Chapter 128
Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Eight
The Ocean’s Gift
WEEKS AGO, DURING THE BATTLE AT SEA
“BACK TO ALV—” My words cut off sharply as a resounding boom so loud it was quiet, echoed with the release of Solace’s long-held, massive ball of magic. Bright white shone in my eyes, obscuring my vision completely as I felt the ship splinter apart beneath my feet.
Then, I was falling, the ocean rising to consume me.
I plunged down, down, down, unable to fight against the current manufactured by the Water Mages, unable to help the soldiers I’d condemned to death as I watched their bodies sink down into the black depths of the unforgiving sea.
All around me, ships burst apart, their pieces slowly sinking downward to a watery grave.
Yet, on I sped.
Water filled my lungs, my eyes bulging from lack of oxygen, as I pawed at my throat, certain I would die. My vision spotted, growing darker as a voice I hadn’t heard in a year spoke to me.
“It’s not your time yet,” Finian said. “Hold on a bit longer, Peytor. Help is coming. Hold on and return to love those people just as they love you. Then, when you’re old and grey, we will meet again.”
Spots danced in front of my eyes, movement growing sluggish as I tried to make my legs cooperate. I swam toward the surface, only for a strong hand to grip my ankle, pulling me back into the darkening depths of the ocean.
“The Ocean gives, and the Ocean takes,” a haunted female voice filled my mind with terror and peace before I opened my mouth, inhaling a lungful of water. “You’ve been claimed, Peytor d’Talionis. Now, sleep.”
I knew no more.
Present Day
Coughing and sputtering, I weakly turned my head to the side as I vomited what felt like gallons of water onto the wooden deck.
My throat and lungs burned, stomach tightening around nothing.
Gods, I’m hungry. And I never want to see water again.
“Peytor?” a hesitant, familiar female voice called to me. Though my hearing was fuzzy and every sound apart from my continuous retching muffled, I would recognize her anywhere.
“Folami,” I rasped, more water pouring from my throat.
“Gods, how much did you inhale?” she muttered quietly, pushing me onto my side so I wouldn’t choke.
I sighed, opening my mouth to simply let it dribble outward.
Stomping feet vibrated the dock as I felt two other people rapidly approach.
“What is it, Fo? What’s wrong?” a worried male voice intoned as Folami’s shaky hands coasted over my wet, naked body as if afraid to touch me.
As if she feared I wasn’t real.
“Is that . . . Peytor?” Ilyas’ incredulous tone joined the group, and I suddenly felt whole. My heart warmed as hands were laid on my skin, gently turning me so everyone could see my face.
“In the flesh,” I muttered, finally feeling well enough to sit. All three of them moved as one to support my back as I shakily sat, my muscles loose and uncontrollable.
“How—what—I—” Lex started, his mouth agape as his hands rubbed unconscious circles on my cold flesh.
“Here, you’re shivering,” Ilyas said, tossing a blanket that he procured from gods knew where around my shoulders.
Folami tucked it around me, covering as much of me as possible before pressing herself against my side.
The warmth of her body bled through the wool, and I moaned slightly at the feeling.
Pins and needles erupted across my skin and extremities as blood began to flow once more.
Lex, hearing my sigh of contentment, pressed himself to my other side, while Ilyas encased me at the back.
Within seconds, I was warm, their body heat and overpouring of love bringing me back from the dead.
“Color is returning to his cheeks,” Folami muttered absently, grasping my chin with her hand and turning my face both directions. “Are you warm enough? What else do you need?”
“Food, but I can wait on that,” I said quietly, my eyes searching hers for the darkness that took hold after Itanya disappeared.
“Where did you get this blanket from?” Lex asked Ilyas. Ilyas’ rumbling chuckle vibrated my whole body.
“Our little wife has taken to sleeping out here some nights. Thought she should have something to keep her warm.”
I felt Folami blush as she turned her face away from mine.
“It’s where I felt closest to you,” she muttered as I kissed the top of her head.
“How did you survive?” Lex asked, urgency and curiosity burning in his brown eyes. I saw the same questions reflected in Ilyas’ ocean orbs, though Folami avoided my gaze.
Interesting.
I shrugged. “I fell beneath the waves. Heard Finian’s voice again before a hand gripped my ankle and pulled me under. Something about the ocean giving and taking.”
I felt Ilyas tense at my back as Lex settled back into my side.
“The ocean gives just as it takes,” Folami repeated quietly, the rightness of her words resonating.
I frowned. “Yes. How did you know that?”
She shrugged, clearly avoiding the question. “Just something I heard once.” None of us pushed, knowing she’d come to us in her own time, if she did at all.
We sat like that, all four of us tangled together, for hours, basking in the silence and surety that came with each other’s presence. Eventually, the sky began to brighten, the stars winking out as pinks and oranges invaded the sanctity of night.
The sun rose, brilliant and gold, warm and full of hope.
Elyria was broken. Twisted almost beyond recognition but not beyond repair. But the sun would rise each day, and with it, our hope for a better future for us all.