Leading Aegis

Chapter 32

Ophelia led the way into the infirmary with one of Carter’s arms still around her shoulders, and she and Rue helped him onto the table so he could lie down. He needed blood and rest before she could even consider healing him anymore, and she already felt sympathy for the pain he’d be in later. There was a massive red handprint around his neck that was already turning black and blue, and she had no doubt about how raw his throat would feel in the morning. The most she could do until then was give him Catorix and some pain medicine.

Carolina and Berkeley had followed and stopped just inside the doorway, and once Carter was situated on the table, Berkeley asked, “You need anything else from us?”

Ophelia shook her head, and Carolina told him and Rue, “You two get some sleep. We’re not doing anything about this situation tonight.”

They both nodded, said goodnight, and left, closing the door behind them.

“He’s in no shape to hurt me,” she told Carolina, “if you’d like to get some sleep too.”

Carolina smiled softly at her but wandered to the cabinets to lean back against a counter. “I need the company, if that’s alright.”

Ophelia returned the smile, though hers was full of apology as she said, “He may want privacy for this procedure. I’ll come and get you when it’s done.”

“Oh,” Carolina said, “right, Catorix.” She strode to the door. “Holler if you need me.”

She nodded, and once Carolina had left and closed the door behind her, she returned her attention to Carter, who was laid out on the table with his eyes closed. He was likely already in some pain, and so she grabbed pain medicine and a dosing spoon out of the cabinet to pour him some, and then carried it to the table.

“Take this for the pain,” she told him. He opened his eyes and took the spoon, swallowing the medicine without protest. “You need blood,” she told him, and set the spoon aside and then put her hand gently on his shoulder, “or I won’t be able to heal you anymore tomorrow and your recovery will be slow.” He nodded his understanding. “Have you ever had Catorix? Or seen it given?”

“No,” he answered in a hoarse whisper.

“It goes into the thigh,” she explained. “I can cut your trousers, or you can remove them, but I’ll need access to clean the area properly.”

“I’ll remove them,” he told her.

She opened and reached into a nearby drawer, pulled out a small blanket, and handed it to him. “You can cover yourself with this,” she told him, “just make sure to leave one thigh clear for me.” He nodded. “Now, I don’t want to alarm you, and I’ll give you a sedative, but the injection goes into the bone and it’s very painful.”

He shut his eyes and laid there without responding. Ophelia thought he was considering whether he wanted a sedative, but almost a minute passed without him speaking before he finally sniffled.

“Carter?” she asked. He opened his eyes, quickly reaching up with one hand to wipe away the tears it unleashed. “Don’t worry, I’ll give you the sedative and you won’t feel a thing.”

“It’s not that,” he whispered, and gave a tearful and embarrassed laugh as he said, “I mean, I will take the sedative, but…” He went quiet again, several more drops sliding down the sides of his temples. “I thought I was going to die,” he told her. “Which isn’t an entirely new experience for me, we were a chaperone crew before we were assigned to following Omen.” He paused, inhaled a shaky breath, and wiped roughly at some fresh tears with the palm of his hand. “But he tried to kill me just because he could. For no other reason than what? That he doesn’t like me? And there wasn’t a thing any of us could do to stop him.” He sniffled, squeezed his eyes shut once more, and did his best to blink away the tears when he opened them. “Ugh,” he chuckled soggily, “and now I’m crying. Like a baby.”

Ophelia smiled and returned her hand to his shoulder to try and comfort him. “You were scared,” she said, “this is a normal reaction to that amount of adrenaline and fear.” He smiled gratefully at her, though her reassurance seemed to make his eyes flood again. “And you’re safe now.” She made an exaggerated look toward the door, and then leaned in closer to say, “Carolina acts tough, but she’s got a bigger heart than she lets on.” She pointed a scolding finger at him. “Don’t tell her I told you that.”

He laughed, “I won’t, I promise.” He sniffled a final time and reached up with both hands to dry his cheeks. “Thank you for saving me.”

“I wasn’t going to let you die,” she assured him. “No matter what Carolina decided.”

“Even though we got your friend killed?” he asked.

She inhaled deeply, and let it out in a heavy sigh as she shook her head. “Simon killed him, not you.”

Carter gave her the smallest of half smiles and said, “I guess.” Then he looked at her for several quiet moments and asked, “Piers said you weren’t like other bounties. I can see why.”

“I’m not so different from other deserters,” she told him. “Despite what they may think.”

