Chapter 22 Malia
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
MALIA
We sat on a driftwood log, watching the sunset on the horizon, Sereth’s ship still anchored in the bay.
After everything settled down, Prince Elias prepared his own ship to sail back with us.
He wanted to make sure that no civil war broke out once the truth of Sereth was revealed, and that the transition of leadership–potentially to me–was a smooth one.
And, of course, he wanted to finalize his divorce to Sereth in the place where he had married her.
It was strange being royalty again, with Sereth’s guards and sailors now my guards and her counselors now at my call.
But the best and yet the strangest thing was that Alaric was now my husband.
We decided to get married before the journey back to Moanalei, and Elias was more than happy to do a small ceremony on the deck of the Moanalei ship.
Surrounded by Alaric’s crew, the people of Moanalei that joined Sereth on her journey, the twins, and Jonah, Alaric and I said our vows on the spot.
As I held his hands and looked into his eyes just moments ago, I couldn’t believe we’d gotten this far. That we’d finally made the decision to choose each other.
Even now, sitting with Alaric, his hand on my leg as we watched the sunset, I couldn’t believe a girl with such a dark past could have such a bright future.
There was so much ahead of us, including Alaric figuring out his whaling empire.
The Crimson Wake wasn’t quite ready for sailing, contrary to previous predictions, but Destin and Thatcher promised to meet up with us back at Moanalei.
“And you better be king,” Thatcher teased.
Destin just smiled and gave us hugs. “I’m truly happy for you,” he said.
And, before we walked away from them, Alaric turned around. “Thatcher!” he called. “Find that man who’s talking about drilling oil from the ground.”
“Are you crazy?” the navigator laughed.
“Our whaling days are coming to an end,” Alaric said, and I knew he meant it.
So now we sat on the log, husband and wife. My heart reeled in absolute delight and happiness. I couldn’t imagine the return journey being separated from Alaric because we weren’t married. We’d done enough of that.
A whale breached in the distance and my breath caught as Alaric wrapped his arm around me and drew me closer. It was still amazing to me that this man was in love with me… Me. The thought of spending my life with him thrilled me.
“Remember the first night we met?” he asked, breaking the silence.
“Of course.”
“You had no idea you’d fall for the huntsman.”
“And you had no idea you’d fall for the witch,” I teased, then became somber. “What if the people are afraid of me when they hear the truth?”
He didn’t answer with words, but gently turned my chin to face him. The scent of salt clung to his skin, wild and bracing like the sea he conquered as a whaler. He brushed a strand of hair from my face.
Then he leaned in and kissed me–slow and sure. It wasn’t rushed, wasn’t desperate or chaotic. It was the kind of kiss that steadied my heart, even as it stole my breath. I kissed him back, hoping he could feel my love for him.
When we finally pulled away, he rested his forehead against mine.
My hands slid up against his chest, and I frowned. “What happened to your whalebone necklace?”
“I threw it in the ocean.”
“Why?”
“I used to think killing whales made me a man. Gave me control over something big. Something wild and unknowable.” He wove his fingers through my hair. I could get lost in his husky voice, soft touches, and sea scent all day.
“When everything else in my life felt like it was slipping through my fingers… the hunt was the only thing I could command. Out there, I decided who lived. Who died. What direction we sailed. I needed that. Control.”
“And you still need that?” I asked.
“No. I don’t want to control you, Malia. I just want to love you–right where you are.”
Before he could kiss me again, I smiled and pulled away.
“Malia.” He was eager to shower his love on me, but I had to say, “Well if you must know, I told myself I’d never fall for a whaler.”
Alaric grinned, his smile lighting up my whole world. Then he said, “It’s a good thing I retired.” And this time, I let him kiss me. Our lives hadn’t been easy, and I knew we had a long journey ahead.
But it would be so worth it.
Because we get to do it all together now.
Gentle puffs of water caught my eye and I pulled away from Alaric to look out to sea.
“Alaric, look.” He didn’t look immediately. Whales breached in the distance, a peaceful, magnificent moment. I watched in awe, and then… the white tail of one surfaced for a moment.
“That one’s been helping us, hasn’t it?” Alaric saw the humpback just in time. “He was probably waiting to make sure I did the right thing.”
I squeezed his hand. “You did.”
The sea shimmered in colors of orange and blue before the sun finally dove below the horizon. And, for the first time in a long time, my heart–my dark, broken heart–felt fully seen. Fully safe… like it was finally going to start healing.
Maybe that was the secret all along. To win a dark heart… you don’t conquer it. You love it back to life. And that’s exactly what we did.
THE END.