I could see the edges of a teasing frown creep across his lips.
“I thought humans didn’t believe in fated mates.”
I leaned forward, resting my chin on his shoulder. It was true. Once, I’d thought his notion of fated mates that had been destined for each other was silly. The idea of two people whose souls were intertwined and could not escape the call of their mate, sounded too fantastical and far-fetched.
But how could I possibly deny it any longer? We came from two different planets, quite literally. Somehow, he’d wandered through a hidden star portal to end up here. Trapped in isolation on a mountain, where I, through a stroke of sheer luck, was sent to go find him.
Athos had only seen a handful of humans since he came to this planet. One happened to be me. The odds that he could find a mate in such a limited selection was mind-boggling, and at some point, it became impossible to argue that fate hadn’t played a role. The wild chain of events that had permitted us to find each other required so many steps that could have gone wrong, and yet we still both ended up here.
But all that was too lengthy of a response. Instead, I kept my answer light.
“You changed my mind.” I wrapped my arms around his chest.
He twisted his torso, trying to face me so that we could share a tender kiss. But mid-smooch, the motion of his movement caused the rest of his body to shift as well. I nearly slid off his side. He caught me just in time, securing me onto his back, and we laughed.
Then we lapsed into silence, gazing down at the valley that would be our new home. It was beautiful. Big trees dotted the landscape, providing us plenty of places where we could have shade. Not only that, but we would have the materials we needed for building.
Groves of wild sumac, with their big red berries, waved gently in the wind. Squirrels scurried between them, seeming to play tag under the canopy.
But the space, though abundant with wood, wasn’t overrun by it. There were large swathes of unobstructed green grass. Clover and timothy grew rampant, and big stalks of ryegrass poked out. One of them would be our future garden plot. There were plenty of areas where the sun shined freely, and I knew that we would have no difficulty getting plants to grow.
Birds dipped and swooped, pecking insects out from the grass and then careening wildly up the hillside. Grackles perched on the sumac, their iridescent feathers shimmering in the sun. Somewhere, a catbird mewed. Butterflies flitted about, and a few little cottontail rabbits wandered through, now and then.
The mountain surrounded the terrain on all sides, obstructing us from view. It would protect and shelter us. The big bluffs on the northern end would block most of the winter winds. The jagged rocks were fierce and intimidating, but they would serve us well.
There were even a few patches where the land dipped lower than the rest. The impression that it left behind was full of crystal blue water. Marshy plants grew along the edge, like big puffy cattails and reeds.
None were quite big enough to be considered lakes, but I had no doubt that our water needs would be met. I suspected they were fed by underground springs that forked off from the stream running down the hillside.
I draped my arms over his shoulders, embracing him. He bent his own arms to hold my hands, squeezing gently. For a while, we were lost in our thoughts and visions for the future.
I gazed at the morning sun, admiring how it sparkled down over the valley. It made the water shine and the greenery glow with life. Everything looked so blissful and radiant from our position that it was impossible to think of anything but the joy that we were going to share.
“It feels like my life is just beginning,” I confessed to Athos. “Everything that came before you feels like a dream. Like I’ve been asleep all this time, just waiting to wake up. To finally be alive.”
I’d thought about this feeling a lot over the past few days. My life, challenging from an early age, had focused mostly on just getting by. I never really dared to come up with an ambition or dreams the way that most little kids did. I just wanted to make it from one day to the next.
This was the first time that it didn’t feel as though I was going through the motions. Checking a list every day of what I had to do. It was like I had been sleepwalking, never really opening my eyes completely.
Athos squeezed my hand again, leaning back against me.
“For me, it’s the opposite. I felt dead. My time was occupied with just trying to stay alive, and sometimes I began to wonder why. What was the point if it meant that I had to give up my home and everything I knew on Yakeron? What was I living for?”
I kissed his shoulder.
He paused, as though gathering his emotions, before he continued. “So many times, I regretted my decision to flee. I often considered returning, even though I knew I’d be executed if I did. Sometimes, true physical death seemed to be the better alternative, because it felt like I had already died. But now it all makes sense. I had to stay alive. Because you were coming. Now I understand my purpose, and why I’ve made it this far.”
I wiped a tear from my eyes. His words moved me, and they resonated with me. He was right, and I understood him perfectly. After losing my brother and mother, I was left alone in the world. I knew what it felt like – to wonder if there was any point. To fight every day just to stay alive, while having to wonder if being alive was even worth it.
“And now that we have each other, we don’t have to just survive,” he concluded. “We can thrive.”
I hugged him tightly, tears of joy falling freely now.
We can thrive.
It all felt so perfect, as though someone had planned it long ago.
Chapter Nineteen