“No?” he asked, and she shook her head. “Why is Sovereign after you?”

“Because I dared to want a life of my own,” she answered.

“It’s funny, isn’t it?” he asked. “I joined to advance my lot in life. But even you — born wealthy, with a powerful father — couldn’t escape it.”

She hummed. “It was that very realization that started me on my journey here.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, his upper lip curling with disgust. “I’m done with Sovereign, and if I know Wyatt, he is too.”

“Well, then,” she said, “when all of this is done, I hope you find your way to the life you want.”

“Thanks,” he said. He relaxed for a few moments and collected himself, and then nodded. “I’m ready.”

“I’ll gather some things,” she told him. “You’ll wake up shortly after I administer the Catorix, and then I’ll walk you to the brig.”

“That’s fine.”

“I’ll also come visit you in the morning, but I’m going to leave some water and pain medicine with you. Finish both as soon as you wake up, understood?” He nodded, and she patted his shoulder and turned away from him and toward the cabinets. “Go ahead and clear your leg for me.”

While he did that, she grabbed a bottle of Catorix and the sharpest syringe she had, a couple of clean rags and disinfectant, a bandage to wrap around the site, the sedative, and a second needle for injecting it. By the time she’d collected everything she needed, Carter had told her that he was ready, and so she poured disinfectant into one of the rags and brought it to the table.

“We’ll push up your sleeve,” she told him as she did so to reveal his upper arm. “Give it a little clean.” She disinfected his shoulder with the rag and then tossed it aside for the sedative, and pulled some of the fluid into the smaller of the syringes. “This goes in the arm,” she told him.

“Goodnight for now,” he told her.

“Goodnight,” she laughed, and injected him.

He was unconscious less than twenty seconds later, and so she set to work on administering the Catorix. She thoroughly scrubbed the thigh he’d left uncovered with disinfectant, let the liquid evaporate, and then did it a second time. Once she was sure the area was sterilized, she drew a small amount of Catorix into the larger of the syringes, pushed it through his thigh and into the bone, and injected the potion straight into the marrow.

Its effects were almost instant. The potion ran its course quickly, prompting and aiding his marrow to produce a plethora of new blood. His cheeks regained color, his eyes became less sunken in, and his breathing got deeper and slower. The fresh blood would also reduce the concentration of sedative in his system, and so she hurried to remove the syringe from his thigh and pressed a clean rag over the site to stop the bleeding. Once it had nearly stopped, she wrapped his thigh in a bandage and turned to clean up while he recovered.

He regained consciousness slowly at first, as she peeked over her shoulder every few seconds to check on him. She was just putting away the last of her tools when his raspy voice said, “Whoa.” She turned to look at him. He had one arm raised straight up and was flexing his fist. “You’re a miracle worker.”

“Thank you,” she laughed, “but the Catorix did all the work.”

“I feel amazing,” he told her. “I mean, I can feel the hole you put in my leg and my throat still feels like someone’s stepping on it and my head might explode, but I’ll have energy while it does.”

She chuckled at that while she poured him some more pain medicine, and then held the spoon out to him. “Here, you can have more now that you’ve got more blood in your system.”

“Can I sit up?” he asked. She nodded and he pushed himself up, holding the blanket in place while he swung his legs over the side of the table. “ Thank you,” he said, taking the spoon from her to swallow the medicine and then handing it back.

“Find your feet slowly,” she instructed, “you may be dizzy when you first stand.” After pouring a small cup of pain medicine and another of water to send him to the brig with, she returned the bottle to the cabinet. By the time she was done, he was standing, and had redressed and tossed the blanket back onto the table.

“I feel like I should be more tired,” he said.

“Oh, you will be,” she said. “You’ve got a boost now from the Catorix, but once your body’s caught up with the process, you’ll be exhausted.” He nodded his understanding. “So, I recommend you try and get as much sleep as you can tonight.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he agreed, and gestured toward the door. “After you.”

She handed him the water and the medicine, and then led the way out the door. She took him below deck to the brig, where he went willingly into the cell and sat down on the cot.

“Don’t shout if you need anything,” she told him, “you need to rest your throat.” She motioned to the metal cup of water he was holding. “Ding the cup against the bars until you get someone’s attention. They can come and fetch me at any time.”

“I can’t thank you enough, Miss Parker,” he told her.

She smiled, said, “You’re welcome,” and secured the door of the cell, leaving him alone so he could get some rest.

