We were quiet as we walked on, Fin and Auri leading as Kal and I walked side by side, our weapons drawn and ready for any ambush this time.
Kal insisted on taking the long way, as it left less chances for us to be ambushed again.
I don't mind the quiet, as it gave me the chance to try and process everything that had happened in the last few days.
We had come so close to dying so many times, so many people chasing us and bounties on our heads all because we got involved with Auri.
Was I mad at her? Not at all.
She was a pawn in this as much as the rest of us were, just with freaky powers. Though every time she used them, I felt a tug in myself.
The words of the Eshvaren echoed in my mind for a second.
All Burn.
Could it have been referring to me?
There were no clues to how I was involved in this, which made it that much more frustrating.
Yet the Ra'haam's voice hadn't left me since I touched the GIA agent. Why would it want me? Auri was the one being hunted, yet it wanted me too somehow.
My grip tightened on the rifle, my frustration reaching a peak.
What if I just wanted a normal life?
What if I hadn't stayed with Ty and let some other squad pick me as their weapons specialist?
The thought made me frown immediately, as I would always have Tyler's back. He was the only Alpha I could trust to have my back.
And Kal.
Maker, I had never imagined how someone could make you feel so special, so precious.
Even now as we walked side by side, he would glance at me to make sure I was still there by his side.
There was nowhere else where I could want to be than with Squad 312, even if we were facing certain death.
I sighed heavily, Kal's gaze swiveling to me immediately. I could see his concern immediately, and it brought a sad smile to my lips.
The Pull had given me everything I could have wanted in a partner, but I didn't know what I was giving him besides someone to protect, to worry about.
"Are you alright, Be'shmai?" He asked softly, slowing his pace slightly.
We were close enough to act if something happened, but it gave us a little bit of privacy at the same time.
"I don't know." I say, seeing the crease between his brows deepening.
"Are you hurt?" He specified and I shook my head quickly.
"No, I'm not. Because you protected me." I clarify, looking forward to Auri and Fin for a moment. "I don't understand my role here."
"Thea..." He sighed, pausing to choose his words. "There is much of this that we still are in the dark about. We will take it all as it comes. Together."
So many promises between us. Ones that I know he means but I worry that we can't keep.
"Together." I agree, though my voice isn't as confident as I wish it would be.
Kal doesn't say anything right away, and I worry he thinks I doubt him. I wonder if he can feel my fear, my worry because his words are cautious when he speaks again.
"You Terrans say that home is where the heart lies. When my world died, I thought perhaps my heart had died with it. I did not think I could ever feel this way. About anyone. Let alone a human."
His words bring tears to my eyes as I stop and look at him.
We've reached the spaceport at this point and Auri and Fin keep moving to give Kal and I some space to talk. Fin taps his Uni and nods before he and Auri disappear in between the ships.
I can't wipe away the tears and neither can he as we lock eyes.
"I feel like I'm a disappointment." I whisper, my shoulders shaking as I admit what I've felt most of my life.
Always being beside Tyler, Scarlet and Cat, who all excelled in their own rights while I was getting in fights with anyone who challenged me and got bailed out by my uncle.
Kal takes a step towards me, his lips pressed together as he shakes his head. He shoulders his rifle, which causes my eyes to widen, but I do the same so we both have one hand free to reach out for one another.
"Thea, you are the brightest star in my sky, my gravity, and my purpose. I was raised to be a warrior. It is all that I have known until I met you." He says softly. "I thought I was alone until you reached out to me. You are the first Terran willing to try and know me as I am."
"Because when I looked at you in that fight, I was in awe, Kal. I wanted to know anything and everything because Maker." I laughed softly and squeezed his hand. "Seeing you made me feel alive."
He squeezed mine too as he looked deep into my eyes.
"As I did when I saw you as well." He admits, the smallest of smiles curling on my lips.
"What happens next then?" I can't help asking.
"We stay alive for each other." He says softly.
"Pixieboy, you there?"
Fin's voice over the Uniglass pulls up back to reality, though Kal doesn't let go of my hand as he touches the device.
"...I read you, Finian," he replies, though his eyes don't leave mine.
"Okay, don't all ask for my autograph at once, but I think I've worked out our answer. I'm in that old D-class freighter on the south end of the port, come take a look." Fin informs us.
"We are on our way." Kal replies before touching the Uni again.
"Thank you." I whisper, squeezing his hand tighter.
"For what, Be'shmai?" Kal asks, his eyebrow raised.
"For finding me and making me feel alive again." I smile up at him adoringly.
He smiles back at me and if it wasn't for the face plates in the way, I would have kissed him.
"Del'nai." His gaze is warm and tender as he says the words. And I believe him.
We both reposition our rifles and begin to walk to where Fin and Auri are, hand in hand.
As long as I have him, I have a reason to keep fighting.
