Serya offered her a wine-soaked grin. “You didn’t think we’d let our husbands run into the mouth of darkness alone, did you?”
Leneth snorted. “Please. Riven tried to convince me to stay behind, like I haven’t dragged him out of more near-deaths than he can count.”
Maris blinked. “You’re… fighting?”
Serya nodded, face suddenly somber. “We may not be generals, but we’re with you.”
Maris reached for them both, pressing a hand to each of their hearts. “Then let me give you what I can.”
Magic flowed from her fingertips, warm and fierce. It didn’t scorch. It empowered, settling into them like armor no blade could pierce.
“We’ll bring each other home,” Leneth murmured. “You included.”
And then, the music changed.
Something slower. Bittersweet. A melody for memory, the notes from the night of her engagement. She pressed a hand to heart.
She didn’t see Kael approach until he was already there, hand extended.
“May I?” he asked softly.
She nodded, wordless.
They danced without speaking at first, moving with practiced ease, like a tide finding its rhythm against the shore. When he finally spoke, it was nearly a breath.
“When we last danced to this I thought your light was dangerous.”
Her chest ached.
“But it wasn’t,” he said. “It was beautiful. And I was the danger.”
She looked up at him, unable to hide the tremble in her voice. “Kael,”
“I won’t ask for anything,” he whispered. “I just needed to say… I see you. I love you. I always did. I just didn’t know how to hold what I couldn’t cage.”
Her throat tightened. She touched his jaw, fleeting. “Thank you. For saying it.”
The music shifted.
And as if the stars conspired, Alarik stood in Kael’s place the next heartbeat as they shifted partners for the dance.
He didn’t speak. He simply took her hand and spun her into the next song, one of Calanthean origin, all low strings and lilting chords.
When they pressed close, his breath ghosted her ear.
“Stay alive, Maris,” he murmured. “That’s all I want.”
“I intend to,” she said. “But if I don’t…”
He stiffened.
She pressed her palm to his heart. “You made me feel chosen. Even when I was unraveling.”
They moved together through the final refrain, and when the music ended, Maris stood still for a moment in the center of the floor, both men behind her, her court all around her.
She realized she wasn’t saying goodbye to them but goodbye to who they’d been.
Because tomorrow, none of them would be the same.