She wandered back up to main deck, but instead of going back to the infirmary, she went to knock on Carolina’s door, where she heard the faintest, “Come in,” in response.

She entered and closed the door behind her. Carolina was sitting on her bed, and though she clearly knew that Ophelia was there, she made no further acknowledgement of it. She was sitting with her feet on the floor, her elbows on her knees with her hands folded between them, and her eyes were fixed on the wall across the room. Ribbon was curled up next to her, head in her lap and looking up at her with all the sympathy and love the tiny creature could give.

Ophelia crossed the cabin and caressed Ribbon’s head. “I’ll take care of her now,” she said, and gestured toward the perch a few feet away. Once Ribbon had gone, Ophelia took that spot and sat down, asking softly, “Carolina?”

Carolina’s thousand-yard stare was unwavering, but she inhaled a slow, deep breath to say, “John’s dead because of me. ”

“Everyone seems to want to blame themselves rather than the person who actually killed him.” She reached over to put her hand on Carolina’s opposite cheek, turning her head to guide her stare away from the wall and onto her. “You didn’t know this would happen.”

“But I knew we were being followed,” Carolina said as she sat up straight. “And I led them right to him.” She grunted as she brought her fist down hard against her own knee. “Right to the archives.”

She set her hand on Carolina’s closed fist to keep her from doing it again. “If you’re to blame, then I have to share it with you. I’m the one who cursed you.”

Carolina leaned forward again as she shook her head to that, and put her elbows back on her knees to steeple her hands over her mouth and nose and return her stare across the room. Ophelia stretched her arm across the backs of her shoulders and leaned into her to offer as much comfort as she could, and they sat like that for a long couple of minutes in silence. Carolina sniffled every so often, but she was unmoving other than that as she sat with her sadness, and Ophelia didn’t know what else to do. So she stayed quiet. She kept her arm around Carolina and rested her head on her shoulder, moving her hand every so often to rub her back for a few seconds before going back to hugging her again.

It was only after a while that Carolina sniffled one last time and straightened up, wiping her cheeks as she removed her hands from her face to be stoic again. “How’s our guest?”

“Recovering in the brig,” Ophelia answered. “I’ll look after him tomorrow and he’ll be back to normal in no time.”

“Simon Beecher,” Carolina sighed, with the rasp of a growl in her voice. “Have you ever met him?” Ophelia shook her head. “And yet, you’re afraid of him. What makes him so powerful and dangerous?”

“He trained as an assassin,” she said.

“So did you,” Carolina pointed out.

“But I never finished my initiation, and he has a reputation for having enjoyed it,” she explained. “You saw what he did to Carter for no good reason.” Carolina hummed. “He’s honed his craft. Even without having Ascended, he’s got the strength and the stamina to hurt people without breaking a sweat.”

Carolina sat there for a little while thinking about that before she asked, “What would happen if we had to fight them? Would you really not stand a chance? Would he kill you so quickly? ”

Ophelia shrugged. It was one thing for her to still be building back her stamina after so long without magic, and it was another to already be at a disadvantage with the tax of the curse. Not to mention that for the last decade she’d been practicing as a doctor, not a killer. “I’d slow him down in a fight and could keep him from killing the rest of your crew, but not indefinitely, and likely not without being hurt or killed myself.”

“I’m not asking you to fight him,” Carolina assured her, looking over to meet her gaze. “I just need to know what we’re up against if we stay on this path.”

She nodded her understanding, and asked, “Are we?”

Carolina’s shoulders rose with the depth of her inhale, and she held it for several seconds before letting it out in a long, heavy sigh. “According to Wyatt, Simon will kill the shipwright on Wallowford if he knows anything about our quest.”

“Carolina,” Ophelia said seriously, reaching over to put her hand on Carolina’s so that she’d truly understand the severity of Simon’s reputation, “he’ll kill that man’s entire family if he thinks any of them know anything.”

Carolina’s brow creased with concern and disbelief for a moment before she nodded, her eyes finding that spot on the wall across the room again. “A month ago, I might’ve sacrificed a few lives to finally be free again.”

“No,” Ophelia said, “you wouldn’t have.”

Carolina looked over briefly to see the confidence on her face, and then went back to staring at the wall as she huffed an agreeing laugh. “No,” she admitted, “but I would’ve been tempted.”

“What changed?” Ophelia asked.

