Chapter 23

The island was isolated, miles away from any other landmass. Kat pursed her lips as she noticed the gray storm clouds in the distance. Let’s hope the regent’s assignment is a quick one. She wanted to be out of the area before the storm hit.

Setting down the ship on the flattest surface she could find, she powered it down and turned to her companion. Jeffrey nodded at her, rising to his feet and leading the way to the ship’s hatch.

He stepped out first, then turned around to extend a hand to her. Although the drop was a small one, she was touched by the offer of support. For so long she’d been pushing herself, proving that she could achieve her goals on her own. Now she realized that she missed having someone to lean on.

She took his hand, and it was warm in her own. Stepping down from the ship, she surveyed the landscape around them.

Thousands of birds swooped around them, careening in slow wheels overhead. There were many more thousands on the rocks around them, squawking and flapping to one another. The sound was nearly overwhelming, as was the smell of so many avian neighbors.

“What could the regent possibly want with this place?” Jeffrey asked, shading his eyes to stare into the distance.

“I’m not sure,” she murmured, watching as a peskel came in for a landing nearby. It lumbered over to an overhang, and Kat noticed that there was a nest inside with an occupant. The peskel cozied up to its companion, rubbing its head along the other bird’s feathers.

“These birds are called storm peskels,” she said. They weren’t large, maybe a foot in length, their white faces marked with blue around the eyes. Blue also tinged the feathers along the head and back, a more vibrant blue showing at the wingtips.

Jeffrey crouched, moving forward slowly toward one of the nests perched atop an outcropping. “Such an interesting call,” he said, and Kat made herself listen. It was interesting, something between a coo and a trill, with a lilting up note on the end that was both pleasant and soothing.

She watched as Jeffrey got as close as he could to the nest. “There’s an egg in there,” he said softly.

Kat crouched beside him and peered into the nest. There was an egg, small, dark and speckled with turquoise flecks.

A peskel swooped around them, circling their heads twice before landing on Jeffrey’s shoulder.

The lieutenant gave a small laugh, his smile open and unguarded. Kat’s heart contracted in her chest. He was so beautiful in that moment. His tanned skin looked at home under the Zantharian sky, his blue eyes a perfect match for the seas that swirled around them.

Kat had to look away as tears welled in her eyes. She shaded her eyes and looked at the storm clouds which had crept closer.

Why would Rasveen send us here? What does he want us to discover? He must have known there was a good chance we’d be caught in a storm. They’re nearly constant here.

She couldn’t understand what was so important that they come here, now, to an island entirely populated by seabirds.

Jeffrey’s frantic whisper brought her attention back to him. “Kat, look!” He’d gone to his knees, his avian visitor stepping back and forth across his broad shoulders.

She crept closer, not wanting to disturb the birds around them, and knelt beside him. Jeffrey was watching the nest, his eyes trained on the egg, and in a moment she discovered why.

A tiny hole was being tapped out of the egg, from the inside. A black beak appeared, working hard to break through the shell. The mother sat nearby, not moving, watching the egg as her offspring burst through it.

At last a fluffy black creature tumbled out of the egg. The peskel on Jeffrey’s shoulder jumped down, waddling over to the nest. It began gently rubbing its beak against the infant bird. The mother joined in, helping to clean the remaining bits of shell off its young.

She hardly noticed when Jeffrey put his arm around her, but she was instantly appreciative of the contact. Resting her head on his shoulder, she started to speak.

“Peskels mate for life,” she said. “They come back to this same island, the island where they were born, to build their nests and lay their egg.”

A single egg, she remembered. One child for each couple.

A sudden realization crashed over her like the waves around them. She rose, then held out her hands to pull him to his feet.

“What is it?” he asked, catching sight of her expression.

“I know why we’re here.”

He looked at her, waiting for her to speak, but she wasn’t sure she could force out the words. She took a deep breath, staring into his eyes, and suddenly something inside her broke open. Like the chick from the shell, she emerged, and the words tumbled out in a torrent.

“I love you,” she said, grabbing his face and pulling it close to hers. “I know I gave you every impression otherwise, but I love you so much it hurts.”

