“Right. Okay.” Swift glanced back at Alys who looked stricken by the news. No matter how bad things had been when she left her family, she loved them and would want to be at her mother’s side. He held out his hand. “Alys, let’s go.”
She clung to his hand as he led her away from the meeting room and across the ship to their quarters. She changed into her most modest and plain dress while he tossed the necessary things into a bag. He could tell she was on the verge of tears, but she kept it together as they left their home and made their way to the departures deck.
By the time they were jetting away from the Valiant, she had regained her composure completely and stared quietly at her hands. She turned the gleaming gold band around her finger. Finally, she said, “At least I’m coming back married.”
Swift slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. He kissed the top of her head. “We can tell them we married the same day I took you if that would make it easier.” His hand drifted to her neck, and he touched the collar. “We’ll take this off when we land. I’ll keep it until we’re back on the Valiant.”
“Thank you,” she said, obviously relieved. “Please, you have to know that I don’t mind wearing your collar. I’m proud to wear it. I’m proud to belong to you.”
“I know,” he assured her. “I also know that it’s different down there, and I want to make this as easy as possible.”
“I shouldn’t have left her,” Alys said suddenly, her voice rough. “I knew she wasn’t well. I knew the pregnancy was hard on her. I should have stayed.”
“If you’d stayed, you would have been married to that awful old man. You would have been miserable, and your mother still would have gotten sicker.” He gently placed his palm against her stomach. “We wouldn’t have made our babies.”
Alys blinked rapidly, refusing to cry, and roughly wiped at her face. “I know I did the right thing, but it still hurts.” Worried, she asked, “What if everyone hates me for running away? What if my father forbids me from entering the house to see my mother?”
“He can try,” Swift remarked, fully prepared to resort to violence if necessary. One way or another, Alys would see her mother.
“Can you...?” She lowered her gaze, suddenly shy and seemingly embarrassed. “Can you hold me?”
“Come here.” He draped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in as close as he could. The seatbelts holding them in place were a bit of a nuisance, but they made do. He held her until she drifted off to sleep, no doubt exhausted from the wedding and the pregnancy.
While she slept, he let his mind wander to all the possibilities for their future. Twins. Parenthood. Maybe another child or two. Suddenly, the desire to promote and continue climbing the ranks was stronger than ever. It was an imperative. He wanted to give his wife and children the very best life possible.
Thoughts of their future continued to ramble around in his mind as they made their descent. Alys woke as the pressure changed in the cabin, and as she yawned and popped her ears, he realized he hadn’t even considered asking if it was safe for her to fly. She must have seen the worried look on his face because she touched his arm and said, “The information the women’s clinic gave me said that it’s safe to travel until I’m in the last trimester as long as I'm healthy.”
“I should have asked before we left.”
“We were a little busy, Swift.”
“Come here.” He gestured for her to shift in her seat. He swept aside the loose waves of her dark hair and unbuckled her collar. He placed it in the chest pocket of his uniform shirt for safekeeping. “Anything else we should handle before we leave the outpost?”
“I don’t think so.” She touched her bare neck. “I feel naked without it.”
He brushed his fingers over her skin. “We’ll pick out a necklace for you to wear when you’re unable to wear the collar. Something gold,” he murmured, thinking it would look lovely on her. “Maybe some earrings, too.”
She touched her unpierced lobes and admitted, “I always wanted to pierce my ears, but my parents wouldn’t allow it.”
“There is a piercing studio on the Valiant.” He decided not to tell her about all the other places she could get pierced. “It’s near the tattoo shop.” He smiled. “I suppose we should decide how we want our family crest to look.”
She eyed his chest. “You should leave the as much of your upper chest and arm free as possible. If I’m anything like my mother, you’re going to need all that space for the names of our children.”
As much as he would love to have a dozen children, he would never ask that of Alys. It was too high a burden for her to bear. Even with the exceptional medical care available to her, the physical burden of carrying multiple pregnancies would take its toll. He wouldn’t risk her health.
But family size was a conversation they could have another time. Right now, he wanted to get her off the ship, onto a ground transport and to her mother as quickly as possible.
“This is so much faster than a horse and wagon,” Alys remarked as he navigated the poorly maintained dirt road in a loaned vehicle. “But quite a bit bumpier.”
“These roads are supposed to be properly paved sometime early next year. They’re working on a network of them. The ones around The City have made a big difference in trade and commerce.”
“And your ability to move giant trucks and other pieces of military equipment to the base you’re building outside The City,” she said with a knowing look.
“That too,” he agreed.
“Do you have to wear that the entire time?” She gestured to the weapon holstered at his hip. “It doesn’t exactly look very friendly.”
“It’s not supposed to make me look friendly. We’re at war, Alys. Frankly, we’re lucky that the outpost commander didn’t require that we take an escort.” He would have preferred it. Having Alys on the open road with only his side arm and a rifle put him on edge. This area was low risk for Splinters and other criminals, but the risk wasn’t zero.
“I understand.”
He reached over and took her hand. His gaze flicked from the windshield to her face and back. “I’ll do my best to not look scary for your family.”
“I don’t know if that’s possible.”
He snorted. “Well, thanks, I guess.”
“You know what I mean! You’re taller than all of us. You’re a giant with big muscular arms and markings on your skin. Your haircut is jarring, and you’re wearing this dark uniform with a weapon on your hip. It’s a lot.”
“I know.” He didn’t like that this was the way he was meeting her family for the first time. At least, he wasn’t in full battle rattle.
“That’s wrong.” She gestured to the navigation screen on the dashboard. “Don’t take that left. Wait for the next road. Otherwise, you’ll end up at the wooden bridge, and there’s no way it can support the weight of this vehicle.”
“Noted.” This was the type of intel that was desperately needed, and he made a mental note to mention it to Shadow Force and logistics. Women like Alys and Zadie could be incredibly useful sources of lifesaving information.