PART TWENTY

Marco was standing on the side of a steep mountain, staring down the jagged cliff side, covered in thick snow. The view was familiar…something he knew intimately, but couldn’t quite recognize, and the sun was the brightest he’d ever seen. This place felt so beautiful and safe, and he wanted to stay forever…all he had to do was let go, and it would be his.

He took a step closer to the edge of the cliff.

But behind him he heard a faint voice, calling to him from a distance, and his heart raced, as he felt suddenly torn.

Oh, yes, he knew that voice, would recognize it anywhere…on Earth, on Antar, or anyplace in between. His beloved Ayanna.

But the sunlight was growing brighter, kept beckoning him closer and he wanted to let go because it was so peaceful here. No fighting, no war…no denying what his heart truly wanted. Just peace.

Marco, she called. I love you.

He turned to face her, amazed how her golden hair shimmered, as it blew in the mountain wind. Their eyes locked for an eternal moment and he knew that if only he would stay, he could finally have her this time.

****

Tess knelt beside Marco’s unconscious form, stroking his black hair away from his forehead with a shaky hand. Max had pulled the Suburban onto a deserted side road after several miles, once they’d been sure no one else was following them, and now he knelt solemnly beside Marco, placing his palm across his deep chest wound. Tess yearned to comfort Marco somehow, even though he wasn’t conscious—wanted him to know that he would be alright. So she just kept stroking his silky hair, studying his features as Max moved beside her…noticed how his long dark lashes fanned downward so peacefully, even as her own heart thundered within her chest. She couldn’t calm her emotions, not when his shirt was stained so heavily with blood—not when there was just so much of it everywhere.

"You’re going to be okay," she promised quietly. "Max is going to heal you," she explained, and it seemed that if Marco could just hear her conviction, then surely he would recover.

She watched Max’s hand cover his heart solidly, confidently, and willed herself to focus on Marco’s face. Even now, he was so beautiful, his black brows arching elegantly, the light dusting of freckles she’d noticed earlier standing in surprising relief against his olive skin.

Don’t die because I love you, she willed him to know. We can have so much, just don’t die…

She heard Max gasp sharply beside her, and she observed how he grimaced, absorbing Marco’s pain, and then she was amazed to see the wound repair swiftly beneath his palm. There’d been so much blood—too much—and yet now it was dissolving beneath Max’s sure touch. But not without cost, she realized as Max gasped again beside her. She could only wonder what it felt like to heal such a fatal wound.

She willed herself to focus on Marco’s still features, and suddenly his long lashes fluttered a bit. Then, his dark eyes opened, eyes that already commanded her so fully, and he glanced about in confusion—until his gaze met her own, his lips parting a bit. She knew everything he felt at that moment, was strangely connected with him as they stared mutely at one another.

Max sat back on his heel, drawing in quick breaths. "He’s going to be okay," he assessed quietly.

Marco was whole, this man who she now understood meant so much to her—and this pivotal moment had simply brought all her conflicted emotions into sharp relief.

"What happened?" Marco asked in weak confusion, his eyes never leaving her own.

"You’re okay," Tess whispered, stroking his hair softly beneath her fingertips. She didn’t care that Max was watching, none of that mattered to her at this moment. "You were injured, but Max healed you. You’ll be fine."

Marco nodded faintly, and she saw him swallow hard, as he glanced at Max.

"Are we out of danger?" he inquired throatily, and Max nodded, moving out the back door. "Yes, but I’m going to get us out of here."

****

Max drove in silence, staring ahead as the deserted two-lane unfolded endlessly ahead of him. Serena slept in the seat behind him, and Marco and Tess rode quietly in the back cab. He hadn’t missed the intimacy between the two of them earlier, yet now they seemed quite distant, each staring silently out their separate windows. Max glanced in the rearview mirror, and noticed how Tess kept playing nervously with her hair, chewing on her lip, and he wondered what was really happening between the two of them. Or if anything was at all—perhaps he’d misinterpreted their reaction to one another earlier.

Something about their awkward estrangement left him aching for Liz, needing to bond with her. Besides, he wanted her to know that he was safe, so he grasped for her, feeling for their connection—and was immediately answered by the scent of her, washing all over his skin. He felt her energy skitter across his body, shimmering like white hot light, and he opened…felt their bond take shape, solidify.

And suddenly, Liz was right there inside of him, rushing in like a desert wind. His body heat quickly escalated in response, and his hands trembled on the steering wheel, as he felt himself enter her in kind.

Max felt her moving unsteadily within him, not quite settling…she was anxious and nervous. But there was something else he sensed, something he couldn’t pinpoint.

What’s wrong? He demanded.

