As Lessia took a hesitant step into the glow of thousands of fairy lights hanging from mast to mast, she fought her shoulders’ hunching—and the impulse to run away and hide and never again come out.
There were so many eyes on her. It reminded her of that time Merrick had forced her onstage in Ellow—the hundreds of eyes that had been glued to her every movement, and the day her entire life had changed.
She swallowed as she remembered the shouts, the hateful stares, the things people had thrown at her that cold winter day.
Keep your head up. Don’t let them see it affect you.
That was what Merrick had growled into her ear, and back then, she’d thought it was because of the ruse she needed to keep up for their king. But it hadn’t been, had it? Already then, he’d been protecting her. Caring for her. Perhaps even loving her, with all the pain and heartbreak that came with that.
It was as if she conjured him.
Merrick.
Her mate.
Her lover.
Her friend.
Her protector.
Her everything.
In white trousers and a golden tunic, he strolled upto her down the aisle of flowers spread out across the ship, and as soon as his eyes found hers, everything went silent.
Silver swirls—like the ones on her dress—danced in his eyes, and the smile on his face carried none of the shadows and darkness that usually dimmed it. His silver hair was swept back, and it allowed her to drink in every line and bend of his strong face as he stopped before her.
“Hi,” he whispered.
Tears burned behind her eyes as she whispered back, “Hi.”
She had no idea how it was possible, but Merrick’s smile widened before he dropped to a knee. Lessia wasn’t sure what was required of her, but it was as if her body acted on its own behalf, and she fell to her knees as well.
And when she realized what this was… what he was doing… what everyone around them was doing… she could only reach for him. Her anchor. Her Merrick.
“You said that I was enough. That if you had me, it would be enough.” Merrick’s voice was clear and strong, and she wasn’t sure if the music was truly gone, but his deep tone was all she could hear. “But it’s not enough for me, Elessia. I want you to have everything. I will fight until my last breath until you have it. And I know… this is only a start, but Elessia, will you marry me? Here? Tonight?”
She blinked at him again, and she couldn’t help but look around them.
To the left stood the children with whom she’d spent years in Ellow, every one smiling and in their finest clothing, and she laughed through a sob when Ledger, the dark-haired Faeling who had fought so bravely in thewar, wiped furiously at his strong face, towering over two of the others.
All her friends stood on her other side, every single person she loved and who loved her back, their glossy eyes locked on her, smiles on their faces as they waited for her response.
And all around them—on the ships spreading out far and wide—stood Fae and humans and shifters, watching and waiting as well.
In no pair of eyes that she met was there any hostility, and as Lessia drew her eyes back to the grumpy, silver-haired Fae warrior on his knees before her, she realized…
Merrick had already given her everything.
All the wishes she’d carved into his skin, the outline of the words visible through his shirt… he’d given her.
Her mind went to the letters he’d gotten before they even left for Vastala.
He’d offered her freedom.
She shot another look around her.Children. Unity. Friendship. Family.
It was all there. In the eyes of familiar faces and strangers.