Without looking over at her, Carolina lifted the hand that hers was still on and then set it back down indicatively. “You did.”

Her heart fluttered against her will, and in those few moments of pause, she battled with herself over whether she should take her hand back or leave it. If she should run her thumb over the backs of Carolina’s knuckles. If she should slide her fingers around to the underside of Carolina’s to interlace them.

Maybe Carolina could sense the conflict within her, because she looked over with a small smile and said, “Even just as my friend, Ophelia, I’m a better person having gotten to know the woman you’ve grown into. ”

She smiled, though she found Carolina’s favorite spot on the wall across the room in hopes that Carolina wouldn’t see the blood rushing to her face. “Flatterer.”

Carolina chuckled, but she replaced Ophelia’s hand in her own lap, then patted the back of it and left their shoulders and thighs the only points of contact between them. But it was where Ophelia felt all the heat then, because no matter how hard Carolina tried not to pressure her, she was thinking about it. She thought about it at mealtimes. She thought about it at night. She thought about it when she could’ve been doing something, anything more productive. And she shifted her hand with the intent to place it right back on Carolina’s before deciding against it.

“So,” she murmured, her hand still itching with desire for contact. “What’s the plan?”

Carolina shrugged and planted her hands on the bed behind her to lean back on them. “I don’t know yet. Any time I try and think about what to do, my mind is filled with ill intent.”

“For Simon?” she asked. Carolina nodded, so she said, “It’s valid.”

Carolina hummed her agreement. “But not helpful for problem solving.”

“How can I help?”

“You just being here is helping,” Carolina answered. “Thank you.” Ophelia smiled in response, and half a minute passed in silence before Carolina asked, “How are you feeling about the bounty hunters? And Wyatt?”

“That depends,” Ophelia said. “Do you mean in regard to myself, or the whole situation?”

“Either,” Carolina answered. “Both.” She blew a hard breath through pursed lips and fell back to lie down, pressing her fingers into her forehead. “I’m just so tired, and thinking about it is causing this radiating pain through my entire skull.”

“It’s tension,” Ophelia told her, and patted her on the leg. “Sit up.”

Carolina did as she instructed, and Ophelia drew her legs up onto the bed and adjusted, scooting back to sit behind her.

“A massage?” Carolina asked, with the first hint of happiness in her voice that Ophelia had heard in a while.

“Better,” she said.

“What could be better than a massa-” Carolina began to ask, but Ophelia put one hand on the back of her neck and began to use her magic to soothe and relax the muscles there as she massaged, and it cut her off short. “ Oh, ” she crooned, and her head dropped forward to expose more of that spot.

“You don’t need to come up with a plan tonight,” Ophelia told her as she shifted that touch to Carolina’s shoulders. “Rather, I’d argue that we have all the time in the world if Simon is waiting for us to guide him to our next lead.”

“You didn’t answer my question, though,” Carolina murmured.

“Right,” she remembered. “I feel less threatened by the bounty hunters now. If they know my father sent them, then maybe they really don’t wish me harm. But I’d like to avoid being captured all the same.” She paused, but Carolina made no response, so she continued. “As for Wyatt… I suppose it’s possible he didn’t intend to get caught up in all this. His father being Admiral Kim, it’s not unlikely that he was assigned this position despite his qualifications or desire to be in it.”

All Carolina did in response was hum, and it was obvious then exactly how much she needed this release. So Ophelia resisted the urge to keep discussing a plan, or the delay of one, and focused on working the tension out of Carolina’s back instead. She rubbed her neck and shoulders, ran her hands down her back while pressing deep into the muscle, and pushed them all the way back up again to scratch her nails along her scalp.

It seemed to be working, and Carolina relaxed so much that her body shifted with even the slightest push of Ophelia’s hands. But every minute that passed by in the quiet, a different kind of tension grew. The silence between them thickened as the warmth beneath her hands blossomed and filled the space between them. And Ophelia knew she should stop. She should stop while the warmth was still resistible. Before the heat growing between them swelled into a spark.

But maybe it wasn’t resistible. Maybe it never was, because even though her mind was yelling at her to stop, her hands wouldn’t obey. Her eyes wouldn’t either. They followed her fingers down the curve of Carolina’s neck, and trailed the angle of her jawline until they fixed on the hollow beneath her ear. And she couldn’t help that her heart was racing. That her hands slowed and lingered against her better judgment in places that would only convey her thoughts to Carolina. And it did. Ophelia knew it did, because there came a point that her touch reversed all the work it had done to relax Carolina .

