Vall's Will (19 page)

Chapter
Thirty-Two

Future

“Will!”

It was Plymon
who broke their shocked surprise. He hurried over to her, hands reaching for her,
when he was stopped by Vall’s disapproving scowl. The Sub-captain glanced from
one to the other, when he suddenly started.

“Your hair!
How?”

Will glanced
about the vast room. “I came to say good-bye. And to relinquish my
captaincy.”

Commander Oglet
stepped away from the others. “What are you talking about, Captain
Tayte?”

She closed the
distance between them and placed a hand on Plymon’s chest. “I give to you
what you’ve secretly desired ever since you first boarded the ship. I give you
the
Trinity.
Of course, the Regency will have to approve my decision,
but it should only be a formality.”

Captain Alamet
stepped forward. Wordlessly, the two friends embraced. As they drew apart,
Alamet tried to smile, but failed. “Let me guess. You’re dedicating the
rest of your life to protecting this Resplendent.”

“Protecting
has several meanings at this point, Ambris. Without me, Vall, I mean, Uli,
would turn. Correction, he
will
turn. And an evil Resplendent is a force
in the universe that no one can conquer. Not even if you brought every Nion
warship into play.”

“So what
are you going to do?”

“I’m going
to love him. I’m going to save him from himself whenever I must. And in between
those times, we’re going to explore the universe.”

“What if
you find one of those evil Resplendents while you’re exploring?” Plymon
questioned.

“There are
many like me who are keeping watch for them,” Vall responded. “When or
if we discover one, the others will join me in defeating them.”

Will returned to
his embrace, turning around to face everyone. “Plymon, please say good-bye
to my crew for me. Please tell them I have a greater mission I must accomplish.
Oh, and tell Killjoy she was right.”

“Right?
About what?”

“Just tell
her I’m learning how to heal a fatal flaw. She’ll understand.” Reaching
down, Will unbuckled the stasis tube, wrapped the straps around it, and held it
out for the Sub-captain to take. “I won’t need this.”

“Are you
certain you know what you’re doing, Captain?” the Commander asked.

“Yes. And
the more I think about it, the more I believe this was meant to be my true
purpose in life. Everything I’ve done has led me to this, to be with Uli, and
to protect him from himself.”

She waited for
Vall to put his arms around her before she erected her own shields. As she
suspected, he remained unaffected by them. Giving Commander Oglet a nod, she
took one final look around the room, at all the faces of the people she had
come to know over the years, finally resting on Plymon’s.

“Good-bye,
Braill. I wish you a long and successful career.”

Instead of
replying, the new captain of the
Trinity
raised a hand to wave, but Will
would swear she saw the glimmer of tears in his eyes a moment before her own
tears blurred her vision.

“The
universe is a large place,” Alamet gruffly commented. “Where do you
plan to start?”

Will looked over
her shoulder and up at the man lovingly watching her. “I don’t know. Where
would you like to start, Uli?”

“I get to
choose this time?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

And with that,
the celestial creature and the woman he loved vanished. But not before those
left behind heard Will’s peal of laughter as she exclaimed with delight,
“A
gain
?”

Linda loves to write sensuously erotic romance
with a fantasy, paranormal, or science fiction flair. Her technique is often
described as being as visual as a motion picture or graphic novel. By day she
is a Kindergarten
 
teacher, wife, and mother who lives in a small south Texas
town near the Gulf coast. But at night she delves into alternate worlds filled
with daring exploits, adventure, and intense love.

She has numerous best
sellers, including 10 consecutive #1s. In 2009, she was named Whiskey Creek
Press Torrid’s Author of the Year, and her book MY STRENGTH, MY POWER, MY LOVE
was named the 2009 WCPT Book of the Year. In 2011, her book LORD OF
THUNDER was named the Epic Ebook “Eppie” Award Winner for Best
Erotic Sci-Fi Romance.

http://www.LindaMooney.com