Two days later, the Glory’s engines had been fired, and the Solarian group was ready to leave Celestia.

After months of seeing nothing but water, Dragon was eager to be back on his beloved aerial planet and to be flying Carellian again. But at the same time, he readied himself to say goodbye to his friends with a heavy heart. He was the first to depart, while Valentine would leave the next day.

“Looking forward to getting rid of us, are you?” Valentine jokingly asked Gabriel as they all stood on the docking bridge outside Dragon’s ship.

“I thought you’d never leave.” Gabriel laughed, patting Valentine’s shoulder.

“If we don’t hurry, Mirella’s going to have our baby girl here on this godforsaken planet.” Valentine shivered and made a disgusted face.

“If only she were so lucky,” Gabriel said back. “Lupine is nothing but desert and rocks.”

“There’s nothing as beautiful as the smell of wild lavender after a torrential rain in the Great Plains.” Valentine’s faraway look made Gabriel and Dragon laugh.

“I’ll miss you both,” Dragon said, exchanging a one-armed hug with each of them. Already good friends, they had grown even closer through the attacks first on Solaria and later on Celestia. He now considered the vampire and the werewolf a part of his family, in the same way Lars and Valerian were.

“I’ll miss you, too,” Gabriel said.

Valentine nodded. “Don’t forget that you’re both invited to Myrenne’s Naming Ceremony.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Gabriel clasped Valentine’s arm.

“And I’ll do everything in my power to be there,” Dragon said, his mind wandering to Jade and their uncertain situation.

“See that you do.” Valentine pierced him with his death stare only to smile a moment later. “Mirella will be truly disappointed if you and Jade don’t show up. She even suggested we could have a dual ceremony for our children.”

A naming ceremony for his own child. Dragon hadn’t had time to think that far into the future.

Misunderstanding Dragon’s silence, Valentine added, “Of course we would wait for you to have the ceremony first on Solaria.”

“I’ll have to ask Jade what she thinks, but I’d love for our children to be named together,” Dragon said. “And now it’s better if I leave before Gabriel throws me out.”

After exchanging final farewells and promises to visit each other soon, Dragon climbed the ladder dangling from the starboard side and boarded his ship.

Jade was waiting for him at the quarterdeck. She had said her goodbyes to their hosts earlier in the morning and headed to the ship before Dragon could talk to her. The last few days, she had kept quiet and by herself, but after their last talk, there was an undeniable energy between them that couldn’t be ignored. And Dragon had all the intention to break through her barriers during the long voyage back to Solaria.

“Let’s go downstairs.” Dragon tipped his chin toward the stairs.

Jade gave one last look over the rail, waved at Gabriel and Valentine who were lingering on the docking bridge, then followed Dragon to the observation deck. They waited for the Glory’s captain to fire the engines and maneuver the large vessel out of Martelli’s spaceport and into the sky. Once space control gave them the okay, the captain deployed the masts’ square sails and the lateral wings, and they soared above the horizon, floating gracefully like the marine mammals in the oceans below. Soon Celestia became smaller and smaller, a swirl of light-blue and white against the black backdrop of deep space.

“No matter how many times I sail the skies, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it,” Jade said, breaking the silence Dragon hadn’t wanted to disturb.

As she looked outside, her hand splayed on the plasteel glass, his eyes were on her profile. “It’s a wondrous sight,” he said.

“It makes you feel so small.”

Dragon nodded, taking in her hair, now reaching her nape, her straight nose and the proud curve of her lips, her swan-like throat, her small breasts, the roundness of her bump, and finally her long, lean legs. A loose tunic and leather pants covered her, but he could see her ridges and valleys as if she were naked, because he had committed to memory every centimeter of her body.

“Such beauty humbles you.” Dragon wished he could whisk her away to his bedroom and convince her to remove those hideous garments that hid her perfection.

Jade pushed herself away from the window and curled into one of the chaise lounges facing the glass. “I’ll miss Mirella—”

“She is a remarkable woman.” Dragon sat beside her on the next available chaise. He purposefully kept himself at a safe distance. Even a casual brush would ignite his senses, and his forced celibacy was becoming increasingly difficult to bear.

“You wouldn’t expect someone as frail-looking as she is to be so strong,” Jade continued.

“You should’ve met Valentine before they married.” Dragon chuckled. “He had a harem in his manor and didn’t intend to spend any time at all with his bride besides the conjugal visits.”

“They look happy together.” Jade didn’t turn his way but kept her eyes on the sight beyond the plasteel glass.

“Because they are together.” Dragon angled his body to look at her. “They almost lost each other, and that’s something that scares you into living each day as if it were your last. That kind of fear makes you love your mate as if there’s no tomorrow. Even when you are immortal.”

Jade remained still. Her chest rose and fell irregularly, betraying that she was more affected by his words than her stance suggested.

“Does it weaken you?” she asked. “This love you talk about—”

“Do Valentine and Mirella look weakened by their devotion to each other?” he asked back.

Only then did Jade stir. She slightly turned, meeting his gaze with her unwavering stare. “They look ready to fight the world.” She paused long enough for him to think she was done before adding, “As you fought for me.”

“I’m still fighting for us,” he said.

“I know.” Jade’s hand reached down toward his resting on his thigh. She brushed his fingers.

He didn’t move, terrified he would scare her, but his entire body reacted to her timid touch.

“I don’t want separate quarters,” she said, placing her hand on the back of his.

“Thank the Goddess. I honestly don’t know what I would’ve done if you asked to sleep somewhere else.” He couldn’t help his outburst, but was rewarded by the smallest of smiles gracing her mouth. Ever so slowly, he turned his palm up and cupped hers.

“I didn’t say that we’ll share a bed,” she said, her hand slightly trembling in his.

“I won’t pretend I’m happy about not sharing a bed, but we’ll spend time together, and that’s all that matters right now.” With the same caution, he brought her hand to his lips and softly brushed her skin, only to return their united hands to his thigh a moment later.

He knew it was a breach of his promise, but he was a starving man and needed the touch of his soulmate more than anything else in the entire universe.

In silence, they held their gazes, and he rejoiced at the small intimacy of the moment. Her dark eyes that always drew him into their fathomless depths became liquid pools of desire, mirroring his own. The moment her lips parted in a silent invitation, Dragon’s heart swelled in his chest, thumping so loud it silenced his dragon’s mating roars.

“Dragon—” Valerian’s voice reached them from the entrance.

Jade blinked and leaned away, turning to face outer space.

Dragon waited for his fury to recede before answering, “What?” It came out more like a bark than a question.

“I apologize for interrupting you—” Valerian’s face held a horrified expression as he opened his hands in front of him. “The captain asked if you wanted to sail the ship into hyperspace—”

“No…” Dragon started, but Jade said at the same time, “I’d like to see the command room.”

After a wry smile and a brief sigh, Dragon said, “To the command room we go then.” He opened his arm to the side, and Jade nodded, following him outside.

Valerian immediately erased the smirk on his face when Dragon stopped and stared him down. “Sorry,” his lieutenant hurriedly mouthed.

Dragon didn’t think his friend looked properly chastised and wanted to strangle him, but Jade turned to look at him from over her shoulder. The heat in her gaze made him forget all about Valerian.