35. Heir of the Sea #2
“Of course, Your Highness, we shall tend to the living while you do so for your Mizani.”
Biting my lip at the damned word Ellira had spoken countless times, I swallowed my denial.
Dipping my chin, I exchanged one last glance with him, entrusting those my mother had trained to do exactly as they said.
And, as if my mother wished to prove herself, Pelagos slipped past me with fluidity, the masses of those he commanded following behind.
Sighing in relief at their promptness to oblige my utterance, I returned my attention to Alastair. “I’m done arguing with you. Let’s go…”
My words faded, and my glare narrowed on the space he had been before I slipped into my pending role. Chin snapping toward the shoreline, I caught sight of his golden locks and, with another slew of curses, ran to catch up.
Tying off the last stitch, I peered up at Caspian.
His chest rose and fell, but there was a rattle between each breath that reignited my fear. Skin blanched, blackened veins more prominent, and with him tucked beneath the soft sheets adorning the cot in the medical bay on Alastair’s ship, he appeared almost… vulnerable.
An unshielded and unguarded man whom I yearned to protect, no matter how much I attempted to deny it.
“Hm… It’s almost as if I’ve explained the reasoning.” The lightness in Ellira’s tone clashed with my building ire. “I told you it is something you cannot escape, Daughter. The two of you are soul ties, fated mates; your destiny lies with one another. So take your anger and cast it elsewhere.”
“I am not angry.”
“You are a liar.”
“Seriously? I already argued with Alastair, and now you—”
“Rohen?”
The gentle utterance drew me from my internal clash with the goddess as I turned to meet a cornflower stare. “Yes, Parran?”
“I have…” They fiddled with their fingers nervously.
“I have done everything I’m able. He is comfortable and will be well, but this is only a temporary fix.
” Shaking their head, white locks tousled.
“Sorva’s influence is as thick as sap and impossible to rid him of, and his soul…
It’s… It’s slipping the longer she imprisons him.
I’m fearful that what awaits him is not—”
“That’s enough,” another voice, Alastair, prompted as he shifted from where he’d rested against the wall. “We are acquainted with the implications, Parran. Thank you for your efforts and all you have offered him. Please get some food and rest. You’ve exerted yourself plenty.”
Not willing to argue with the captain, the Fae dipped their chin as they traced their touch down Caspian’s arm in one last effort before exiting the room.
Silence lingered, the tension between Alastair and me returning.
Seconds turned to minutes as I sat at Caspian’s side, my chest aching in a way it never had.
There had been no other instance in which I experienced the feeling of my heart caving in on itself.
No other time had I desired to take someone else’s place if it meant ridding them of the anguish that plagued them.
Brushing curls from his forehead, my thumb ran along his brow before sweeping down his cheek. Even after my aid in sealing his wounds and Parran’s attentiveness to all that polluted his essence, his skin was still cold and slick with a clamminess that had me questioning if he was running a fever.
“You care for him.”
Flinching at Alastair’s unexpected intrusion, I shot an unamused look in his direction. “Why does it matter? It’s clear that, even with your supposed lingering feelings and my argument, you still plan to throw him in the brig.”
“I’m not going to.”
“What?”
“I’m not going to toss him into a cell, Rohen.”
“And what suddenly changed your mind, Captain?”
Alastair loosed a breath as he rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.
“You. Everything you said was right, and it would be insensitive of me to confine him when he and I worked tirelessly to escape our captors. I have my uncertainties, just like Parran expressed, but I want to give him a chance. I do.” His throat bobbed as he met my gaze once more.
“And I am sorry for the instances in which I have pulled you away from him. I understand the feeling. Maybe not in the same way, but I do nonetheless. I apologize for restricting your need to aid him. It was wrong of me, and I would’ve been equally as wrathful if someone had done the same to me with Leilani. ”
I sat for a breath, unmoved from my position, before I dusted another touch across Caspian’s jaw. Hesitantly, I pulled away from him and stood, crossing the distance Alastair had put between us.
Planting myself in front of him, I exhaled heavily. “I accept your apology, though I will not deny that you are an asshole.”
“I’m not sure—”
“Aht,” I snapped, pointing at him. “I wasn’t done.
” When he remained quiet, I continued, “On my end, I would also like to apologize. The venom I spewed at you was unnecessary and came from a place of anger that was not even directed at you, but at those influencing the fate of everything. Every instant in which you prevented me from following through with my desires was an instance in which you protected me. You acted from a place of care, of concern, and while it is something I am not used to, I cannot thank you enough for it.”
Staring at me, his vibrant gold eyes flickered with a swell of relief.
“I am sorry for all he stole from you, Rohen, for the childhood he robbed you of and the marks he left on your skin. While your story is yours, and one I wish you did not have to bear, please know that I understand where your guarded nature comes from. I’ve experienced the wrath that bubbles so intensely beneath your skin that you wish for nothing more than the ability to carve it from you.
But, in the same breath, I’ve shared time with the man lying on that cot, and believe me when I tell you that he…
he will heal you in ways you never imagined possible. ”
I nodded and stepped toward him when, in the past, I had so frequently moved away. Ignoring the building anxiety of what I was about to do and the desire to withdraw, I wrapped my arms around Alastair’s torso.
He froze at the gesture, just as shocked as I was that I even offered it. “R-Rohen?”
“Shut up and hug me before I change my mind.”
A soft chuckle escaped him as he gathered me in his embrace, pulling me flush against him. “You know, I never envisioned the day when you would elect to display an ounce of intimacy toward someone else.”
“Yeah, me either, asshole,” I muttered, but the warmth radiating from my heart caused the corners of my mouth to twitch.
When he didn’t offer another sarcastic reply or pointed remark, I leaned into the comfort he provided.
Alastair had always gifted me with a gentleness I had never experienced from another man, a solace that did not come with expectation.
He, like Kael, had quickly become a safe space, a chance to heal a wound so deep it still seeped blood.
But most of all, he’d granted me the time to open my heart, to peek out from beneath my shell. And, with his healing coax, I felt myself slowly begin to crack, my walls parting for the man who rested on the cot.
My soul tie.
My fated mate.
My Mizani.