Page 85 of Tis the Season for Tentacles

Gemma and Luna, still in their pajamas, come into the canteen giggling at one another.

Just like Najar predicted, those two ended up falling hard for one another, and I’m grateful. Seeing my sister so happy has eased so many of my worries.

Now we’re a ship full of lovey-dovey couples, and it’s kind of awesome.

I swear, instead of the Sleigh Belle, the ship should probably be called the Love Space-Boat—or something like that.

“Let me get some kavga for us, babe,” Luna offers.

Gemma yawns and smiles. “Thanks, gorgeous.”

“We’ve got a pickup at the space station,” I tell her.

“Ooh! How many this time?”

“Just six. A Gemellian fire-lizard, two bonded Rebu songbirds, a Carmathian monkey, an elderly Levitron tortoise, and a Scythian two-headed pig.”

She chuckles. “Sounds like an early Christmas present for you.”

I rub my hands together in anticipation. “I’m so excited. They’re all fascinating species.”

Najar nuzzles my ear and I sigh happily. “I love it when you get so excited.”

Luna joins us at the table and hands my sister her coffee, which earns her a kiss.

My sister and I smile at one another, silently sharing our happiness.

Kheph and Sasha are the last to arrive for breakfast, and I fill them in on the plan for once we dock at the station.

A sleepy-looking Sasha nods along and takes a sip of his kavga. Then his eyes go wide. “Oh! Guess what? I was able to buy our tickets for Tentacular Tales Con last night. You owe me big time, Felix.”

I blink. “Didn’t they go on sale at some ungodly hour?”

He grins. “Yep. I totally had Kheph help me stay awake so I could grab tickets as soon as they went on sale. It’s a good thing I did, too. They sold out in five minutes.”

I gape. “Really? It’s that popular?”

Sasha gives me an incredulous look. “Dude, you still haven’t realized how massive that story is?”

I wince. “My bad.”

“I heard that the author might be attending this year,” Najar offers dryly.

Sasha and I flip out and instantly start bombarding him with questions before Sasha finally says, “Screw this. I’m going to email River right now!” and races out of the room.

Everyone starts laughing, and I lean into Najar’s side. One of his tentacles wraps around my shoulder while another massages my neck. I stroke the tentacle in my lap in response, and Najar makes a pleased noise.

Every day I’m thankful for how my life turned out. Traveling on the Sleigh Belle with those nearest and dearest to me hasbeen a non-stop adventure filled with wonder, joy, and more love than I ever dreamed of. Life is good out here among the stars—and I can’t wait to see where our journey takes us next.

With Najar at my side, the universe is the limit.