31

- Charlotte -

“I do.”

King Vrax'ton took a short step back like the Acerex ceremony prescribed. “Then I pronounce you husband and wife. May our two worlds be joined as firmly in friendship as you are now in matrimony.”

Charlotte suspected that last part was not something they usually said in this situation, but she didn't care.

Cori'ax took her hand and looked at her, a little more pale than usual. Kissing right after the ceremony wasn't an Acerex tradition, and the two of them would walk down the aisle and then be left alone for a couple of minutes while the assembled witnesses and guests remained sitting down.

She turned around and they walked out of the little chapel together. She smiled at Harper, who was holding little Elerea Blaze in her arms. The baby was sleeping, as usual. There weren't that many guests, because they had both insisted on a small wedding, but the royal family was there, as well as Lily and Ravex'ton and Ava.

And Cori'ax's family, because this was their village. Charlotte had suggested that the wedding be held on one of the uninhabited islands close to his home town. The little chapel had been built in just one day, but would always stay there, not too far from the house where he had grown up.

She looked up at him. He held her tightly, never too comfortable with ceremony and formal assemblies of people, even a small one like this. “You can relax now, warrior. It's over.”

He relaxed his death grip on her hand and his face started looking more natural. “I would suggest that it's now that it begins.”

“Yeah, I guess you're right. Not a moment too soon.”

He nodded. “Precisely. You're my Mahan. And my daughter is legendary already. How can it not be great?”

She smiled, letting the happiness fill her. She had never thought she'd marry anyone. She'd thought she wasn't the type. But when Cori'ax had proposed right before he went to his very probable death, sacrificing himself for Charlotte and their child, she had known that she wanted nothing more than to spend her life with him. “Good point. Whatever happens, it will never be as bad as the Fire Planet. We know for a fact that we have the worst behind us. How many couples can say that?”

“Not many,” he agreed.

The mild breeze from the ocean blew through the fabric of her thin, white dress, and it brought the scent of the elereon flowers across the narrow strait from the next island. Naming her daughter after them had been pretty obvious to Charlotte, and she knew that the Acerex would appreciate it. The beauty, rarity and strange properties of the flowers suited their daughter well.

“You know, where I come from, it's common to kiss one's new bride.”

“Ah. Yes, I was just wondering when I'd be able to.”

Cori'ax gently held behind her neck and pulled her to him, then gave her the warmest, most loving kiss she could remember.

He disengaged and she looked into his yellow eyes. “And now you're making me swoon. Is there nothing you can't do?”

Harper came up to them with little Elerea Blaze in her arms. “Break it up, you two. I think someone is tired of seeing her parents hogging each other.”

The baby was waving her arms and making little mewling noises.

Charlotte smiled and gripped Cori'ax tighter with one hand, stroking her daughter's head with the other. “Well, she better get used to it, Harper. Because I'm not letting this dude out of my sight from now on. You never know what kind of trouble he can get himself into, with dragons and alien women and babies and I don't know what else.”

Harper laughed softly, conscious of the now very awake baby in her arms. “Uh-huh? That's not the way I heard the story. Which is kind of strange, because it was you who told it to me in the first place.”

Cori'ax reached out to stroke his little daughter's cheek. “That story is still being played out. And it will be for many years yet.”

Charlotte looked up at him. He was her husband now, and the thought made her want to do cartwheels of joy. “You bet it will,” she said. “For as long as we live.”

Harper smiled. “Good policy. Looks like this little brat is asleep again. I guess she just wanted to make sure her parents were actually, finally married. I approve of her vigilance. Can never be too sure about these things.”

Lily and Ravex'ton came over, carrying their little son, Zekax'ton. “Damn right,” Lily said and hugged Charlotte. “Some of these guys take just a little too long realizing that of course we're their fated mates. Congrats.”

Ravex'ton simply slapped his hand to the exotic bow that he always carried, a gesture that showed respect and shared joy. “Acerex warriors are slow to realize the depth of their own love. But when we fall, it's forever.”

Charlotte was struck by the differences between Lily's husband and her own. Ravex'ton was darker and had a lighter build, even though he was still sensationally muscular by Earth standards. His face was chiseled, and he had a piercing gaze and a brooding manner. Cori'ax was just huge and impossibly strong, burned and scarred, and still his bright yellow eyes were somehow much warmer and milder than Ravex'ton's.

“Very true,” King Vrax'ton said and stood next to Harper, holding little Princess Anabe'lia's hand. “And, I think we'll find, so it is for Earth women. They just didn't know it until they met us. Congratulations, Captain Cori'ax. You have made many wise choices lately, and marrying Charlotte was the wisest of them all. Well done. I understand the army now calls you Chief of the Dirt.”

