence us to death.
We would be on the run and looking over our shoulders for the rest of our natural lives.
There were few places the Shadow hadn’t touched, few places we could disappear and be undiscovered.
Even running to a distant planet would only buy us a little time.
Eventually, they would come.
It could be weeks from now, years, even decades…
But eventually, they always found what they were looking for.
Punishment was severe.
When someone turned their back on the empire, they were made examples of.
And that meant I had to tell Ava everything.
A chill ran through me head to toe.
She might take it badly, might disown me and cast our love to the fires of hate.
But I couldn’t see another way out.
I needed to tell her the truth.
But not right now, I told myself.
There was a very real chance we wouldn’t survive the solar storm a second time.
Best case scenario, the lightning wouldn’t strike us and we would remain right here.
Lightning rarely struck the same place twice.
And still, Ava was awaiting my response.
“Everything changes eventually,” I said, “but hopefully not too much.”
She smiled and pressed her lips against mine.
At least she was comforted by my words.
My fears couldn’t be allayed so easily.
“Incoming communication,” Computer said.
“On screen.”
The image of my father, mother, and younger self popped up.
They stood outside the ship, in the doorway of the barn.
“I hope you don’t think you can leave without saying goodbye!” Yoath said.
I grinned back at him.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Ava and I exited the ship and my younger self came barreling toward us, running into me and swinging his arms around my legs.
It amazed me how little of this period I would later recall.
Froah and Nem were little more than faceless shadows.
Kind and good though the strangers were, my younger self had zero insight into who they really were.
Except for the rose, I thought.
I must have known even then that there was a special bond between Ava and myself.
Why else would I have kept it?
“I’ll miss you,” little Kayal said.
I placed my hand on his head and knelt to peer into his shimmering eyes.
To think of all the difficulty and hardship he would have to endure over the following years…
Everything that still lay ahead…
So much heartache and pain for one so small.
Even though I knew he wouldn’t recall a single word I said to him, I couldn’t help but give him advice:
“Keep going, little one. Keep going and never give up. So long as you do that, eventually, you will get everything your heart desires.”
I smiled up at Ava, who knelt and joined us.
The young Qyah wrapped his arms around her.
When they parted, it was Ava who came out the worse for wear.
She mussed up his hair.
“Will I see you again?” he said.
His comment threatened to turn her into a big blubbering mess.
“Yes. Yes, we will.”
They hugged again and the little boy ran back to his mother.
“She’s a good ship,” Yoath said, placing his hand on it. “She’ll get you anywhere you need to go.”
I extended my hand to him and he surprised me when he leaned forward and gave me a bear hug instead.
“Take care of yourself,” he said.
“I will.”
Once again, I was overcome with the desire to tell them what was going to happen the moment we headed into that giant swirling vortex that was the solar storm.
But there was no changing the past, I told myself.
What will be, will be.
Ava drifted embraced my mother.
They exchanged a few quiet words, to which my mother nodded her head.
Ava, dejected, nodded in return.
She probably wanted to share the knowledge of what was going to happen but the adamant shake of my mother’s head was characteristic of her stubbornness.
If only she knew the Shadow would attack, it might just save their lives…
Ava embraced her once more before returning to me.
We stepped on the ramp, my chest heavy and filled with pain.
We waved to them as the ramp drew across like the final curtain.
It was the second time I had to say goodbye to them.
And it was all the more painful this time because I knew it really was the last time I would ever see them.
I prepped the ship for intergalactic travel and ordered Computer to adopt identical settings as the last time we entered the storm.
We were at full power and the shields were directed toward the hull.
The ship took off, floating just a yard above the floor.
We drifted forward and exited the barn.
My family stood on the front porch of the farmhouse with cloth over their mouths to protect against the powerful cyclone of dust we kicked up.
They waved farewell and I waved back.
“Computer, take us into the storm.”
The engines whirred and we turned on the spot.
Then we bolted into the sky, slowly at first, and gradually built up speed.
The bond I shared with my family was not the same as the one I shared with Ava, but it was every bit as strong.
I would miss them.
At least this time, I had Ava by my side.
As hopeless as the situation might be, I wasn’t alone.
The storm had been misty with distance and grew more vibrant as we drew closer to it.
It’s swirling pink and purple curls
