“What helps stop it?” I ask, my mouth pressed to the corner of his. “Specifically.”
“You. You touching me. Being with me. Your presence.”
“Does it help if I do this?”
I kiss him. It’s slow and exploratory. My hands are on his face, and his cheeks heat up under my palms. He kisses me back, pulling me closer.
“Yes,” he whispers. “That helps a lot.”
“Take me to bed, you massive oaf.”
He carries me through the doorway and lays me down, and I pull him with me, rolling us until I’m draped over him in my favorite position. I run my palms over his shoulders, down his arms, across every part of him where moss used to grow. I feel the living stone answer under my touch, warm and giving, and I press myself as close as I can get to him, hands, chest, and legs, every part of me against every part of him that I can reach.
He wraps his arms around me, and I settle my cheek over his heartbeat.
If he’s taken it upon himself to protect me, then I’m taking it upon myself to keep him alive.
Epilogue
Sorina
One Year Later
The dried rosemary crumbles under the pestle, releasing its scent into the backroom. I press down, twist, press again. Danielle is sorting inventory at the shelf behind me, counting jars and marking numbers in the ledger. Julie is out front at the register.
My product line takes up two full shelves now – six creams and three elixirs for brightening the skin. The formulas are mine, built from what my grandmother taught me and the ingredients available through the Narrowhalls market. I’m working on a new line for hair care, testing oils and infusions in small batches, adjusting the ratios until they’re right. Danielle wants to retire before the end of the year, and she’s happy to leave the apothecary to Julie and me. The three of us have talked about it, and it feels settled, the way things feel when everyone agrees and there’s nothing left to sort out.
“Sorina, guess who’s here!”
Julie’s voice carries from the front. I set the pestle down and grip the edge of the table with both hands. Getting up takes effort. My belly is enormous, round and heavy, pulling me forward with every step. I’m in my last month, and Korr asks me every morning to stay home. Every morning I tell him no. I don’t want to sit in our quarters all day doing nothing. I’d rather be here, working, even if getting out of a chair has become a whole production.
I hobble through the doorway into the shop, one hand on my lower back, and smile when I see Vicky at the counter. She’s holding a bouquet of garden roses.
“These are for you,” she says, and leans in to hug me around my belly. “My garden is overflowing. I can’t keep up with them.”
I bury my nose in the roses.
“Thank you. They’re gorgeous.”
“Can you and Julie come to lunch at the Pickaxe?” Vicky asks.
“I can’t, I’m sorry. I promised Korr I’d have lunch with him.”
Julie leans over the counter and elbows me.
“Vicky, you should see what this man has done. He built them a whole kitchen in their quarters. Made the table, the shelves, the chairs, all of it with his own hands. And now he spends most of his time in there, cooking for her.” She turns to Vicky with her eyebrows raised. “Tell me he’s not the perfect husband.”
“He’s perfect,” I agree, my voice sounding dreamy.
Vicky grins. “I still can’t believe he didn’t want to go back to the mines after he got better.”
I told my friends about calcification. I explained that only a true soulmate can stop it, that Korr spent years searching for his match and almost ran out of time. I thought it was fair for the other women he’d bought to know what he’d been going through all along, and Korr agreed and gave me permission to share it.
“I didn’t want him down there,” I say. “Not after what happened to his father. Irrva worries about Jarrvik every day. I didn’t want that for us, especially now with the baby coming.”
“And he just agreed?” Vicky asks.
“He always agrees with me.” I laugh. “He works in the Forgehalls now, with the crews who cut and polish the diamonds. He’s good at that kind of work. He still makes jewelry in his workshop, too. And the rest of the time, yes, he’s at home in the kitchen, trying out recipes.”
