Chapter 16 #2
The request surprises me. We've been so focused on surviving the battle, neither of us has talked much about what comes next.
"What do you want to know?"
"What happens to us?" She tilts her head to look at me. "Do we go back to how things were? You in your warehouse, me at the inn, pretending none of this happened?"
"No." The answer comes immediate and certain. "We don't go back to anything. We move forward." I cup the back of her neck, holding her gaze. "You keep running Flynn's Inn if that's what you want. But you stop hiding your magic. You be what Gran trained you to be. What this island needs you to be."
"And you?"
"I keep managing the imports. The businesses.
Making sure Stormhaven stays independent and Skara pack territory doesn't expand where it shouldn't.
" I pull her closer. "But I do it with you.
No more keeping you at arm's length because I'm afraid of putting you in danger.
You're already in danger. Might as well face it together. "
She smiles against my chest. "Very romantic."
"I'm not good at romantic." I tangle my fingers in her hair. "But I'm good at keeping promises. And I promise you this—when we survive tonight, I'm not letting you go. We build something real. Something that matters."
"What kind of something?"
Partnership. The answer comes clearer than I expect.
"You handle the magical threats. I handle the physical ones.
We protect this island together. Keep it safe from both Skara pack aggression and supernatural dangers.
" My thumb brushes her cheekbone. "And when we're not doing that, we do this.
Learn each other. Build something between shadow and water that neither of us expected. "
"I like that vision." She kisses my throat, the touch soft and lingering. "Though you're underselling yourself on the romantic front. That was actually pretty good."
"Don't tell anyone. It'll ruin my reputation."
Her laugh is quiet but genuine. "Your secret is safe with me."
We lapse into comfortable silence. The kind that only comes when words aren't necessary.
But the approaching dawn won't be ignored forever.
"We should sleep." Moira's voice carries reluctance. "A few hours at least. We'll need our strength."
"I know." But I don't let her go. Don't loosen my hold even slightly.
She seems to understand. Her arms tighten around me in response.
"I'm terrified," she whispers against my chest. "Of the fight. Of failing. Of losing you."
"Me too." The admission costs something. "But we're not going into this alone. The brotherhood will be there. Every shifter who can fight. And you'll have your full power for the first time in years. We have a chance, Moira. A real one."
"What if it's not enough?"
The question I've been avoiding since we decided to face Catalina head-on. What if all our preparation, all our strength, all our determination still falls short? What if the sea-walker we're hunting is too powerful, too ancient, too wrong for us to stop?
"Then we go down fighting." I cradle the back of her head. "Making sure she doesn't get to hurt anyone else. That's all we can do."
She's quiet for a long moment. Then she moves, pressing a kiss over my heart. "If something happens to me—"
"Nothing happens to you. I won't allow it."
"Rafe, you can't promise—"
"Watch me." I tilt her face up, force her to meet my eyes. "You don't get to make contingency plans for your death. Not right now. Right now we believe we're both walking away from this. Anything else is unacceptable."
Her expression softens. "Same goes for you then. No heroic sacrifices. No putting yourself between me and danger if it means you don't come back."
"I can't promise that."
"Then don't ask me to promise what you won't."
We stare at each other in the dim light. Both of us too stubborn to back down. Both of us terrified of losing the other.
Finally, I pull her close again. "Then we make a different deal. The brotherhood handles Catalina while you free Elspeth and the others. We keep each other alive. Everything else we figure out after."
"Deal." She settles against me, her body relaxing by degrees.
I resume stroking her back. Soothing movements meant to ease her toward sleep. Her breathing gradually slows, deepens. The tension in her muscles fades.
"Rafe?" Her voice is drowsy now.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. For believing in me. For not trying to keep me away from this fight."
"You're the most powerful person on this island when you stop holding back." I press a kiss to her temple. "I'd be an idiot to try to keep you away. Also pretty sure you'd ignore me and show up anyway."
She laughs softly. "You know me well."
"I'm learning." My arms tighten around her. "Now sleep. We only have a few hours."
She murmurs something incoherent, already halfway gone. Within minutes, her breathing evens out completely. Deep and steady. Safe in my arms for a few hours more.
Sleep should claim me too. Need to be sharp for what's coming. But my mind won't quiet.
Catalina. The sea-walker who was once my lover. Who drowned herself rather than live without her family’s approval. Who came back wrong and dangerous and full of death magic.
In just a few hours we face her in deep water where she's strongest. Where her bound spirits can rise and her power reaches its peak. We're planning to kill something that's already died once and returned stronger.
But Moira sleeps against my chest. This sea witch and innkeeper who makes me believe in possibilities I thought were lost. Who matches my darkness with her own light and doesn't flinch from either.
When we survive—because we will survive—everything changes. The careful distance I've maintained from this island's people for five years will shatter. They'll know I care. Know I have something precious worth protecting. Know I'm vulnerable.
The thought should terrify me.
Instead, it feels like relief.
Five years of keeping everyone at arm's length have left me hollow.
I built an empire, joined the brotherhood, created a life here—but never let anyone close enough to matter.
Empty in ways I didn't recognize until Moira filled the spaces with salt water and stubborn determination.
Until she looked at me like I was worth saving instead of something to fear.
The battle will come whether I'm ready or not. Catalina waits in the deep water, surrounded by stolen spirits and centuries of ocean magic. Old Tom suffers in her grip. Elspeth's soul remains trapped and weaponized.
But Moira and I have something Catalina doesn't—each other. The brotherhood backing us. An island full of people worth protecting and the determination to do it right.
Sleep pulls me under slowly, reluctantly. Part of me wants to stay awake, memorize every detail of this moment before the fight pulls us back into danger. But Moira needs rest, and so do I.
My eyes finally close. Whatever comes in the deep water, we face it as one.
In a few hours, we fight. Right now, I hold what matters most and let that be enough.
The darkness comes and I let it take me.