For a moment, he wondered what she meant, and then he realized he was terribly spent from healing Marco and Serena. From the battle.

Marco was injured, too? She questioned heatedly, having sensed his thoughts.

She settled more now, and he suddenly yearned to deepen what was happening between them. Even in the midst of everything—precisely because of it—he had to join fully with her.

I need you, he murmured quietly, knowing his words were like a whisper of desire across their connection. He felt her response, how she yearned for him, as their connection trembled.

Now? She questioned gently.

Oh, right now, he sighed. Make love to me, sweetheart…let me make love to you.

With that he felt Liz slip much closer inside of him, felt their souls brush intimately…grow even closer, then quickly dart away. He reached more forcefully, and this time as they touched, they knit together intricately…inseparably, and his body quaked in response.

He felt Liz’s soft sated sigh against his neck. I needed to be like this, she purred. I needed you.

We’ll always have this, no matter what happens, he promised, but felt a whisper of doubt within his heart, as his words brought back his recent premonition—how he’d sensed that there might come a day when they’d be unable to connect like this. Quickly, he pressed the emotions deep within his heart’s inner recesses because this was not the way for Liz to learn about his fears.

Too late, she whispered anxiously.

We are together right now, Max, she argued heatedly. This is the only way Anna and Riley have communicated for six years, so it has to be good enough for us. It always has been!

He could tell she was crying now, and he cursed himself for having allowed his thoughts to drift so selfishly, for having carelessly exposed her to his secret fears when her heart was already so vulnerable today.

Shh, sweetheart, he soothed and drew her even more tightly within himself, caressed her…willed her to feel his touch, even across their separation. Everything’s okay.

What premonition? She demanded again, her voice wavering unsteadily. You’ve been keeping it from me?

She stilled a bit, grew quiet inside of him, waiting for him to continue.

He clasped the steering wheel tightly within his hands, his heart racing madly, but then he realized it was in response to Liz’s emotions, not his own. He was experiencing her own physical reaction to his words.

What could that mean? She questioned softly.

True…might not. But her voice sounded wounded and small, not like that of his strong Liz.

They fell silent for several long moments, and Max stared at the road ahead. The terrain in this part of New Mexico was breathtaking—and right now he was climbing higher and higher into the mountains outside of Taos. A light snow had dusted the ground all around them, and it glinted as the sun peeked half-heartedly from behind the winter clouds. Such a gorgeous moment, discovered quite by accident, and it revealed something to him about their current conversation.

I want to be strong for you, to stand beside you as my leader, she confessed quietly. But it’s hard because I don’t want to lose my husband

And he understood her conflict precisely. If he were any other man, his role as husband would take precedent above all else, but she was admitting that she had to acknowledge him as her leader first, even before husband…mate.

He felt her energy shimmer sharply at his words, felt her dramatic response as her scent wafted all through the Suburban. She couldn’t have been more intimate with him, if they’d been making love physically. A soft sigh escaped his lips.

More heady energy swept across his skin, heating it feverishly, and he knew that she loved him with all her heart. But then again, he’d always known that.

****

The group had gathered in the small living room of the cabin, huddled around the fire trying to stay warm as night fell on the mountain, bringing with it a chilling wind. Max stood in front of the hearth, explaining the events of the day, with Serena near him, covered in a warm blanket, still seeming very weak.

Max had seen the expressions on his friends’ faces, knew that everyone was stunned by the full revelation of the day’s events. He’d spared no details, except in protecting Serena as much as possible—he’d not admitted nearly the full extent of Nicholas’s torture and humiliation of her. He couldn’t possibly subject her to those emotions again, especially not in front of her unit…all of them. He’d simply acknowledged her injury and that Nicholas had repeatedly used the disruptor to prevent her from shape shifting…not how incoherent she’d been, how utterly exposed. Her eyes had met his with quiet gratitude as he’d spoken, and he knew a new bond had forged between the two of them today. Even now, she remained so weak, shivering slightly beneath her blanket, that he knew he had to lead this group—knew that the time had truly come for this leadership transition.

"We won the battle today," he continued meaningfully, his eyes sweeping the faces around him. "But this war is about to change. We’ve been in defensive mode until now, because we had no other choice. But this is about to become an offensive campaign."

Max glanced toward Serena for confirmation, but she only smiled softly, refusing to step in. He realized then that she wanted him in this role, wanted him at the helm now.

Michael blew out a heavy breath, staring up at him from where he sat on the floor. "How do we do that, Maxwell? I know it’s what I want, but I don’t understand how we go about it."

"I’m not sure yet either," Max confessed. Turning away from them all, he stared down into the roaring fire, studying the leaping flames, as they shifted unpredictably before his eyes. "But I’m going to figure it out, and we all need to be prepared."

