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“In just a minute. There’s a picnic behind the bunker, on this side of the bridge.” I smiled at Dmitri encouragingly. Food was a great way to distract him, and I didn’t want anyone listening in on my final conversation with Walker. If my heart broke, I didn’t want any witnesses more than I could help.
“Ooh, a breakfast picnic, Dmitri! I’ve never had one. Does it have pancakes?” Elise asked in a light, happy voice. Dmitri relaxed.
“I put the menu together,” Ethan said. “There’s food other than sweets and alcohol, different from Alys’s suggestions.”
His gaze shifted to Robert, who was obviously uncomfortable at leaving Guild territory. Probably even more uncomfortable in Ethan’s presence. Robert was a battlemage and Ethan had defended Kalderon in wars past.
Rumor had it that he and Rue had feelings for each other, but I put that down with the holodramas that said she’d had affairs with Ridden. Not very likely.
“Peace. Those two need to talk with no ears other than their own. By my name, no harm will come to you or yours on this visit.” Ethan held out his hand.
“You’ve got a way to deal with the microphones trained on them?” Robert’s voice was dry, but he took the offered hand and the two men shook.
My uncle’s smile sharpened.
“So, tell me about these election parties… I’ve heard such stories…” Uncle’s voice drifted back as Walker stopped, the toes of his boots touching the line of the border between Kalderon and Guild that was etched into the steel of the bridge.
“The clothing choice means you’re here on official business?” I kept my voice neutral, but the growl of thunder didn’t help. Ethan had woven a temporary shield for me, to give Walker and myself privacy for this talk from prying eyes and ears
“At least initially.” His voice was quiet and self-contained, but his eyes were hungry as he gazed at me.
Hope reared its head again in me at his expression. I bit my lip, staring at him, voice suspended. Lightning hit the river.
Walker opened the robe, stepped out of it, and let the wind take it. It belled wide, sailing off the edge of the bridge. It hit the water further down, and a river fish pounced and ate it.
My throat clenched. I blinked fast, but a tear escaped anyway. He’d picked me. Duty had motivated him for five hundred years, and he’d picked me over it.
He put his hand up, flat, facing me, just on his side of the border, I matched the motion, palm to palm. My hand yearned toward his warmth.
“To avoid an incident, I need you to repeat your invitation,” Walker added. “The others have agreed to take over my duties for a year or ten, so long as no attacks come from the Stormdusts.”
He’d resigned to be with me, and the others would take up his duties. So long as my people didn’t attack the guild. Given my uncle’s lifespan, that could be for centuries, if I shared it.
We’d found a way. My heart thudded in my chest, my head was light with happiness. “And you don’t have any problem with me fulfilling my bargain with the elf?”
He smiled down at me. “I plan to join you, at'ééd. I can survive an encounter like that, and dividing the elf’s attention will make you safer.”
I blinked. “You don’t mind?”
“When you come to be my age, you’ve done most everything. No, Alys, I don’t mind.”
The last thing I’d worried about was resolved, and I felt so light and happy. The clouds broke and poured rain down. Luckily, Ethan had set up a tent for the picnic. Had he thought this might happen?
I cleared my throat of the blockage in it and tried to focus on his later words. “I can only guarantee my behavior; I’m not going to say that nobody else will try the border. Especially with all the provocation your lot deals out.”
Hope, fear, and love all mixed together on his face. An echo of the emotions that rose within me. “Though I do need to talk with the officials here about emigration, since I can’t leave Dove in the Capitol.” Walker smiled down at me. “Do you know anyone who might be willing to sell me a residence?”
I laughed. “I happen to know several people who could help you with those questions. Would you care to sit down to a breakfast meeting with one?”
Walker took my hand and stepped over the border. And I knew, from this point forward he would walk by me. Dmitri had another father. When he squeezed my hand as we approached the tent, I heard Dmitri laughing, and I joined my son, my heart full.
