“Jarek?” a small woman with dark, braided hair emerges from the home. Jarek drops my hand and sprints toward her. The woman sobs into the crook of his neck as he picks her up. “You’re here!”
“Aye,” he says, placing her down. She cups his face, tears lining her round cheeks. They whisper to each other, quiet enough I can’t hear what they say but from the way the woman’s face beams, I imagine it’s only good things. Jarek places a hand on her swollen belly before he wraps her in another hug.
“There’s someone you need to meet.” Jarek pulls the woman toward me so I quickly wipe my hands on my breeches. “Helen,” he says, “this is Samaria.”
“Hello.” I extend my hand, but the woman pushes it away and instead grasps me in a firm hug, her stomach taking up any extra space between us.
“So lovely to meet you,” she whispers. “It seems as though my baby brother has a lot to fill us in on.” She smiles as she steps back, just as Cora joins us.
“So sentimental, you two.” Cora rolls her eyes, but her smile tells me just how happy she is to be reunited with her siblings as well. “Come on.” Cora pushes past us and waves a hand through the air. “You know mum already has the kettle on, and I’ve got a lass to get home to.”
She winks over her shoulder and waves us forward. To my surprise, she trudges right past the small house on the shore and instead heads up a grassy hill. Helen follows after her, folding her hands across her belly.
Jarek wraps me in his arms again, my back against his chest.
“Is this not your home?” I ask, pointing to the small cottage where Helen was.
Jarek chuckles, running a finger down the side of my neck. “It could be if you prefer it.”
I glance at him over my shoulder. “Prefer it to what?”
He tightens his grip around me, squeezing so tight my lungs fight against my ribs. “That’s my actual home.” He points to the top of the hill and as I follow his finger my mouth drops open. “This is just the beach house where we stay from time to time. But if you prefer something smaller…”
He shrugs behind me, but I can’t take my eyes off of the large, stone castle perched atop the grassy hillside, overlooking the ocean and mountains.
“Why does your home look like a castle?” He lets me go and moves past me, but I pull his arm backward so he’s forced to stop. “You have some explaining to do.”
He laughs again, closing the distance between us, kissing me.
“I do,” he says. “I never thought I’d be back here so I let this part of me die along with my hope. It was a constant reminder of who I’d never be again, so I swallowed it down along with many other things.” He squeezes me tighter, the sea-mist spraying lightly against my cheeks. People filter past us, carrying crates and ropes and what little belongings they had to pack. “But now that we’re here, now that we’re safe, I want you to know everything Sam.”
“Know what?” I pull away, so I can better see his face.
His eyes crinkle at the sides, his lips twitching at the corners. He bites the tip of his thumb, giving me his most innocent face, and I shake my head and laugh, glancing again at the stone castle atop the hill.
“It seems you already have an idea,” he says through a laugh.
“You are…”
“Some would call me a prince.” He shrugs then laughs when my mouth drops open. He sweeps his hand across the air; to the vast grassy hillsides and a sky wide open and blue. “This will bemine to rule one day, and yours if you’d like. There’s no one else I want by my side, Samaria.”
“You should have told me.” I cover my mouth with my hands, my head dizzying at his words and this proposal to lead alongside him.
Jarek steps closer and wraps me in his arms again before kissing me slowly. “I know.” He shakes his head. “For that I’m sorry.”
I run my tongue over the tips of my teeth, peering at the massive stone structure perched atop the hill. “You’ll have to show me just how sorry you are later,” I say.
A smile stretches across his face. “I think I can manage that,” he says before kissing me. “Jeg ser deg, Sam.”
I see you.
I freeze, the smile wiping from my face.
“I see how strong you are for everybody else. I see the love you’re overflowing with for your people, for me.” His eyes glaze but to my surprise he doesn’t hide it. “I see the mask you wear and I see when it begins to fall how quickly you pull it up. I often wear the same one.”
I grab his hand and bring it to my lips, kissing the ink lining his knuckles.
“But you don’t have to wear that mask anymore, because I see you. I’ve always seen you.” He cups my face, kissing me again. “Besides, I never thanked you for saving my life, so consider a country my way of doing so.”