His eyes widened in shock. He grabbed her, pulling her body into his.

“Say it again,” he growled.

“I love you, Jeffrey. I’ll always love you.”

His lips swept down to capture hers in a searing kiss that blistered her insides. She clung to him as the waves crashed around him, locked inside a moment of perfect joy.

The sound of thunder was the only herald of the fat raindrops that began to pelt them in an instance. Jeffrey laughed up at the sky and grabbed her by the hand, hurrying them back to the ship.

Suddenly she didn’t mind being caught in the storm.

She leaped inside and he followed, grabbing her up again in a tight embrace. “Why did you fight it so hard?” he asked after a moment.

“I’m sorry. I was afraid.” She blinked back tears. “I still am. We’re so different, with solitary lives that don’t have much room for love. I couldn’t be sure that we’d suit each other in the long term.”

He nodded. “I understand. It all happened so fast.” He clutched her to him, planting kisses all over her face. “But I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone, and I honestly don’t know how I’d go on without you.”

She gave him a watery smile, and he bent to kiss away a teardrop from her cheek. “I realized when I saw the peskel family what Rasveen was trying to show us. Zantharian females have only one egg, one chance to conceive a child.”

Her face heated with what she had to tell him. “I knew that I loved you before we returned to Zanthar with your ship. That last time we made love…I…I allowed the membrane that protects my egg to open. I hoped that we’d be able to make a child together. It’s highly unlikely that we’re compatible, but if we are...”

Jeffrey stared at her as if he barely comprehended the words she said. “You spent your one chance on me?” he asked, amazed.

“Yes.” Kat gave him a small smile. “There was no one else I wanted to breed with. Afterwards, I was so scared, afraid of what our child would have to face. Afraid that you might reject me, and the baby. I—“

His face grew fierce. “I would never reject you. Never.” His eyes blazed in his face, and Kat trembled at his intensity. “I will love you forever. And if your gods and mine choose to bless us with a child, I will thank them every day with unending devotion.”

Kat kissed him then, overwhelmed by emotion.

“I love you, Kat,” he said, his finger tracing the line of her jaw. “No matter what happens, I love you, and I’m never going to leave you.”

Kat dropped to her knees, pulling him down with her. She lay back, and Jeffrey covered her, kissing her mouth so slowly and deeply that she thought she would expire with satisfaction.

They made love as the storm raged around them. The torrent inside her matched the one that battered against their ship. When he reached his climax, he screamed her name, causing her to tumble into the abyss of pleasure.

After, as she lay in his arms, his fingers stroking the soft tendrils on her head, Jeffrey began to laugh.

“What is it?” she asked, turning to face him.

“I think I finally see what Rasveen did. Yesterday I heard Captain Brooklyn and Dr. Cohen chatting in the cargo hold of the Earhart while I worked on the engine. I was headed out to grab another spanner when I heard Brook ask if morning sickness was a symptom of Zantharian pregnancy.”

Jeffrey smiled. “I remember Dr. Cohen saying ‘I don’t know about Zantharian women, but I throw up every afternoon at precisely three o’clock.’ I didn’t make much of it at the time, but now…”

Kat bolted upright. “Are you saying...?”

“Yes,” he said with a triumphant grin. “Apparently Zantharians and humans are compatible. The regent and his mate are expecting.”
Kat couldn’t stop the tears from falling, and she sobbed harder when Jeffrey pressed a warm hand to her stomach.

“Right now, we could have our own little one resting right here,” he said, his tone reverential.

Kat covered his hand with her own. She felt like her heart might burst from the joy that overwhelmed her in that moment.

Jeffrey crooned at her tummy, pressing his face against it. “Just think,” he whispered. “We set out to discover new life, and we succeeded.”

Kat gave a soft laugh, then pulled his head up to give him another long, slow kiss.

The End

Author Note: Thanks again for picking up my book. I hope you’ve had a great time with The Lords of Zanthar. I’d love to give you a free prequel to my upcoming series, The Vartik King Chronicles. All you have to do is join my Insiders Group. We sent out e-mails maybe twice a week a most. They’re filled with games, teasers, other great Sci-Fi and Paranormal romance offers as well. Check the invitation below.