He chuckles. “I came really close to the second one, yeah.”
I pull away and he sags back on the seat. I cut another slice of bread to feed him some more. Through the windshield, I notice Vex walking back from the forest, arms heavy with wood for the fire. Seconds later I hear Perri introduce her to Helios and Griffin. The snow keeps falling, burying the world under a white blanket.
Griffin went all out for the camp. He set up strings of Christmas lights between the trees, fighting off the darkness with colorful LEDs, and brought out folding lounge chairs andblankets. Helios gave us more warm clothes, like wool socks, gloves, and beanies.
Perri is starting a fire in the pit, under Vex’s curious eyes. I help Alastair out of the truck—he’s so exhausted he can barely keep his eyes open—and he falls on a lounge chair close to the fire. As soon as Perri has buried him under a pile of blankets, he is lost to the world. I tried to convince him to get to bed but he refused. He wanted to stay with us by the fire. I place the octopus plushie on top of the blankets, near his face, and Perri grins at me.
Exhaustion is pulling me at the seams, and at last, I allow myself to sit on one of the chairs. My muscles are sore from the fight earlier today, and I’m not used to the cold. Thankfully, they built a great fire and its warmth is a welcome respite. The smoke follows the path along the slanted tarp before disappearing in the trees above. Tonight, theBeetlewatches over us, and we can relax.
Helios is preparing some sort of stew over the camping stove, and it already smells amazing. Griffin stands over his shoulder, bringing him supplies from theBeetle’s galley from time to time. Perri, wrapped in a blanket, is checking Vex’s wires at the back of her head with Beet chattering from a wristband Helios must have lent him. The King slumbers, the orange glow from the fire dancing on his face.
This scene feels so beautifully domestic, I feel a pressure at the back of my eyes, emotion grabbing me by the throat. This is what life can be when survivors help and care for each other. This is the life I might have missed if it wasn’t for Perri and his big heart. The day I rescued him from the sinkhole, he changed the rules and taught me how to truly be alive in this world that is hellbent on making us suffer.
As always, we’re connected, and Perri senses me. He looks up and our eyes meet.
“I love you,” he mouths.
His smile is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
“I love you,” I whisper back. He can’t hear me, but he saw my lips move.
He nods and wiggles his eyebrows, unserious as ever. I chuckle and pull my chair closer to Alastair to drop my head on his shoulder and watch the beautiful evening unfold.
Come morning the three of us wake up in bed. Perri buried us alive under a pile of blankets to hold out against the cold, and I have to extricate myself without suffocating. Alastair slumbers on my right, naked. He has healed nicely, his arm now back to its full glory, its skin a different shade of deep brown. I trail my fingers over his new limb, in awe.
His eyes flutter open, and he smiles at me. “Good morning, Sunshine.”
It really hits me then. I want to wake up with him by our side every morning like this. When we return to the Traveling Market, I don’t want him to go back to being our king, and us his subjects.
“How are you feeling?” I ask, throat tight.
He hums and grabs my hand. “Ravenous. I could eat you,” he says, kissing my fingers.
I don’t pull away. “Later, perhaps. You need real food first. I’ll make breakfast.”
“I can help.”
“No. You still look wrecked. Perri will help me.”
There is a grumble behind me, and Perri’s arms encircle my waist. He drags himself out of the nest of blankets. “Someone said breakfast?”
I chuckle and embrace him.
Fuck, I’m so happy right now it’s almost painful.
We’ll have to talk about this—about us—soon. I just need time to find the words.
And we’ll have time, I realize as I come out of the camper. We got snowed in during the night and we’re not going anywhere anytime soon.
Vex, who insisted on staying outside all night, kept the fire burning. “Good morning,” she says brightly.
TheBeetlestands by the lake, covered in white. As if on cue, she opens her wings to free her solar panels from the snow.
I smile and breathe in the cold morning air.
“Beautiful,” Perri says, coming out of the camper with a blanket around his shoulders.
I have to agree. Life is fucking beautiful.
