My men had swallowed their need for revenge and given the opportunity to me. They’d trusted in my strength and had allowed me to do what needed to be done, and as a result, Nix was dead. The Resistance had won the war and as a result, we were finally free.
“I love you,” I whispered hoarsely, my voice scratchy with sorrow. The four of them squeezed me tight and with their help, I began to rise from the wallows of grief.
A short time later, I pulled myself together enough to wipe away what remained of my tears and finish the war my sisters and I had started.
In the following hours, the battle ground to a complete halt, and all the enemy ships were grounded. Without Nix to lead them, the Vakarran army unanimously surrendered. His men abandoned their ships and agreed to be taken as prisoners. That is, all except for a single vessel.
We had to investigate.
My Vakarrans and I, backed up by Danika, Alaina, and their men approached the ship cautiously, weapons drawn and ready to fire.
“It’s probably men of his central command,” Tavik guessed.
“Or some of his friends,” Zane added, his voice laced with disdain.
The door to the moderately sized vessel slid open and we all lifted our guns, aiming straight at it as the wing dropped to the ground.
“Don’t shoot,” a male voice rang out.
“Hold, men,” Ryder commanded. All of us tensed, ready for the command to fire to come at any moment.
A small foot emerged. I furrowed my brow, realizing it couldn’t possibly be Vakarran. It wasn’t the right size. Instead, it was human. I stilled, narrowing my eyes in suspicion.
Slowly, a female form descended, and my mouth fell open.
It was Kira, followed by four massive Vakarran soldiers, but that wasn’t all.
Kira was holding the hand of a child. Small, lavender-colored fingers held hers and it was then that I realized it wasn’t a boy. Vakarrans were only meant to sire sons.
Kira’s determined blue eyes met mine.
“It’s good to see you again, my sisters. I’d like you to meet my daughter, Kai.”
Epilogue
Kaela
We’d won.
We’d fought hard and we’d won our freedom and as a result, Earth was ours again.
In the days following, we began to rebuild after our unlikely victory. Davon hacked into Nix’s bank account and drained it, using the funding to secure the resources we needed, including a number of crucial additional allies needed in order to protect Earth from falling under alien rule once again. Our men organized the ordering of supplies, using their many diverse connections to get whatever we needed and then, we began to build a new city.
When the Vengeance landed, I was surprised to meet Mya, another human and her own set of four Vakarrans. Her sister, Lea disembarked with her and we welcomed them all into the fold, thanking them for their crucial timing in the battle. I don’t know how many more men we would have lost if it wasn’t for their arrival.
We sent out a regiment of human men and women to retrieve the remainder of our human camp in the caves. Having seen much of the battle from the ground, they joined our ranks without a fight and were delighted to see the four of us, the Stryke sisters alive and well. Sophie and Liam had come together in my absence, and I was pleased to learn that she was expecting a new baby in the coming months.
It was a dream come true. I couldn’t stop grinning, knowing we’d succeeded, against all odds and that Kira had survived it too. My sisters and I spent as much time with her as we could, and she told us her story, all of it.
I learned that she and her men had fought on the inside, using stealth, telepathic communication, and Kira’s strength and cunning to sneak into the command room after they’d lured the enemy away. Kira had entered the self-destruct code and then they’d run as fast as they could. Before they’d escaped, they helped hundreds of human and alien slaves to escape as well, only they directed them to land far away in order to avoid taking any unnecessary fire. By destroying the main Vakarran military ship, she’d secured our total and complete victory.
Using Kira’s information, we sent a regiment out to meet the escapees and welcome them to Earth. Among them, we’d found a surprise. Tavik’s mother was there and he’d been beyond delighted to find her there. She was a beautiful alien woman and she took my breath away the first time I met her. Her skin was pale white, devoid of all color, leaving only the emerald green of her eyes. They were just like Tavik’s. We learned that Nix had lied and taken her as one of his personal servants, taking delight in the fact that he’d kept her close and could hurt her whenever he wished. But she’d survived, escaped, and now she was free too. She’d held my hand and pressed her lips to my fingers, giving me her blessing. She’d seen Tavik’s and my love for each other and told me that it was special. I’d thanked her and ensured she’d have a suite not far from ours, large and luxurious.
Kira’s daughter Kai was a gorgeous little girl. Blessed with her mother’s dark chocolate brown waves and bright blue eyes, she looked mostly human, except for her lavender-colored skin and small, ram-like horns on either side of her head. She’d braided her hair around her horns, decorating and celebrating her mixed human and Vakarran heritage. She was only around six months old but was about the size of a toddler, by human standards anyway. None of us knew how it was possible that she’d had a daughter. Throughout history, Vakarrans had only ever sired sons. Not a single daughter had ever been recorded. My Vakarrans had a ton of theories but couldn’t test any of them. As far as they knew, Kai was the first of her kind. A Vakarran female. It was a miracle and we welcomed her into the family all the same.
Over the following weeks, we established a new world order, one based on diversity, equality, and freedom. The news slowly spread throughout the world and small pockets of remaining survivors began to emerge. They joined with us and our ranks swelled. Now, we were over ten thousand strong.
Late one night, I looked out upon what we had constructed. The city was advanced, built on the remains of what had once been Atlanta, but was now deemed Stryke City. I’d fought against the name initially and so did my sisters, but the masses had voted, and we couldn’t do much to change it. I shook my head, smirking as I studied what we’d built.