At the point of giving up, Notus took the remote from me. He backed out of the streaming app and opened another, scrolled for a minute before settling on something and tossing the remote aside.
“What’s this?” I asked as he pulled me further into his lap.
“Something mindless but interesting enough.”
I nodded as the narrator’s voice spoke quietly. Soothingly. He talked about the aerial view of the rainforest and the inhabitants that had been there centuries ago. What they could find beneath the dense jungle if only they had the manpower and money.
Yep. Dead cultureswereinteresting, but I don’t think it was the subject matter that I cared much about as I cuddled into Notus. It was the company. I closed my eyes as I breathed him in, his strong arms around me, his fingers gliding over my leg, as the narrator’s smooth voice filled the room.
* * *
The library wasone of my favorite places. Not just because of the books—which I loved, despite not wanting to read often—but because of the library feel. Peaceful. Filled with information and stories and lifetimes.
There was a sense of tranquility in a library. I could just stand there and look around, feeling a smile on my lips without intending to smile. A pull into the stories and characters that you can almost feel they’re so alive.
But I didn’t make it to the library. As I passed through the luxurious reception hall, running my fingers along the marble walls and pillars, I paused as I watched Arat walking down the grand stairs, his phone held up.
At first, I thought he was taking a picture of the domed ceiling three floors above, but when he changed the angle of his head and his expression, I realized he was taking selfies. Biting my lip, I tried not to giggle.
He still heard me, though. His gaze snapped to mine, and a grin spread across his face. “Come here, wife,” he said.
I loved when they called me wife. I wasn’t, but that’s only because we hadn’t gotten there yet. Right now, I thought it was just that other things were too pressing. Our wedding shouldn’t be rushed and yet, I wanted to be officially theirs before we did this thing.
Moving across the ornate floor, I climbed the stairs until I met him. He wrapped an arm around me, remaining a stair higher, and angled the camera to take our picture. And then another. When he licked the side of my face, making me laugh and cringe away, he took another.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
Arat shrugged. “Cataloging our life,” he said. It was nonchalant and offhanded, but I knew as well as he did that he was feeling the pressure. Feeling the end right ahead.
When my smile fell away, he kissed my lips, and I heard the camera shutter sound from his phone. I smiled into his mouth.
“It’s going to be fine,” he said quietly, dropping his hand to wrap around me.
Everything in me wanted to believe him, but I wasn’t sure I could. I was a realist, and I knew we were going up against odds that were severely stacked against us.
“Stop thinking that way,” he said, as if reading my mind. He nipped my lip before nuzzling his nose against mine until I laughed again. “Really, Had,” he said quieter, “we will be fine. You know how I know that?”
I shook my head. “How?”
“Because our love story isn’t done yet. And we might be at a disadvantage going in, but we’re fighting for something that they’re not.”
“What’s that?”
“Each other. They’re going to be protecting themselves above all else. We’re going to do everything in our power to make sure those we love most are not harmed. And in that desperation, we will be unstoppable.”
The conviction in his voice made me smile. I wasn’t sure I believed it still, but he was right. In our drive to protect our family, we will call more and more energy to us. Artificial from their electricity. And natural as the storms will gather in the area, concentrating overhead.
“Smile,” he murmured. When I did, staring deep into his eyes, he snapped another picture.
Hadley
“Favorite shape.”
I laughed. “Favorite shape?”
Neph grinned. “Yeah. What’s your favorite shape?”
We’d been laying in bed for the last few hours, asking random questions. Learning about each other. I thought about the question and shook my head. Who had a favorite shape?
