Page 99 of A Sea So Cruel
Asta returned to her suite to find a letter from Gyrial, updating her on his latest patrol. The fae male had returned to the Spellid Mountains after the council lifted his banishment. Once Sabella had helped reveal the truth about Gyrial’s parents—how his father had murdered his mother and that was the reason he attacked his father—the council issued a formal apology and offered Gyrial an officer position in their army. Before he left, the fae male explained that he was leaving because even though he valued the friendships he had made in Orntali, it was time for him to find his happy ending, too. Asta could not argue with that.
She folded up the letter and placed it on her vanity before looking out the window and watching a herd of wild, dapple gray horses galloping and bucking down the beach. The kelpies made regular appearances now, traveling freely between the ocean kingdoms and Orntali. Though the villagers didn’t exactly know the truth regarding them, they understood enough to give the horses their space. However, they left troughs of freshly killed hare out each night and were pleased to discover the rabbits were gone each morning.
“Niklas is in heaven,” Kaid said as he entered the bedroom, wrapping his arms around Asta from behind. She stared at herself in the mirror, observing the streak of black hair that remained from Yrsa’s attack. “Allowing him to open the archives to the public was the best thing you could have done for him.”
After learning about all of the historical pieces that had been shoved down into the archives to collect dust, Asta knew that giving that knowledge back to her people was the best way to ensure history would not repeat itself. The legends needed to live on. It was also the best way for her to confirm with her villagers that their suspicions regarding preternatural beings' existence were real without outright saying so.
“So, when can we tell your father?” Kaid kissed Asta’s neck playfully.
She laughed. “Let’s not spring this on him when he’s planning my coronation. We have two major ceremonies coming up. We don’t need to inform him that we may have skipped over a third and took the easy way out.”
“You think fighting a war, managing two kingdoms, finding peace between merspecies, and revealing the existence of magical beings to an entire village was the easy way out?”
“Well, it was easier than planning a wedding, I would bet,” Asta grinned.
“Asta Blomvin Enrathi Andreassan, you really are the most infuriatingly intriguing female I have ever met.”
Their secret wedding had taken place in front of their cave—their only witnesses being the priest, Linnea, and Halsten.
The sunlight had filtered through the cave’s tree root ceiling, illuminating the spot they had both realized what they meant to each other. The gulls squawked from above. The scent of briny water and fragrant evergreens engulfed them. It was perfect. So perfect that Halsten had asked Linnea to marry him in that exact spot, and she excitedly said yes.
Kaid kissed her deeply, and they fell into bed, and Asta did not need to comb her hair, or crack her knuckles, or tap her doorway, or swing her sword in order to fall asleep. At least, not tonight.
Epilogue II
Congratulations on the dual birth ofPrince Soren Botmar Blomvin Enrathi Andreassan SIRENandPrincess Else Maren Blomvin Enrathi Andreassan SIRENof the Ventarin Sea.
Born to Emperor Kaidian Blomvin Enrathi Andreassan SIREN of the Ventarin Sea and Queen Asta Blomvin Enrathi Andreassan SIREN of Salendron.
May the gods and goddesses watch over them.
Alternate Chapter 19
Asta stretched and let out a yawn. The tourniquet had done its job and stopped the bleeding. Her injuries were not deep, but certainly had made an impact. Figuring the cloth had been tied on for multiple hours now, Asta released the knot and let it fall. The bleeding didn’t seem to start again.
Kaid watched her and did the same with the tie he had made above his thigh wound. In her daze, she hadn’t remembered to ask him about his injuries, but he had remembered and treated hers, and guilt bloomed on her cheeks. To her relief, his leg injury seemed to be clotted now as well, no thanks to her.
“I can’t sleep sitting up like this,” Asta said.
Immediately, Kaid took off his fur-lined cloak and laid it on the ground, patting it down.
Asta unbuttoned her cloak and slipped it off. “We can use this as a blanket,” she murmured as she laid down between layers.
“We?” Kaid asked.
Asta huffed a laugh, amazed that she could smile even under such circumstances. “We. I need you down here with me. For warmth purposes.”
It wasn’t a lie. It was autumn now and there was a brisk, salty breeze coming off the sea and making its way into the cave. They would freeze to death before the night was through if they didn’t use each other to stay warm.
Kaid didn’t object and slid between the cloaks, lying close but not touching her. His breath wheezed slightly as he settled.
“Do you have to breathe like that?” Asta huffed. He drove her mad.
“Oh, sorry, Princess. I’ll just stop breathing to please you,” Kaid quipped.
Asta hid her faint smile. “That would please me very much, thank you.”
They rested in silence, Asta trying to not think about how cold she truly was. She couldn’t stop her body from trembling, between the cold air and the last of her adrenaline draining from her.
