• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

Wedge coughed lightly into his hand. “I don’t think you’ll find my life normal at all.”

Iella laughed politely. “Nor mine.”

“How fortunate. Normal can be quite boring.” Diric’s head came up and he fixed Wedge with a steady stare. “And I want you to know, Commander, if anything has happened between you and my wife, I bear neither of you malice. I have been dead for a year. While I dreamed of being alive again, I do not bear a grudge against those who lived while I was dead.”

Wedge held a hand up. “First, no titles.”

“Where they kept me, we joked that titles were for when we were once again people. I use it to remind me I am again a man. And I use it out of profound respect for what you have done.”

“Don’t. I’m just Wedge. Nothing I’ve done is the equal of your enduring Imperial captivity, so titles don’t apply here. Second, Iella is intelligent, a wonder to work with, a joy to be around, and above all else, loyal to her friends. In fact, save one thing, she’s just the sort of woman I could see myself growing old with. That one thing is this: she’s married to you. Her loyalty to you, her fidelity, has never been in question. You are undoubtedly one of the luckiest men on this planet.”

As he spoke, his mind raced on through thoughts and dreams of what he might have had with Iella had Diric not reappeared. It seemed as if the life they would never share was flashing before his eyes even as his words killed it. The romantic in him just wanted to hold onto how wonderful it would have been, but the pragmatist knew from just looking at Diric that things would have fallen apart in the end. Iella had chosen Diric because he was a sanctuary. No matter what her life held in store for her, he was someone who would always be there to share her joys and ease her disappointments. Wedge realized that he could not have given her what Diric provided. It might have taken a long time for their relationship to destroy itself, and they might have overcome the difficulties, but Wedge knew he could never have been as perfect a match for her as Diric was.

Someday I’ll find someone. Wedge smiled. When I’m ready to settle down.

Diric mirrored Wedge’s smile and let his head sink back contentedly against the chair’s padding. “I am glad Iella found friends as generous and honorable as you are, Wedge. I do feel quite fortunate.”

“And I bet you’re happy to be free.”

“Happy? Yes, though captivity wasn’t as brutal as imagined. They can only control your body, not your mind.” Diric shrugged slowly as if the effort were all but beyond his ability. “I knew I would be free someday.”

“That’s what Tycho says.”

“Who?”

Iella looked down at her husband. “The man who killed Corran.”

“The man who is on trial for killing Corran,” Wedge corrected her. “Your wife is working with the prosecution team.”

“Working to find the truth, mind you.” Iella gave Wedge a frank glare. “There’s ample evidence to bind him over for trial and to convict him.”

“And blasted little uncovered, so far, to acquit him.” Wedge held his hands up. “However, discussing that case was not my purpose for coming over here.”

Diric’s bushy brows met over the bridge of his hooked nose. “You think this Tycho is innocent?”

“I know it. Tycho Celchu is as much a victim of the Empire as you were.”

Iella gave Diric’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Tycho was once captured by the Imps. He’s been working for them since his supposed escape, though Wedge would tell you he’s been neatly framed.”

Diric looked up at her. “And you know Wedge is wrong?”

Her immediate response died in a moment of open-mouthed hesitation. Iella’s gaze flicked up at Wedge, then back down again. “We have found a lot to indicate Captain Celchu was an Imperial agent of extreme resourcefulness.”

“But there are gaps in the evidence.” Wedge smiled slowly. “Everything that condemns Tycho is available, but those things that would acquit him have vanished. Given the timing, the only force that could provide with one hand and take away with the other is the Empire.”

Diric disengaged his hand from Iella’s and pressed