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“I can manage, wife. And I have to keep the boat going.”
“I’m not…” I was going to say tired, but I’m stopped by an overwhelming desire to yawn, as if seeing the improvised bed made my body agree with his wish for me to sleep after all the overwhelming events of tonight. “Fine, maybe a little tired.”
“You can just lie down and rest. You used a lot of magic.”
He might be right. “I’ll lie down. Thanks for the bed.”
“You should be sleeping in a much better place. But I want to get there soon.”
The leaves feel soft against my back as I watch the trail of stars above us. There’s so much I haven’t said, so much we should discuss, and yet my thoughts are drifting.
It’s true that I used a lot of magic tonight, since the moment we walked into that coronation, when I shielded his mind from those horrific images—memories. Those images that revealed so much. I wish I could acknowledge how much seeing them changed my perception of him, but I don’t know if I can breach the subject without poking at his open wound. And then there was so much more that happened. His words, our kisses… Tarlia telling me Otavio might still rescue me, Azur trying to provoke Marlak.
How could so much change in just one night?
A long night. And now that I’m here, lying down, I wish we hadn’t stopped kissing, wish I could tell him that the dreams are all right, that they are part of our truth, but then he’ll start thinking this is a ploy to seduce him or whatever scheming he believes I’m capable of. Perhaps it’s better to get rid of the dreams, and then we’ll look each other in the eye and know what we really think.
And if Otavio comes for me, what am I going to do? What am I going to say?
The leaves are soft, the movement of the boat is soothing, and perhaps I don’t need to think about any of that just yet.
Dry leaves, dirt, and glass shards cover the floor, while wind keeps blowing through the broken windows.
Our palace—destroyed. There are no lightstones, no lanterns, just a glimmer of light from the stars outside, and yet I know he’s not here. I know it. They took him. There’s a hollow, cold chamber where my heart should be, and a bitter boulder lodged in my stomach, its horrid taste spreading to my entire body.
“Marlak!”
I don’t know why I yell when I’m certain the worst has already happened, why I hope. Yelling might put me in even more danger, but if his captors find me, at least it’s a clue.
“Marlak!” I yell again, more desperate than ever.
I don’t know how long they’ll keep him alive and where they took him.
“Marlak!” I’m just hoping for some miracle, some light perhaps.
I think back to our connection—but all I find is emptiness, darkness.
“Marlak!” My voice is hoarse and my hope is thin, but I’ll have to find a way.
I feel a hand on my shoulder and push it off, but it holds me again, and now there are two hands shaking me. I want to fight, but I’m too weak. All I do is open my eyes.
Marlak is crouched in front of me, frowning in what seems to be worry, surrounded by a pink sky. “You were having?—”
He looks so stunning and I’m so happy to see him that I wrap my arms around him, relieved to feel how he’s real, solid. How this is real.
“—a bad dream,” he finishes, then moves his arms slowly, until he’s also holding me tight.
I lean into the embrace, and yet I can’t shake the feeling of the dream, the terror I felt. “You were gone. Something terrible happened.”
“I’m here,” he says in my ear. “It was just a nightmare.”
My heart is so loud that I wonder if he can feel it against his chest.
He caresses my hair and repeats, “I’m here.”
All I can do is hold him tight, let him envelop me with his comforting presence,and his warm, gentle embrace.
He kisses my temple, then says, “I’m here, azalee, and I won’t let you go.”