"We back you up, no matter what, Max," Tess stated simply. "You know that."

He turned back to face the group, and nodded at Tess in acknowledgement. He’d never appreciated her loyalty more than at this moment, when he was forging ahead into such unknown territory. This had always seemed so daunting to him, truly leading them all like this—and now it wasn’t just his small core unit, but Serena, Marco and the others as well.

"Just know that today the stakes were raised, and this war just changed," he pledged, and in his mind he pictured what Nicholas had done to Serena…to Marco and Anna. "Nothing can ever be the same again."

Max meant it, because he would make sure Khivar paid for his army’s actions—if today had been any indication of his cruelty, Max had no doubt how his own people were suffering back on Antar.

And he would no longer allow it.

****

The meeting had ended, with everyone filing to their various rooms, but Tess had known she couldn’t possibly sleep. So as cold as it was, she’d bundled up and walked out onto the porch, settling in a rocking chair. A heavy snow had begun falling, and she watched as the flakes spiraled down from the sky, so delicate and fragile in such a tough terrain. The contrast moved her inexplicably, and she sat transfixed by the scene.

She heard the door open behind her, and the sound of heavy boots on the wooden porch floor—and knew immediately who they belonged to.

"Hi," Marco offered softly, stepping close.

"Hey," she answered, smiling up at him where he towered over her. His expression was serious, his eyes guarded and dark.

"Walk with me a minute?" He asked, wrapping his arms around himself to keep warm. For some reason she noticed how pristine his sweater looked—so different from the bloodstained shirt he’d worn when they’d arrived this afternoon. Now, he was freshly showered, his dark hair combed neatly back, but there was something in his expression that unsettled her.

"Sure," she agreed, rising to her feet. He moved heavily down the steps, and she followed right behind.

The ground was covered in a thin blanket of snow, but not so heavy that walking wasn’t easy enough. They fell in step beside one another on the driveway, walking in silence for a moment, and then finally he spoke.

"I just wanted to thank you, Tess," he began huskily. "For today."

"Marco, you don’t need to thank me," she disagreed uncertainly, because she wasn’t entirely sure what he was thanking her for.

"No, I do, Tess," he explained, glancing at her. "I know that somehow you did something…pulled me back somehow." He shook his head in confusion, rubbing his eyes. "I’m not sure exactly, but I know I need to thank you."

Tess stared at him in disbelief. Had he heard the things she’d whispered to him from within her mind? What else could he even be talking about—and yet he didn’t seem to truly remember at all.

"You would have done the same for me," she confessed in a hushed voice. "I know you would have."

Her words had come out much more tenderly than she’d ever meant.

"Yes, I would," he admitted quietly. "But it still doesn’t change things between us, Tess."

Tess turned to him sharply, suddenly very hurt and angry. After everything they’d been through in these past few days—today—how could he possibly argue that nothing had changed? Not when she now knew he was her soul mate, that they shared a deep connection that she couldn’t even begin to fathom. He met her eyes uncertainly in the darkness, his gaze etched in shadow.

But she’d seen one thing clearly enough--absolute confirmation that he was lying to her in this moment. That he’d felt everything she had today—or at least pieces of it.

And something about how adamantly he was denying it all incensed her, empowered her. She drew herself up as tall as possible, and yet he still towered over her, but she didn’t care, as she stared up at him with blazing eyes.

"You’re lying," she whispered heatedly.

"What?" he asked, wrinkling his dark brows in confusion.

"You are lying about nothing having changed. You know everything is different."

"Tess…" he began, clasping her arm gently.

"That’s fine, you can lie to yourself, Marco," she cried, hating how unsteady her voice had become, as tears burned within her eyes. "But just know this…you can’t lie to me."

She wrestled her arm free from his firm grasp, and stormed quickly away from him, the snow crunching beneath her feet.

"Tess," he called after her in a thick voice.

She stopped, whirling back to face him one last moment, and was surprised to see he hadn’t moved, was just standing there, his mouth open in disbelief.

"You can’t lie to me, Marco, because I know the truth," she cried forcefully, the tears spilling down her cheeks now. "I know that we’re called to one another."

He stood watching her mutely, countless emotions passing over his features. Desire, confusion, denial…and she was also quite sure she glimpsed one final emotion—love.

So now, he had a decision to make—whether he’d embrace what could happen between the two of them, or fight it for eternity, and as she turned, leaving him staring after her, she could only hope he’d choose her.

But even as she offered her hope up as a prayer, she also heard Max’s earlier words ringing in her ears.

Just know that this war has changed…nothing can ever be the same again.