It’sanotherstarrynightwhen Elowyn opens her eyes in the heartlanding. A moonless sky shimmers above, almost purple, as twinkling lights stare back at her where she lies on their rocking sailboat.
It’s hard to tell in the dark, but they seem to be anchored in some sort of quiet cove with the sails lowered, which is new.
“Hey, love,” Rominy says as his face hovers over her, blocking her view of the stars.
Memories of his kisses and touch the last time they woke here make fire tingle in her veins. When he lifts her in his arms, she rests her head contentedly against him.
“You are delightful,” she murmurs.
“Really? I thought I was maddening.”
Then he tosses her into the placid water below.
Anything You Want
Episode 123
Elowynbarelyregisterswhat’shappening when the warm seawater rises to meet her.
Whistling wind. Rominy wasn’t bluffing about tossing her into the sea.
The quiet cove isn’t deep, and Elowyn quickly surfaces, searching for Rominy in the dim light. He sits on the edge of their sailboat, his legs dangling off the side. It’s hard to tell in the shadows, but he seems to be smiling.
“How’s the water, love?” he asks.
“Shall I douse you with it so you may see for yourself?”
He laughs in response. “No dousing required. I’ll join you.”
After stripping off his shirt, he jumps into the water beside her, and she waits for him to surface. Ever since he fainted into the sea and she had to rescue him, her heart has beat a little faster whenever his head is underwater, but the waves are subdued here, and his golden-brown head soon pops up beside her.
“It’s really dark tonight,” he says as he treads water and looks up at the sky.
She follows his gaze. “A perfect night for stargazing.”
“If you’re into that sort of thing.”
A smile slips across her lips. “Yes.”
He’s quiet for a few moments before he looks toward her again. “Why is it called Starhaven? Your family’s home in Celesta?”
“Because it’s shaped like a star. Well, more or less.”
“Huh. I thought you were going to say something deep about your ancestors and the heavens. Star-shaped is fun, too, though.”
“Zelovon, the first Westarian king, was fond of the stars,” she says.
“Explains a few things.”
“Indeed.” She takes in the twinkling lights dotting the purplish expanse above them again. “Zelovon was known as the Dragon King. Riding his air magic through the sky, raining fire down on the invading armies that sought to destroy our fledgling kingdom in its infancy. Many have called my father the Phoenix King. The Dragon King reborn from the ashes.”
“Because he wields air and fire magic as Zelovon did?”
“Yes. And because he used his magic to keep our kingdom from splintering. The threat then came from within, though.”
“I do know quite a bit of elven history,” Rominy says as he lies back and lets the languid waves carry him. “The Lostarien civil war that my people got sucked into where your father almost died. The reason we both exist today.”
Of course he knows that part.
