My eyes burn as I place my hand over hers. I feel fragile, like I might crumble under the slightest tremor. “What kind of man kills his father?”
“A man who puts goodness above blood. The best kind of man.” She holds me tightly. “Sometimes it frightens me how similar we are. In all this time, you have been so gentle with me about my memories, now it is my turn to care for you. I need you to know that my heart aches for everything you have lived through. I hope you know that I see you and know who you are. I love that person. Please don’t be unkind to him. What he did was heroic.”
My heart fills with so much love I couldburst. The road to this point was not easy, but to let someone see you so fully, and not run? That is what I imagine Vidalena is like. Warm. Perfect.
When I press my hand into the tender muscles of her lower body, she whimpers. “What is wrong?” I demand, still filled with protectiveness after her display of unconditional love.
She shakes her head. “I am well. It’s just… every inch of my body hurts.”
I look down at her. “Would you like me to rub your aching muscles?”
She leans her weight more fully against me, and I instinctively sweep her off her feet and walk to the throne. As we sit down, she looks up at me.
“Do I… look different?” she asks.
I smile. “You look like the sunrise and a sun-soaked sky.” I brush some of her hair from her face.
She smiles and leans into the touch.
“Do you know, when I left the cave after you’d been taken, I felt the sun on my skin in a way I hadn’t for a long time. It made me feel… alive. All while I was dead after you’d gone. How fitting that your god-touched gift made you glow like my own personal sunshine.”
She shakes her head. “You speak like a poet, sometimes.”
I stroke her cheeks. “I do love the poets of my past.”
“One day, I will read them all. I’ve been learning so much with Ulla,” she says.
I nod, marveling. Yesterday we were at the depths of the cave, conversing with a deity.
And now… we are as we’re meant to be. Together. Peaceful.
We luxuriate in the calm before the storm.
I cast such sad things from my mind and study every inch of her. The first time I held her, she was a hissing, wounded creature covered in dirt and rage. She is still hard, but it is beautifulhow quickly love changes a person. The magic of my people let me see her for who she was before she changed.
“I am sure you will read them all. You are a spectacular woman—In the time I’ve known you, you’ve learned to read and speak much of my language, and you brought thirty-three women to their freedom. You introduced plants to a sunless cave. You escaped from the giant king. Spoke to a god. Swam the depths of the sea. You are the next wise woman.”
Her eyes line with silver. “But there is so much I haven’t done. My brother… the others…”
“You will do it all in time,” I say, utterly sure.
“Liana showed me a few cards. One spoke about death. I worry…” her brow furrows. I place my hand on it.
“No more worrying. I don’t doubt our future, and neither should you.”
“I don’t deserve you,” she whimpers.
“Yes, you do,” I respond, drawing her into a kiss. Her arms slide around my neck, and her legs shift until they straddle my hips. She rocks forward once, and the sore pain in my body is soon replaced with want. It flushes out everything else except the woman in my arms. My hands fall to her soft bottom and squeeze.
She moans at my mouth. “Perhaps we should go back to our room,” she says with a smile.
I pin her with a stare. “I think I prefer to stay right here. On our throne.”
Her eyes go wide. “But what if?—“
“If you do not wish someone to see, then I suggest you take your pleasure quickly,” I say firmly.
Her cheeks flush as she reaches for the laces of my breeches. The moments are not soft and gentle; they are quick and full of need. When we are both spent, she falls against me.
