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“I almost didn’t let you in,” she continues, my heart swelling in response. “But somehow, you found your way inside me. And now we have these children.”
The crowd laughs. I’m not sure if she intended it as a joke, but she goes along with it, smiling extra for the crowd.
I don’t even attempt to conceal my pride. Those are my eggs.
“I look forward to bringing them into a new world, where by your side, I can help protect them from the injustices of our realm and usher in a new era.”
I look at everything I’ve written on the parchment. And I tuck it back into my clothing.
I know the words I was going to say by heart, and yet they don’t seem effective here. My heart has a different speech in mind.
“I wasn’t sure what life was before I met you,” I tell her, clearing my throat slightly. “I had a purpose, but I didn’t have a fire. I had legs, but I didn’t have a path. I had sight, but no vision.”
I pause momentarily, gazing at her lovingly. “But then you opened my eyes to the world. You gave me light. And in your light, I found comfort, but also truth. And I don’t know if I can ever thank you enough for that, or if I’ll ever know how much you’ve given me.”
She smiles earnestly in response, taking my hands and gripping them tighter.
“Then I grant you permission to bind this union,” the priest says, looking between the two of us. “Although, from the looks of it, you already have!”
We kiss each other like nobody’s watching, holding each other tightly. I feel the world swirl around us, wrapping and enveloping us.
Nothing matters, save for this moment. I will look back and cherish this moment as long as I live.
When we are lost, it will be a beacon for us to find our way again.
I draw myself into her tightly, pressing myself against her round stomach with my groin, my arms firmly wrapped around her shoulders.
The thought of taking her and claiming her all over again fills my mind. It guides my feet through the crowd as the audience claps for us, the soft melody of the harp playing us out.
My legs wobble forward, my hand tightly clasping hers. I’m elated not only by the idea of what I’m going to do to her but also by the fact that this is our forever.
30
LASTA
My eyes are everywhere.
I pace through the king’s court, keeping watch of everybody’s best-kept secrets. There’s almost nothing I don’t know. And if I don’t know it, there’s nothing I can’t find out with the right methods.
“Easy,” I mutter, nearly mistiming my approach and bumping into Zalith’s field of vision as he rounds the wall.
Sidling around the corner, I turn back, sneaking through the long gallery.
I’m working with a theory.
I think, given what I know and what I’ve heard, that King Kriseri might have spies in this very court, supplying him with information on our most private affairs. Suppose somebody in Kriseri’s favor has already infiltrated us, and they’re just waiting for the perfect time to strike?
That would be a disaster.
And looking back, it feels like the timing of the attack was a little too convenient. I just can’t make much sense of it.
I rush along the wall, sneaking through an open door and watching as my fellow guardsmen devour their meals absentmindedly. Salted meat with gallus eggs cover their plates.
My stomach rumbles.
“Where on Protheka is Lasta?” Selliss asks, taking a big bite.
“Who the fuck knows anymore?” Lallinn replies. “Why? Gonna brag about another of your conquests?”
