Sky of Wind by Emily Deady

Chapter 38

Meena held on to the knotted rope ladder as she climbed from the boat to the ship.

Ezra had emptied all the beads.

They had made it safely back to the ship.

Gareth’s secret source of power had been destroyed.

And best of all, she had her arms wrapped around Sol, her husband. At least for the moment.

The sea tossed and turned underneath the ship, pitching it in every direction and throwing them around the slippery deck.

The sailors helped everyone get safely to the lower deck, but Meena nudged Sol toward their small cabin.

Just as they stepped through the door, the ship tossed them forward. They stumbled onto the small bed, laughing and crying and clinging to each other.

Straightening up in the darkness, Meena kept one hand on Sol and used the other to search the dark cabin wall for the handhold which had kept her steady during the last storm. This time, however, as the ship rose and fell beneath her, she managed to laugh at the strange sensations in her stomach. She’d been through a storm before, and Sol would ensure they got through this one as well.

Sol.

At the moment, he was sitting at her side, one arm around her back to keep his hand on the wooden support as well.

“I knew you could do it,” Sol said, his voice tickling her ear.

“Do what?” Meena asked, knowing exactly what he referred to.

“Lead.” Sol kissed the side of her head.

“Then why didn’t you give me more responsibility in the beginning?” Meena asked, half jesting but also half serious.

“I didn’t know you wanted it,” Sol replied.

Meena twisted to the side so she could face him in the darkness. “On the second day I knew you, I literally dragged you around the castle grounds with a hand-drawn treasure map. I think it should have been very clear from the beginning that I would make the best cypher.”

“I guess I will just have to spend the future paying better attention.”

Meena inhaled, trying to find his eyes. “It’s too dark,” she whispered.

She felt Sol move his arm. He stilled for a moment, then exhaled. “My magic store is completely depleted,” he said.

“Oh.” Meena shifted her wet skirts around her legs. Now that she was no longer moving, the water was making her cold. “Oh!” she repeated. “I still have these.” She pulled two beads from her pocket and transferred them to Sol’s hand in the darkness. “These are the first two you did, that put harmony into. Can you use that?”

Her answer was a soft orb of light, floating in the air between them.

Meena looked back up at his face. His wet hair was plastered to his forehead and his face looked tired. Exhausted, really. But his eyes were still and green in the warm light of the magic orb. There was no storm in them.

“What was that you were saying about the future?” Meena asked. Her words were not flirtatious, but honest. Coy but not shy. They had just faced death together and survived.

“I was just looking forward to spending it with you,” he said. “If you’ll have me.”

Meena smiled, letting his words wash over her.

She put her hand on his chest, feeling the warmth of his skin through the wet layers of clothing. She wanted nothing more.

Or, rather, she wanted one thing more.

“Sol,” she whispered. “Our task is done. Against all odds, we have succeeded. This marriage was a ruse from the beginning.” She inhaled as tears stung her eyes.

She blinked them away.

“I will not hold you to it for the rest of your life.” Her hand slid up to his cheek. “I could never hold you down.”

Sol’s eyes melted, and he looked at her with an intensity that awed every muscle in her body and set her heart on fire.

“Will you marry me?” he asked. The intensity in his eyes was exactly what she had always dreamed to see. It was direct and powerful and all-consuming. And it was entirely focused on her. But it was also different. More peaceful. Calm.

“We’re already married,” she replied, tilting her face closer to his. Wanting to be closer to him.

She was no longer cold. They had spent the last several days in close company with each other, but this time it was different.

This time, Meena’s heart was racing, just like the other times. But her breath was normal. Her arms were warm and comfortable, not tingling with nervousness. She wanted to step into this moment he was offering her. It felt right.

“No, we had a wedding before,” Sol replied. “A marriage only happens when two people choose to give themselves to each other, in love.” His arms pulled her closer to him, holding her steady as the boat rocked ferociously beneath them.

Meena smiled, relaxing into his touch. “I meant the words I said at our wedding,” she said, looking up at him through her eyelashes. “I gave myself to you in love then.”

“Don’t jest with me, Meena mine. You didn’t know me well enough to love me then.” He nudged her forehead with his own, tilting her face up toward him.

“I knew you well enough to like you.” Meena turned her face to the side, cheekily avoiding his incoming kiss.

“Do you love me now?”

There it was. The shivering sensation ran up her neck as her stomach filled with butterflies. She turned back to face him. “Yes.” She wasn’t whispering. Her voice came out loud and clear.

Sol smiled, transforming his face.

“You are stronger than sunshine, Meena,” Sol replied. “I love you.”

Meena eagerly accepted his kiss. “I love you. So much.” It felt so wonderful to say the words which had long been in her heart. “I’ve loved you for days.”

“Days?” Sol replied.

Meena nodded. “I loved you first.”

“Is this a competition?” Sol asked.

“Yes.” Meena smiled.

Sol wokefrom his sleep to find a head of sleek dark hair tangled over his arm.

The ship rocked calmly in peaceful waters and sunlight streamed through the cracks under the door.

He didn’t want to move, though, because he didn’t want to disturb Meena.

His Meena.

He inhaled, nestling her closer as he shifted to a more comfortable position. They had fallen asleep while the storm still raged.

His hand was tingled numbly, looped as it still was through the bar of wood to hold them steady through the night.

He slipped his hand free, flexing his wrist as sensation returned to his fingertips.

Meena sighed in her sleep, pressing her face close to his chest as if to block out the light. But she did not wake up.

Sol smiled.

Here he was, literally held down by the woman he’d chosen to be his family. And he felt more free than he’d ever felt.

The future loomed dangerously overhead—their actions had just catapulted the long-brewing tension into an actual war.

But he felt free to move into the future. He didn’t want to waste it cutting himself off from the people around him.

Even if he and Meena had decided to part ways, it would have crushed his heart. But it also would have been worth it.

The brief time he had spent with her made him feel like a whole person. And he was thankful for that.

He was thankful for a future in which had something to hold on to.