Aevar: Trekkers (A SciFi Alien Human Military Romance) by Terra Wolf, Juno Wells Page B

go deeper, but she heard footsteps behind them and pulled away quickly.
    “Ivy? What's going on?”
    Maggie.
    She turned around again and bent down so that she was eye level with her younger sister. Maggie wasn't much shorter than Ivy, but she took her hand and pulled her over to a bench to sit down so they could be completely on the same level. Ivy owed her that. Aevar walked to the door and stood in the doorway looking out into the hall. She knew that he was trying to give them some privacy, but that he didn't want to be far away from her, either. His being in the doorway was a good compromise.
    “Sit down. We need to talk.”
    Maggie raised an eyebrow at her, “You think I don't know what's going on? You got information down on Goya, didn't you? You’re going to save our parents. And our people.”
    Ivy nodded solemnly. She knew that she was risking her life by going on this mission. Goya's pirates and evildoers seemed like nothing compared what she was about to face. “I have to go, Maggie. I just need you to understand that. And above all else, I need you to stay safe! I can't be worrying about you when I'm out there. I’ve got to have my head on straight.”
    Ivy's eyes lifted up to Aevar's back, and she watched the chiseled outline of his body. He didn't have a shirt on again; he really needed to start wearing one of those around her. Otherwise she wanted to jump his bones every second of the day. Definitely a note for their mission: wear a shirt so she could focus on killing the bad guys.
    Harvesters. In her mind, she wanted to just see them as just another pirate. A killable enemy. But part of her also recognized that they knew hardly anything about these creatures. They knew what they were made of, but not how hard it would be to kill them. They had killed one and done the autopsy on it, but there was no telling how many blaster hits it took before it fell. That was something that they were going to have to learn.
    “What if I never see you again?”
    Ivy put up her hand. “No. Don't say anything like that! I'll be back.”
    A tear slipped down from Maggie's eye and fell onto her sandy colored dress. “You don't know that. You can't promise me that.”
    Ivy knew that she couldn't. She was the last thing that Maggie had in this galaxy and she was risking her life to potentially save hundreds, if not thousands, of others. She had to do this. It felt like destiny.
    “You're right, I can't. You’re strong and brave. You would be okay without me.” It killed her to admit to herself as she was saying it aloud. But she knew she was right. Maggie was feisty and intelligent. She wouldn't even let the Alliance fighters aboard the Titan push her around, and all of them were more than twice her age. She would be okay, with or without Ivy. She had to be.
    Maggie's eyes welled up with tears as she wrapped her arms around Ivy’s neck, gripping onto her tightly. Ivy returned the gesture and inhaled deeply, trying to hold on to the scent of her little sister. She would cherish this moment forever, especially if it was the last.
    Aevar arrived next to her. He had walked silently over from the door. “Take your time. But the commander has approved for my team to leave today. I'm going to assemble them, and then I'll be back for you.”
    When Ivy and Maggie separated from their embrace, Aevar was gone. Maggie wiped her cheeks to remove the salty tears. “He really likes you, you know.”
    Ivy smiled at her. “I really like him too.”
    “Do you think he's the one? Your mate?”
    Ivy raised an eyebrow at her. “Let's focus on one thing at a time, shall we? Now let's go up to the bridge and find someone to take care of you.”
    “You just said that I could take care of myself!”
    Ivy relaxed a little, hearing her sister’s strong and confident tone. This was exactly what she meant by being able to take care of herself. “Fine. You're right. But I would still feel better if I knew the commander was looking out for