Carolina wasn’t so pliant under each stroke of massage and her shoulders weren’t so slack. Her breathing stopped being slow and deep and steady, and picked up instead. She made the slightest shift of her chin every other minute as if she wanted to turn, but stopped like she was afraid that doing or saying anything would break the spell. Or maybe that was Ophelia’s fear. Because as much as she wanted to lean forward and press her lips to the back of Carolina’s neck, as much as she wanted Carolina to turn around so their lips could meet instead, she was afraid. Afraid of what it would mean. Where it would lead. How it would end. And the more that fear bubbled up and battled with her desire, the more her hands slowed, until she finally stopped and let them fall to her sides.

Neither of them moved for another minute after that. They sat there in continued silence, held in place by the weight of everything that existed between them. All the things said and unsaid, all the things that had happened in the past, and the things that could happen in the future. It was that last that kept Ophelia frozen, even as Carolina slowly shifted and turned to face her. And even as her eyes dropped instantly to Carolina’s lips, the rest of her was stuck. Torn in a million different directions by one overwhelming fear.

“Ophelia?” Carolina whispered. She couldn’t bring herself to respond, and so Carolina’s finger set under her chin and lifted her gaze. “I know I said I wouldn’t pressure you,” her hand fell away, “but I need to confess something to you or I’m afraid I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”

She finally unfroze as her heart dropped into her stomach, and she choked, “What?”

“When I said I still loved you,” Carolina told her, and paused to take in a deep, trembling breath, “that wasn’t necessarily true.” Carolina’s gaze dropped, and she shrugged. “You’re a different person than you were back then, and it wouldn’t do justice to the way I feel if I didn’t tell you that I fall more in love with you every day. More than I ever thought possible.”

But even as the butterflies that put in her stomach lifted her heart back into her chest, her eyes flooded with tears. “I-” She didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know how to articulate the whirlwind of things she was thinking and feeling. Or how her own love for Carolina had grown alongside her fear. “I can’t,” she murmured. She scrambled off the bed, muttering, “Goodnight, Carolina,” as she hurried out the door without looking back .

No sooner than she slammed it shut behind her did she freeze again. She stopped outside Carolina’s door as more and more tears filled her eyes, until there were too many to hold back. A waterfall streamed down her cheeks, but it wasn’t just her will to resist that was breaking. All the things she was thinking and feeling came pouring forth, until she was confronted with the exact reason that Carolina’s confession had terrified her.

What if she still wasn’t enough?

She’d been so convinced a decade ago that Carolina loved her, and it didn’t stop Carolina from leaving. She’d matured since then. She’d grown into someone that she herself was so proud of being, someone Carolina claimed to love more and more every day. So, then, what would happen if Carolina left her again?

But Carolina wasn’t the same person anymore either, was she? What if she was sincere? What if they could have a second chance? Maybe she couldn’t take being left again, but would she be able to take living on Omen every day for the rest of her life feeling the way she felt? Without knowing one way or the other?

No.

She didn’t bother wiping the tears from her cheeks as she turned and threw open Carolina’s door. Carolina had gone back to staring forlornly at the wall across the room, but was startled to her feet as Ophelia shut the door behind her.

“I don’t know what to do,” Ophelia said, storming across the room. “I can’t be friends. I don’t want to be friends.”

Carolina didn’t seem to know how to take that, and her eyes fell as she whispered, “What do you want?”

“ You , Carolina,” she answered, and Carolina’s gaze lifted. “I never stopped, no matter how many times I wished I could, but I couldn’t, and I still love you. I don’t want to just be your friend. I don’t know how to stay here on your crew and feel the way I do and just be friends, but the truth is that I’m terrified .”

“Of what?” Carolina asked, tightening the space between them and reaching for her hands.

She inhaled deeply, her voice cracking as she said, “It nearly broke me when you left.” She reached up to wipe at the fresh tears that cascaded down her cheeks, and then replaced her hands in Carolina’s. “I don’t know if I’d survive it a second time.”

Carolina shook her head. “I swear to you that will never happen again.”

“How?” she cried. “How could you say that? How could you be sure?”

“Because I know something now that I didn’t then.”

“What?” she asked.

