Chapter 28 Jax
Chapter twenty-eight
Jax
My heart bounced around in my ribcage like waves off the hull of the rowboat that carried me to the quay. I didn’t care what that fae sorcerer said. I didn’t trust the supposed depths of this bay.
Besides that, I wasn’t about to dock Temerity here where it could be further hemmed in by Endergeist’s navy—not to mention all the merchant ships now penned in with us. At least where she sat, squarely in the middle of the water, it gave the illusion that this bay was mine to command.
If Dog was restored to fighting shape and my gamble with the Aegleans paid off, this bay would be mine…in a couple of weeks.
But in the meantime? I had a sorceress wife to see.
The bright sun reflecting off the water didn’t stop me from spotting her in the shadows. I knew she’d be there, trying to keep her fair skin from burning in the sunlight but refusing to go inside.
My Sofie. My savior and my bane.
For just a moment, as she stepped out from under the eaves of a harbormaster’s cottage, squinting towards me, I had the strangest whim to give all of this up. My title, my Bard, my quest for supremacy on the open seas. All those adventures I’d told myself were ahead of me.
I looked at Sofie then, and I thought, What kind of fun would they be without her?
Her expression was troubled as I strode down the dock. I was being stubborn, too, refusing to show any hesitation. And then, as I reached the steps that led to the harbormaster’s lookout, she began to move towards me. Hesitantly, at first.
I blinked, and she was in my arms, her own thrown around my neck and holding tight as her slippers dangled in the air.
It felt good to hold her. Too good. For we had unfinished business between us. I carried her to the side of the stair, setting her on one of the logs framing the steps with rope strung between them. It almost left us eye to eye.
“Sofie—”
“Jax, I—”
We spoke over each other, then both said nothing. I scratched at my bearded chin. “Ladies first,” I said, breaking the increasingly awkward silence.
“I’m sorry I destroyed the Queen of the Sea,” she said, then lifted her chin, “for academic reasons.”
I snorted. “And for what else?”
Her mouth twisted, legs kicking against the log she sat upon like an angry child. “For doubting you.” Her nostrils flared. “But are you sorry for doubting me?”
“I never doubted you, Sofie,” I said, the start of a smile lifting one corner of my lips. “I knew you’d find a way no matter what.”
Her hands went to her hips. “You’re saying it was an act of faith in me, choosing the treasure over me?”
I shook my head, laughing softly. “Sofie. Look where we stand. Look at the royal fleet behind us. I would not be here if I did not choose you above all else.”
“Then I suppose this is the part where we both forgive each other.”
“No, pet. This is the part where we stop being complete idiots. When all this is over, we might even agree to revisit our vows.” My throat bobbed as I swallowed. “We could make them true, this time.”
“You want to be married for real?” Her eyes grew round. “I’m not sure a true relationship is meant to start as ours did.”
“What, with a raid and trickery? I see you are still poorly versed in pirate culture. This sounds like the perfect start of a romance to me.”
“Don’t joke, Jax.”
“I’d never.” I held up a hand. “There’s nothing to jest about. Despite the circumstances of our meeting, despite those of our parting, I love you, Sofie Dar’Vester, and no other. You’ve changed my life forever. The least you can do is fall for my charm and rugged good looks.”
She leaned forward on her perch, and I unwittingly took a step closer, one of her knees grazing my abdomen near where she’d re-stitched me. “Falling in love with you was easy. But we’re from different worlds. How is that love supposed to grow into something that lasts, hm?”
Despite her words, her hand reached out, a finger curling under my beard. We were so close now. Close enough to be aware of her breathing, to count the red lashes framing her lovely eyes.
Close enough to kiss.
“Love me for my money,” I said, my voice low as I leaned a fraction closer.
Her mouth quirked.
“No? For my power, then.”
She arched a brow.
“Ah. Then you’ll simply have to love me for all the adventures we’ll share together, and for my unyielding devotion to you.”
The tether of tension between us lifted as her eyebrows buckled into a furrow. “I’m not becoming a pirate.”
“And I’ve no interest in attending Dewspell. Trifling details.”
“Important details,“ she corrected, withdrawing her hand.
I seized it, turned it, and pressed a kiss into her palm.
“When I learned that the sorceress who cursed the princess of Endergeist was on a ship near part of my own fleet, I thought the gods themselves must’ve put you in my path to save me.
” I kissed her wrist, held her hand to my cheek.
“And save me you have. I’ll give up my title and fleet tomorrow if it means a life with you, Sofie.
Just promise me it won’t be a boring one. ”
“I don’t think anything could ever be boring with you around,” she said, her eyes locked on mine.
And then our faces were moving closer again, her chin lifting to raise her lips towards mine. I stepped closer, setting my hand on the rope running through the log she sat upon—
And felt a stinging in my fingertip.
My vision blurred, robbing me of the sight of my wife looking up at me with such fierce love and passion in her eyes.
The last thing I heard before I collapsed, slipping beneath the rope and down into the gray waters of the salty bay, was Sofie calling my name.
Then everything went dark.