Chapter 34 #3
“You don't want to stay here. I know that, and I won't ask you to.”
I blinked at him in surprise.
Rei just grinned. “I do hope that one day you'll consider staying with me, whether that's here, an island we can call our own, or anywhere else in the world. But for now, you need to go back home to the Abyssal Deep. If you can convince them to reforge a peace treaty with us, and if Shaddan and Akina do the same with the Druinns…well, then there will only be one country left to bring to the table.” He kissed my cheek and held me tighter, enough that I could feel his body quake against mine.
“Just thinking about you leaving is tearing me apart, but I know it's for the best, and you've been away from your home for too long. So, before you take my heart with you under the sea…I wanted to ask.” He stared at me so seriously, my heart began to pound.
“Zephra Yukaris of the Abyssal Deep. Would you do me the honor of becoming an emissary of peace between Mourners and Sirens?”
It took a moment for his words to sink in.
He wanted me to carry the message that Mourners desired peace to my people in the Abyssal Deep.
My heart tore in two as I kissed him, struggling to hold back all the emotions threatening to spill over.
The only thing I wanted for six years was to return home to the Deep.
But now, as much as my heart ached for home, it hurt even more because I would have to leave him. The smile I gave him felt too weak. “I…Of course. I’ll do anything for you, Your Majesty.”
He cringed at my use of his title, but it actually made me giggle.
I ran my fingers through his hair to fluff it a bit from where the crown had been weighing on him. “I’ll need to report back to you as often as possible.”
“As often as possible.”
“But while we’re apart,” I said, retrieving from my pocket the Sirensteel necklace he had bought in Porscana.
It was feather-light in my trembling grip as I gently pulled the chain over his head to rest against his chest. “I want you to have something from the Siren whose heart you have. So you’ll remember that I’ll always… always come back to you.”
There was something reverent about the way he brushed his fingers against the necklace. A small smile almost brightened his face. “Thank you, Blue.”
Bittersweet silence fell over us. I leaned against him, and he drew an intimate, lazy circle on my knee with his finger. I couldn't bring myself to look at him, instead focusing on the pattern he drew up my thigh. He was always so warm. I almost felt silly for not realizing that he was a Mourner.
Reiven worked his hand gently up my leg until it rested on the envelope Jin had given us. “We should read his letter.”
“You're right.” Neither of us moved to open it.
The room felt altogether too large, yet crushingly small at the same time.
The throne we shared was a sanctuary where we had each other, surrounded by the hollow space of what we lost. Ash should have been there, planning for a peaceful future alongside us.
My chest caved until I felt like I was deflating.
“Ashkade is gone,” Rei said softly. “The best thing we can do is hold on to his memory and finish what he asked us to.”
“He would be so proud of you, Reiven. I'm proud of you, too.”
I kissed him again, and he refused to let me back away to breathe. Honestly, he was so confusing sometimes. He kissed me with so much love, but kept his fingers tangled in my hair tight enough to hurt.
And I loved it. I loved him.
Once upon a time, he had been a bitter enemy to me. At what point did that cocky ex-pirate become someone I trusted with everything? And when did the angry, captive Siren I used to be let go of all the hatred she hoarded inside and yearn for a peaceful world?
Everything began with the Timebreaker.
I silently thanked Ashkade Synnex one last time, impossibly grateful for him and his grand ideals that led me to meet and fall in love with Reiven.
“Hey, we need to be respectful and read his letter,” I mumbled into Reiven’s mouth.
“Read it out loud to me so I can keep kissing you,” he said, tracing my jaw and neck with his lips.
I giggled at the tickling sensation, sliding my finger beneath the seal of the envelope, and began to read the letter aloud. I could practically hear Ash’s voice in my head; the words on the page were so naturally his.
“Dear Rei and Zephra. I’ve been thinking a lot about dying, so it’s a good thing I got the chance to get it all out of my system. First off, would you mind letting my folks know I did my best? They don’t need any gory details—”
“Do his accent.”
I laughed through my tears and continued.
Reading his letter strengthened my resolve, even if what was to come next would prove more challenging than Hell itself.
There was certainly a lot of work we had to do to bring our people together, but by the Spirits, and in Ashkade’s name, the most unlikely pair would see it done.
Me, a free Siren, and the man I fell in love with.