Carolina reached up to cup her face with one hand, running her thumb across her cheek to wipe away the tears. “That I would rather die than ever make the choice to live without you again,” she answered. “If you make that choice, Ophelia, then so be it. I’ll take comfort in knowing you have the life you want. But I won’t choose it. I couldn’t possibly when not once in ten years did you ever stop being the center of my world.” She reached up with her other hand to cup her face in both. “None of this means a damn thing without you.”

And she believed it. She believed it because she’d seen it, and she knew that then. A decade ago, Carolina had chosen freedom over her, and she’d always resented that because it was never a choice she’d have forced Carolina to make. But this time, before she’d suggested Lia for Ascension, it was a choice Carolina had to make. And Carolina had chosen her.

So Ophelia finally gave in. Finally pitched forward to find Carolina’s lips with her own, and it was like everything that had ever gone wrong in her life was exactly as it should be, because it led her here. Here, where she was free. Here, where she was surrounded by friends. Here, where she could wrap her arms around the woman she loved and kiss her like it was the last thing she’d ever do.

She cherished every moment of it. Cherished the warmth of Carolina’s hands on her face, and the way her arms felt wrapped around Carolina’s waist. She cherished the gentle way Carolina’s lips closed against hers even though each breath she let out was hot and hard against her mouth. Cherished the way that this kiss banished every fear she’d been holding onto, so that she was flooded with relief and warmth and joy, until she was so overwhelmed by it that her eyes watered even though she was smiling against Carolina’s mouth.

Carolina’s lips closed against hers one more time before she suddenly froze, and in the quick moment of stillness that followed, there was a metallic click followed by a gentle thud. Ophelia pulled away from Carolina’s hands, and Carolina’s eyes were wide as she held up one of her wrists between them. A wrist that was bare. That hadn’t been bare for so long that Carolina’s skin was pale where the manacle used to be. A manacle that had finally broken where that web-like fracture was and had fallen to the floor.

Their eyes went back and forth between Carolina’s wrist and each other, growing wider and wider as their faces brightened into magnificent grins. Carolina screamed with joy, and she didn’t know how else to respond but by screaming back, and it set off a chain of them screaming loudly to each other as they grabbed hands to jump for joy. It didn’t take but a few more seconds for Berkeley and Rue to burst in.

“What?” Berkeley yelled.

“Who’s dying?” Rue shouted.

They stopped jumping and screaming, and Carolina held up her bare wrist to show them. It took several seconds for either of them to realize what they were being shown, but then Rue’s face took on a look of ecstatic surprise, and Berkeley let out a scream of his own as he sprinted over. He grabbed both of them in each arm and lifted them off the ground, still yelling as he spun them in a circle.

“You’re free!” he hollered, setting them both back down.

Rue had come over too, and once they were back on their feet, she laughed, “I can’t believe it,” as Carolina pulled her into a hug. “Congratulations.”

“What happened?” Berkeley asked.

Carolina let Rue go and answered, “We, um, we kissed, and it just fell off.”

“The spell must have worked,” Ophelia said, still grinning ear to ear. “I did it right, it worked, it was just waiting for the conditions to be met.”

“How do you feel?” Carolina asked. “Can you feel it?”

Ophelia closed her eyes and inhaled, nodding when she opened them as she realized that Carolina wasn’t the only one who was free. “It’s gone.”

Carolina dashed forward to grab her by the waist, lifting her into a hug and squeezing her tight for a few seconds before putting her back down.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Berkeley said as they separated. “Does this mean you’re back together?”

Carolina’s mouth fell open as she looked over at Ophelia, as if leaving the answer to that to her. All the blood rushed to her cheeks as her lips pulled into a timid, pursed smile.

“Yes,” she told them .

Carolina and Berkeley beamed the same wide smile at each other, and then play-wrestled for a few moments because Berkeley teased her. While they tousled, Rue came over and slung an arm around Ophelia’s shoulders.

“You know,” she said, gesturing at Carolina and Berkeley, “you don’t get that without dealing with the rest of us.”

Ophelia laughed and shrugged. “That’s part of the charm, isn’t it?”

“If you say so,” Rue teased, but she laughed too and gave Ophelia a squeeze. “I’m glad you’re both happy.”

“We need to celebrate,” Berkeley said, looking up at them from the headlock Carolina had him in. “And tell the crew we can go back to pirating.” He pushed out of Carolina’s grip and straightened up. “Are we? Going back to pirating?”

“Well,” Carolina said, pausing for a couple of seconds to inhale deeply while she considered it. “I kind of figure we might see if the rebellion needs us first.” And she passed a toothy grin to Ophelia, as she must’ve known that’d make her happy.

