OLYMPIA ▷ KYLO REN

xxii.

Astraea couldn't deny she didn't enjoy this new, honest side of Kylo Ren. This Kylo Ren was truthful, gentle and playful. It pained her that he couldn't have been like this from the start. It had to take him almost dying on a destroyed base for him to open up to her.

He hadn't fully opened up to her but she was confident he would eventually.

She couldn't help but stare at his handsome face as he piloted a small ship for the two of them to Olympia, his large hands masterfully gripping the control sticks. His eyes flicked up to a switch that hung above his head, a long finger pushing it.

He noticed her staring and she quickly looked away into the soft blue light of hyperspeed. She caught a slight smirk playing on his lips in her peripherals.

"I am inescapably drawn to you." She couldn't stop hearing these words in her head. These words validated the way she felt about him and she couldn't bury the way her heart fluttered when he spoke to her. However, guilt slowly ate her up inside. Kylo Ren was not a good person. He was capable of murder, violence and a whole host of other things.

But, she was drawn to him like he was to her. She was excited about the new dynamic that arched over them, one that was intoxicating.

General Hux didn't seem to care that Kylo would join her on Olympia, she brought up the exceptional healing powers of her sister and the medicines her people had curated but he didn't care, one bit. Hux didn't seem to like either of them much.

"We're here." Kylo reached over and pushed a large red button, the ship wavering as the blue light stopped, and the ship embraced back into the void of space again.

She couldn't help but smile as Olympia was now suddenly in view. Olympia was a painting with large strokes of blue, with dashes of green and pale brown. Kylo began navigating the ship towards Olympia, slowly descending through the atmosphere. She never got used to seeing her land from the sky. Its bright sun shone down on the golden palace, a beacon of light.

As they slowly met with the ground, she could make out the tousling hair of a few of her sisters, her smile growing wider. She hadn't informed her sisters of their arrival so she hoped they would be pleased to see her. Kylo pressed buttons and flicked switches until the ship powered down, the humming in her ears coming to a stop.

She flashed a smile to Kylo Ren who lifted a bag with his own belongings and her own bag too. He didn't catch her smile as he exited the ship, his feet hitting the grass. She pushed open her door panel and swung her legs over to push herself to the ground but she stopped when Kylo met her eyes and two strong hands clutched her hips and lifted her. Their faces were dangerously close as he gently set her down on the grass, a light blush creeping up on her cheeks.

"Astraea!" A voice called out, unmistakably Hera's. She broke eye contact with Kylo to see her fiery-red-haired sister running towards her, a pale lilac dress billowing behind her .in the wind. Kylo took a step back from Astraea as Hera crashed into her, enveloping her in a bone-crushing embrace. A laugh escaped her lips as she hugged her back, her tense body relaxing in the comfort of her sister.

"We had no idea you were coming!" Hera exclaimed, letting go of Astraea. Hera turned her head to see Kylo towering over her and shrunk back to Astraea's side, realising she was standing between them. "H-Hello. Kylo Ren, it was?" Hera spoke quietly. He nodded and extended a gloved hand to Hera. "My name is Hera, in case you didn't know." She smiled nervously, shaking his large hand.

She could see the awkwardness creep across Kylo's face and she almost wanted to laugh. The most dangerous man in the galaxy didn't know how to talk to women. "Nice to meet you... Hera." He replied, his eyes flickering to Astraea. It took him months to open up to Astraea and now he would have to interact with all of her sisters... a snort left her nose. She deliberately didn't mention that part to him. Her sister would have questions, lots of them.