Hauk jumped down from his ship and approached her father in steady, predatorial strides. "Sir, I request another ship to join your troops. I haven't the fuel to return in mine."
Her father glanced at her, his arms tightening around her shoulders. To her relief, he nodded. "There are three ships fully fueled on the other side of yours."
Hauk gave a curt nod before heading off to them.
"Hauk!" Kiara ran after him.
He paused and waited until she caught up to him. Her lips trem bled as she stared at his Andarion eyes. There was only one thing she wanted, one thing left to wish for. "Bring Nykyrian back to me."
He looked past her shoulder to where her father stood. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a griata ring and handed it to her. "Nykyrian wanted me to give you this."
Kiara bit back her tears as she stared at the beautiful wedding ring Hauk dropped into her palm.
"He also wanted me to tell you he loves you."
Her tears broke into a soul-wrenching sob. "Please save him," she cried, throwing her arm s around Hauk's neck. "He has to come home!"
Hauk nodded, then unwound her arms and darted to the nearest fighter.
Kiara slid the cold ring onto her third finger, her fears and worries choking her. The ring was a perfect fit, just like Nykyrian's love.
She turned around and joined her father, wishing she were a little girl again and he could make everything all right just by kissing her hurt and holding her close. But to her deepest regret, those days were long past.
"Let me take you home," her father said quietly, draping his arm over her shoulders.
Kiara shook her head. "I have to know what's going on. Take m e to the control room."
Despite a skeptical look, he did as she asked.
Silent, Kiara sat listening to the pilots' voices as they engaged Aksel's men. She prayed for a miracle.
Hauk thought he would never get to the battle. In a weird way, he was right. By the time he met up with the squadron, the battle was over. His heart thundered as he surveyed the ships, looking for Nykyrian's.
Flicking open the channel to ask Jayne about Nykyrian's fate, he spied the Arcana. Four Gourish fighters surrounded the disabled craft.
"Nykyrian?" His heart lodged painfully in his throat.
". . . Fine . . . Hurt . . ."
Frowning, Hauk surveyed the damage done to Nykyrian's ship. Sparks popped, only to be extinguished in the vacuum of space. From what he could see, it appeared only one engine was functioning. He had no idea how Nykyrian could land the ship in its current condition. "Do you need a tractor beam to help you land?"
"No . . . Ship . . . Destroy . . ."
Hauk could barely understand the broken, garbled words. He let out a fierce curse, remembering the ship couldn't be pulled in. If they tried, it would self-destruct.
One of the Gourish fighters almost hit the Arcana as it listed to one side. Hauk clenched his teeth. Nykyrian wasn't going to make it back.
Nykyrian rem ained silent. His communications system was malfunctioning and he could only catch snatches of conversations from the pilots around him. He couldn't believe he was still alive. After he had killed Aksel, the rest of Aksel's men had blasted a dozen or more holes in his ship.
A strange catharsis had formed in his mind after the battle, and somehow all his past sins ceased to bother him.
He stared at his control panel which was lit up by every warning system on board. It was a miracle he even had enough directionals left to fly with.
He thought about Kiara and their baby. If he could have one wish, it would be to see his baby born, to hold Kiara one last time. He sighed, a knot forming in his chest. From the beginning, he had known som e things were not his to have.
The planet loomed before him.
He rubbed his hand down his injured arm. Blood soaked his uniform , but it no longer seemed to ache. Nykyrian stared at Gouran, wondering if Tiarun would order him detonated before he neared the bay. Most governm ents would. It was standard practice to prevent damage to valuable bays.
Nykyrian leaned his head back on the seat. His ears buzzed from the radio's static, but even so, he could swear he heard the tender, dulcet tone of Kiara's voice calling his name.
He headed into the bay, his hands autom atically running through the landing procedure.
Flipping switches and pulling gears, he couldn't get the fighter to slow at all. A chill ran over him as he entered the hanger at full speed.
In one last effort to save his life, he pulled the ejection switch over his head. The force of the seat's propulsion shot him up, but not fast enough for him to clear the rear stabilizer. The impact sent him into blackness.
Kiara came to her feet with a scream , her mind unable to believe what her eyes registered.
Nykyrian's ship embedded, then tore a hole through the bay's outer wall. Burning red and gold flames licked the craft and the length of the bay's floor and walls, explosions erupting all over. Fire units descended to extinguish the blaze.