“If I get to see some action,” Berkeley said, “that works for me.”

“Sounds perfect,” Rue agreed.

“First things first,” Carolina said, “we set sail for Cinder first thing in the morning. I intend to spend a full week off this ship before we do anything else, and I’ll be damned if I’m doing it on a Sovereign island.”

“YES!” Berkeley yelled.

Ophelia’s face lit up. “Can we go dancing again?”

“Of course,” Carolina said, and grabbed her hands to dance her a few steps across the room, and then let her go to grab one of Rue’s hands and make her twirl.

Rue laughed as she spun beneath Carolina’s arm, but once Carolina released her, she sighed. “I suppose I should go and tell Wyatt what’s happening? He may want to come and get his friend before we leave town with him in the brig.”

“Oh, right,” Carolina said. “Should Berkeley come with you?”

“No,” Rue said, waving off the suggestion. “You three celebrate, and I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Will you at least take Ribbon?” Carolina asked.

Rue chuckled, but nodded and gestured at Ribbon, who was alert on her perch. “Come on, teeny. Let’s go for a walk.” Ribbon dove onto Rue’s shoulder, circled her neck once, and then settled onto the opposite shoulder to nuzzle her cheek. “We’ll be back soon,” Rue said as she headed for the door.

Once Rue was gone, Berkeley asked them, “So? Are we getting drunk now or what?”

Carolina laughed, but shook her head and gave a timid smile as she took Ophelia’s hand. “I kind of want to just enjoy this for a bit.”

“Oh, right,” Berkeley drawled, giving them each a teasing grin, “you want to be alone .” Carolina rolled her eyes, but Berkeley threw up his hands and turned for the door. “Say no more. I’ll go and make sure we have enough alcohol for the festivities tomorrow .”

“Alright,” Carolina laughed, letting go of her hand to usher Berkeley to the door, “get out.”

“Goodnight, you two,” he sang on his way out.

Carolina threw the door shut behind him and turned back to her. Ophelia laughed and shook her head, but held her arms out as Carolina crossed half the room to return to her, wrapping her arms around her waist and pulling her into a kiss. After a few seconds, Carolina lifted her off the ground, spinning her in a circle and then setting her down to sit on the edge of the desk. Ophelia settled her arms over Carolina’s shoulders as Carolina stood between her knees and leaned their foreheads together.

“Are you sure you don’t want to celebrate with your crew tonight?” she asked. “We could leave the ship and spend as long as you want in a tavern.”

“There’ll be plenty of time for that,” Carolina said. “I want to spend this time with you.”

Ophelia dropped one of her arms to run her hand over the pale skin on Carolina’s wrist before meeting her eyes again with a smile. “Alright, then, how do you want to celebrate?”

Carolina hummed and glanced upward in thought, smirking as she answered, “Oh, I could think of about sixty-nine ways.”

Ophelia snorted. “Nope, nevermind,” she laughed, sliding off the desk. “Forget it all, you haven’t changed one bit.”

She was laughing as she pushed past Carolina to feign heading for the door, but she shrieked when Carolina grabbed her waist from behind and turned her back toward the desk.

“It’s too late,” Carolina snickered, “you already admitted that you love me.” Carolina put her down, and she turned around in her arms to return hers around Carolina’s neck, and they laughed about it for a few more seconds before Carolina pecked her gently on the lips. “I am joking, though, if you wanted to take this slow.”

“On one hand,” she replied, “it’s been ten years…”

“You too, huh?” Carolina asked with a laugh.

Her cheeks flared as she nodded. “But on the other hand, I…”

She didn’t know how to finish. Didn’t know how to express her hesitation because she wanted Carolina, and she wanted intimacy. But even though she trusted beyond a doubt that Carolina loved her, and would never leave her again, she needed time to feel secure in that. Especially with everything that was happening around them. She wanted to be able to take her time. To know that they had time afterward to enjoy each other, without the threat of bounty hunters or assassins or rebellions.

“It’s alright,” Carolina said, kissing her on the cheek. “You don’t need to explain.”

“But I do love you,” she assured.

“I know,” Carolina laughed amusedly, and reached up to cup her face. “And I’d be just as happy to hold you for the rest of the night.”

She nodded and took the hand Carolina offered to follow her toward the bed, and that was exactly where she planned on staying. For as long as she possibly could.