Clarissa

M y fingers trailed the side of Thorne’s face and down to his jaw. