“Ruru?”
“It’s my middle name. Well, actually, it’s Ru. But growing up, I used to say things twice, so my mother started calling me Ruru. It stuck.”
Elena blinked, then laughed. “You liked to say things twice twice?”
“Quick and fast fast.” He smiled. “I grew out of it.”
“Ruru.” Elena said the word slowly, curling ther’s as if to relish how the name rolled off her tongue. It sent a thrill through him. “What does it mean?”
“Son of the sea,” he said. “But it also means lover. Tender-fleshed. He who would give half his life for his beloved.”
“Ruru,” she whispered, almost as if to herself.
Why did his born name on her lips sound like a prayer?
He wanted her to say it again. In his ear. On his lips. Again and again, until it was chant that reverberated through him with the sweet succor of the divine. Later, he would chide himself for not seeing it then. How her smile did not quite meet her eyes. How it faltered, just for a moment, before she righted it again.
“Well, Ruru.” She waggled her brows. “Let me get the tea. One dollop of honey, yes?”
“Someone once told me it’s better with two.”
She blushed then. It sent an electric charge skating down his spine, vicious and potent. She showed him the captain’s selection of tea and laughed when he told her she had given him too much honey, and as the night waned, as their laughter unspooled, easy and warm, Samson buried his earlier question.Later.When this was all over, when they were finally at peace, he would ask her.
CHAPTER 56
ELENA
I will not bend. I will not turn. I will endure and chant until the world knows my purpose. Agneepath, Agneepath, Agneepath!
—from the diaries of Priestess Nomu of the Fire Order
Elena waited as a Black Scale soldier unlocked the door of the former XO’s quarters. Daz looked up from the bed as she entered. He seemed to have aged many suns, with rings of darkness shifting beneath his eyes like fading moon phases. He had not changed out of his jacket. Dried flakes of blood spotted his sleeves. Her eyes followed as he rubbed the soft skin beneath his wrist.
“Hello, little queen.”
“General.” He had not asked her to sit, and so she remained standing. Weak light filtered through the window, limning the hard angles of his face, the veins of his hand. Finally, she spoke, in a tired, hushed voice. “I am sorry for Afira.”
Daz stilled for a moment, then continued rubbing his wrist, eyes fixed on the blood on his sleeve. “She was a warrior, and she died like one. That is all a Yumi can ask for.”
“I know. There is no greater honor. Still, I—I am sorry for all of it. The blade that cut through Afira was of my man, and so her death is my responsibility. I will see that she is given a proper pyre, with all the rites—”
Daz looked up then, and the withering look in his eyes stopped her short.
“Do not grovel at my feet to seek forgiveness, little queen. We both know that is beneath you. You came here with a purpose. But first, I must know. How are my warriors? How… how many are left?”
“Twenty strong,” she said.
“Am I a prisoner?”
“That is for you to decide, General.”
He sat back, eyes hardened but dull, like old metal shined to hide its lackluster state. “What are my options, then, O queen?”
Elena winced at the jab, at the derision laced within her title. “I come here as a friend, Daz. Remember, it wasyouwho erred when you decided to abandon our mission.”
“You do not need to remind me of my folly, Elena,” he spat, though the heat in his voice quickly died. “I did not know you were alive. Had I known, I would not have turned. I would— Afira would still be alive. Rhumia, Mother knows where she is, would be here. My grandnieces—they were queens in waiting. Do you think I would have endangered their lives willingly?”
“No. That is why I am giving you a choice.” Elena straightened, meeting his gaze. “You can either come with me before the council as we agreed. We can fight against Jantar together. Or you and your warriors can stay here on this ship until the matter is done. Either way, you will be given the dignity of overseeing Afira’s funeral. I do not seek a fight with you, Daz. Our sides have both erred, yours with abandonment, mine with violence. Let us make amends, then. I know Moksh and Ravence will be the better for it.”
