Epilogue
The sailboat entered the lagoon as the sun was already setting beyond the horizon, casting a deep orange hue over the sea while the clouds turned grayish purple.
I got up from the table on the porch, where I was peeling and cutting fruit for dinner, and leaned my shoulder against the column of the roof covered with large fig leaves.
Reaching the shore, Amlach jumped down and grabbed the bow line. I watched him with a greedy gaze as he dragged the boat across the sand and secured it to the pole in the ground with the same focus and strength he had used to tie me to our bed’s headboard last night.
But then his attention turned back to the open sea.
Toward the Lands of the East.
Toward the Crystal.
There wasn’t a single moment when darkness didn’t call him; I was fully aware of that. Because it called me, too.
Always. Violently.
Very slowly, I reached out and tightened my grip around the hilt of the dagger—which I had secretly traded when one of the merchants of the humans from the Lands of the West was passing near the archipelago—in the sheath I had nailed beneath the shelf of the wooden railing.
Amlach was so concentrated and tense that he looked like a predator ready to pounce, his expression so dark it gave me an adrenaline rush.
Almost in slow motion, I drew my weapon and kept it concealed behind my back, the blade parallel to my forearm, prepared to lunge at him before he could dive into the water . . .
“Dad!”
Narestel crossed the threshold behind me and rushed past me to reach Amlach.
I was still troubled by the fact that she could always sense her father’s presence as soon as he set foot on our island. As she grew older, her witch abilities became increasingly pronounced. In eight more years, her magic would finally emerge.
And only Amlach could teach her how to control it.
I feared that moment just as much as the time when my mate would attack again. Maybe even more.
Seeing his daughter running toward him, Amlach shoved his dark thoughts away, and a special smile spread across his face.
Narestel ran into his arms, wrapping hers around his waist. He bent down to kiss her on the forehead, just as he always did, then tousled her long, dark blonde hair, which was wavier than mine.
“Bring this to your mother,” he told her, handing her a bucket.
She peeked at the contents, let out an excited squeak, and quickly came back to me. “Mom, look!”
Mussels. Narestel loved eating them with toasted human bread whenever we could get it from passing ships.
Masking my inner turmoil, I smiled at her and caressed her with my free hand. Though she was only ten, she was nearly as tall as I was. Her golden complexion, full lips, and upturned turquoise eyes made her beauty unmatched.
And as more time went by, I realized that she had only taken my indomitable character from me.
She looked like Amlach, as I had understood at one point. She resembled what his true appearance had once been. That’s why, during moments when Narestel was distracted, I would catch him glancing at her sideways with regret.
“Start cleaning them,” I told my daughter.
“Alright,” she said, beaming, and went back inside.
I quickly snapped back to alertness, glancing sideways at my mate as he climbed the steps with a net full of fish over his shoulder.
He stood next to me, towering over me with all his arrogant charm. “Relax, Elf,” he sneered, making me realize he knew my guard was always up.
He knew I was armed.
He cupped my cheek and held my feral gaze briefly before kissing me so passionately that I moaned into his mouth.
When he broke away, his eyes held a mischievous yet threatening promise. “Another day,” he declared.
With my heart pounding, I watched him cross the door.
Another day.
Maybe far in the future.
Maybe soon.
But not today.
I smiled slightly and put the dagger back in its hidden sheath. Then, I carried the large bowl of fruit to the kitchen table, where Amlach and our daughter were busy: One was filleting a mackerel, and the other was peeling off the impurities from the shellfish.
As Narestel shared her day’s discoveries with her father, full of her usual excitement, he looked at me and winked. I let out a sigh, releasing some built-up tension, and we then began preparing dinner.
Together.