“Imagine it,” he whispered, voice low and rough. “This war ends, and I come for you. I’m there—on the steps of Castle Amethyst—waiting.”
She shut her eyes, gripped his arm.
“I’m imagining it now,” she whispered, her voice breaking under the weight of wanting it—of wanting him—so fiercely that it hurt.
“Zeporah’s running scared for Tyra. Ivan’s rallying Casqadia. Your father’s got the keys to Rhidian. And I take you home—to Fyreglade, to the sea, to wherever. Doesn’t matter, so long as it’s us.”
He faltered then, breath shuddering against her brow, the silence a heartbeat heavy with all he couldn’t say.
Then softer, hoarser:
“And months from now… you wake me in the gray of morning, and you’re smiling— Stars, Ami, that smile. You guidemy hand to your belly, and you tell me what I’ve been hoping for every night in the dark—that our child is there. Strong. Already ours.”
Her throat closed, tears spilling hot against his skin.
“I want that, too, Tory.”
He cradled the back of her head, kissing her hair hard.
“Then go to Amethyst, my love,” he breathed, “knowing death itself couldn’t stop me from giving you our dream.”
She trembled.
“When I come for you… you’ll know me,” he swore. “No matter what happens on that battlefield. No matter what’s been broken along the way.”
Her eyes lifted to his, tears slipping free. “I’ll know you.”
He kissed her—slow, aching—sealing it like the last dawn was breaking.
Like the last vow he would ever make.
Chapter Eighty-Eight
Salt and Sunrise
The tide may rise. The war may come.
But it will not take him from her.
They slipped from the house before Westport had stirred, steps hushed on the cedar porch. Wind tugged Amerei’s braid, brine kissed her lips, and beyond the dark the tide whispered like a secret. She paused on the sand-covered stairs, toes curling against the chill.
“Will we not wear shoes, Tory?”
“Never.”
He swept her into his arms before she could protest, her laugh breaking the hush.
“Shh,” he whispered, gruff but grinning.
“Tory?” Issachar’s voice drifted from inside.
Viktor smirked like a thief with stolen treasure.
“Dask—we’ve been caught.”
Amerei tucked her smile into the crook of his neck as he carried her down the sand path toward the sea, his low laugh rumbling against her.
Beneath the first stream of sunlight, with stars fading into dawn, they sank into the sand by the ocean. She leaned against him, his heartbeat steady as the tide, while he drew the blanket around them, the warmth of his hands lingering.
