He steps up to the door and speaks a few words in the same language as before. It swings slowly open, juddering slightly, and I gasp. The corridor that we just stood in has vanished and now there is a set of stone steps leading up and out of sight.
A wind roars through the doors. It gets stronger and stronger, rising to a howl in the small room, and I stagger. Sigurd grabs my hand and pulls me close. “Do not let go,” he shouts over the noise. “And do not be afraid.”
“I’m not,” I say in astonishment. “I just want to see what happens next.”
He stares at me and then throws his head back, laughing loudly, his face full of fierce excitement. “We are well matched,elskling.”
As suddenly as it started, the wind stops. A white mist drifts, obscuring the view of the steps.
Sigurd squeezes my hand. “Ready?”
I nod, and he guides us upward. The mist immediately encloses us. I can hear the sea loud around us, but the area is dry apart from the clammy feel of the fog. “Sigurd?” I shout over the roar of the waves.
“I am here,” he says, and the steady sound of his voice is lovely. He guides my hand to the left, and I feel a stone bannister. “Hold on tight. The stairs are steep and very slippery.”
He leads me up and up until I feel my breath catch and my legs burn. Just as I’m beginning to feel like I can’t make another step, the mist starts to clear. We reach the top so suddenly that I almost stumble, and it’s only Sigurd’s grip that stops me from faceplanting.
“Thank you,” I say breathlessly.
“For you, anything.”
There's an old wooden door in front of us, and Sigurd reaches out, turns the brass handle, and pushes it open.
“No silver or gold?” I say.
He rolls his eyes. “The Mer have ever been concerned with first impressions. Your departure is of no interest to them.”
I follow him out and stand still in shock. We’re standing on a huge, flat rock in the middle of the ocean. All I can see as far as I look is the sea rising and falling. The spray hits us, and I taste the salt on my lips.
The door slams shut behind me, making me jump. When I turn, I stop dead. There’s no door anymore—just the rock and the sea. Two strong arms grab me, and I gasp as Sigurd spins me around. His eyes are golden and very intent.
“What—” I start to say, but the words die away as he kisses me.
It’s not a polite kiss. His mouth forces my lips apart, and he groans as our tongues slide against each other. I tangle my hands in his thick hair, feeling the strands like silk on my fingers. We struggle to get closer and closer, and when he pulls away, I make a sound of protest.
He cups my face in his big hands. “’Tis astonishing how proud of you I am,” he says, his accent strong.
“You are?” A warm feeling fills me. I want him to be proud of me. I want himalwaysto be proud of me.
He nods earnestly. “You are like no one I have met in my long life.”
“That can’t be true.”
His finger traces the line of my lips, his eyes intent. “And yet it is so. Why is that, Cary?”
I smile slyly at him. “Is it because you were lying when you told me you’ve known many men?”
He throws his head back, laughing. It’s a loud, lusty noise. “Aye. I was akin to a virgin when I met you, you think?”
“I think you’re about as akin to a virgin as I am to a potato.”
He laughs louder and then wraps his arms around me, resting his chin on my head. “’Tis an honour to be with you, Cary,” he whispers. “Such a fearless, kind man.”
We stand in each other’s arms for a long moment, and I soak up the comfort and heat of his body. It’s only now we’re away from the Mer kingdom that I recognise how scared I felt. Would I do it again? After a moment’s thought, I have to say I would.
“I have never felt so alive as I do with you,” I say quietly.
He pulls back and stares at me. “And is that so, Cary?”