Cori'ax froze for a moment, then he just bowed. “Your Majesty.”

Lily frowned. “Chief of the Dirt? As in, legendary warrior? I mean, I know what it means, but I thought they were extremely rare. And usually much older.”

“Oh, they are,” Vrax'ton said. “There are only four living Dirts right now, all the most legendary warriors of our world. The warriors of the army decides it by general acclaim; it's not a formal title. But all the more honorable for it. And now, the army is unanimous. Cori'ax's many victories before now, topped by his triumph against the dragons on the Fire Planet, have impressed everyone. As well as his loyalty. He's the most famous of all our warriors. And now he is a Chief of the Dirt.”

Charlotte smiled and wiped her handkerchief across her eyes. She'd had no idea Cori'ax would receive that honor. And it was so well deserved. “Congratulations, my love.”

He squeezed her hand and gave her one of his rare smiles. “It is as much your honor as mine, Mahan.”

“What was that about dirt?” Ava said, wandering up with a drink in her hand. “Not a topic I'd expect from the royal circle. Unless it's about farming, of course.”

“Cori'ax is a Chief of the Dirt,” Harper said. “The army says so.”

Ava nodded. “As he should be after he exposed that terrible conspiracy. Did you catch them all, Vrax'ton?”

“As it happened, they all gave themselves up. Except General Bandi'ex. He fell on his sword, honorably enough.”

Ava took a sip of her drink. “Would have been more honorable to just face the music, if you ask me. But we all have our ways.”

Lily cleared her voice. “Lots of the Acerex still don't really believe that we're the good guys. You all know the trouble I had convincing even a smart dude like Ravex'ton about that. What if someone were to get the task of sniffing out conspiracies like that and talking some sense into people? Say, a legendary warrior? A Chief of the Dirt with the whole damn army behind him? Nobody could suspect him of being against Acerex.”

Vrax'ton scratched his chin. “Not a bad idea. I have been worrying about that. We have enough to deal with if we're not going to have to watch our backs against attacks from our own, too. What do you say, Cori'ax? You have done all you can for our people in battle. You want to try talking them over to the right side?”

“No,” the huge warrior said with feeling, and they all laughed. “They're very stubborn about some things. And I'm not a great talker. The best I can do is order dinner.”

“Well,” Vrax'ton said, “we'll see. You're a royal adviser now, and you can't back out of that. Dinner, you say? Not a bad idea. Shall we see if our hosts have prepared some food, Ravex'ton?”

Harper placed little Elerea Blaze in Charlotte's arms, and then they walked over to the tents where the food had been prepared. Only Charlotte and Cori'ax and their daughter were left, looking out over the ocean.

Charlotte smiled at her little baby. “You really not going to take him up on that? Guarding us from attacks from our own?”

Cori'ax smiled. “Of course I will. The king is being extremely kind. Even when I reported the conspiracy he just listened and nodded and gave the necessary orders, not speaking one word of blame.”

“He's smarter than most people think. Heck, he's smarter than I thought he was. I thought at least he'd kick you out of the army or something. But here he is, officiating at our wedding and giving you honors. The adviser thing, I mean. Pretty good wedding gift.”

Cori'ax squeezed her closer. “Yes. And that reminds me. I have something for you.”

He got a little box out of his formal jacket and opened it, because Charlotte had her hands full with the sleeping baby.

She breath caught in her throat. “Oh my stars. Yes, I do need a new one.”

“It's fragile, and that's part of its beauty. It's also resilient and remarkably dangerous. I think it suits you.”

The bright white little elereon flower was resting on a deep black cushion, and it had a small, blue crystal at its roots.

“There's one thing I didn't tell you before,” Cori'ax said and took the flower in his large fingers. “When you take one from the rock it grew from and then place it on another rock, it will sometimes attach itself again and go back to its soft and living state, de-fossilizing itself. It's very rare, but it does happen. Those flowers become extremely valuable.”

Charlotte stroked one finger along the crown of the little flower, feeling its almost impossible thinness, softness and fragility. “And this is one of them, right?”

“It is. I picked it many years ago, when I came back from the Trials and my face was ruined. I needed to feel that it had all been worthwhile. It gave me some kind of meaning, a connection with my planet. A kind of joy, I suppose.”

She looked up at him with eyes that were suddenly full of tears. “You don't have to worry, my love. I attached myself to you a long time ago. You are my rock.”

He kissed her again. “And I always will be. As you will be mine.”

She took a deep breath and felt the gentle sun on her skin, heard the distant waves and felt the otherworldly smell of the elereon meadow.

“That's right. And this is home.”

- - -

© Calista Skye 2017

Make sure to catch the Epilogue at the back of the book!

- - -

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