Page 67 of Legacy for the Alien Warrior

“Attention unidentified ship. The bounty you seek is no longer available.”

There was a pause, then a response. “Identify yourself.”

“Captain Thraxar var’Chatakan. The Lumiri child is under my protection. Spread the word—anyone who comes for her will meet the same fate as your colleague.”

He ended the transmission and accelerated away from the moon, plotting a course that would take them back through the gravitational well. Let them follow if they dared.

Beside him, she watched the stars with wide eyes. “Are we going home now?”

Home. The word resonated in his chest like a physical thing.

“Yes, little one. We are going home.”

He set the autopilot and reached into a storage compartment, retrieving a small ration pack. “Are you hungry?”

She nodded, accepting the food with both hands. As she ate, he studied her—this small, resilient child who had endured so much. The daughter of a resistance leader, hunted across the stars. Now his to protect.

His tail curled protectively around her chair as he turned his attention back to the controls. The ship hummed beneath his hands, eating up the distance between them and the planet where Kara and Rory waited.

He had never been one to believe in fate or destiny. But looking at Talia, he couldn’t help but wonder if some greater force had brought them together—these broken pieces forming a new whole.

He had left Ciresia behind, abandoned his people when they needed him most. He had wandered the stars alone, convinced he deserved nothing better.

Now, against all odds, he had found a new purpose. A new family.

And nothing in this universe would take them from him.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Kara paced the perimeter of their new home for the tenth time, one eye on Rory as he arranged and rearranged a collection of stones in the garden. Her son had refused to go inside after Thraxar left, stubbornly planting himself where he could watch the path leading to their house. She didn’t have the heart to force him in.

The fading light cast long shadows across the yard. Another hour and it would be fully dark. Her stomach twisted with each passing minute.

“They’re coming back,” she whispered to herself, pressing a hand against her abdomen to still the churning. “They have to come back.”

Rory suddenly looked up from his stones, his entire body alert. He scrambled to his feet, flapping his hands in excitement.

She followed his gaze and saw them—Thraxar’s massive form silhouetted against the twilight sky, Talia perched on his shoulders. Relief flooded through her with such force that her knees nearly buckled.

“Talia!” she called, rushing forward as Thraxar set the girl down. She dropped to her knees, gathering Talia into her arms. “Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?”

The child shook her head, her skin flushing a warm shade of pink. “Thraxar saved me. He was very brave.”

She looked up at him, noting the tension in his stance, the careful way he scanned their surroundings. Something had happened—something he wasn’t saying in front of the children.

Rory approached cautiously, offering Talia one of his carefully arranged stones. She accepted it with a smile, and he hummed with satisfaction.

“Let us go inside,” Thraxar said quietly. “We need to talk.”

Once the children were settled with a simple meal in the kitchen area, he led her to the far corner of the main room.

“What happened?” she asked, keeping her voice low.

“The bounty hunter was from Lumiri.” His expression darkened. “Talia is the daughter of a resistance leader. Her father fought against the current regime and lost. They want her dead to prevent any future claims to leadership.”

Her hand flew to her mouth. “She’s just a child.”

“That won’t matter to them.” He reached into his pocket and produced a small container. “There’s more. Wren Dox implanted a tracking device in her. I removed it, but there will be others coming.”

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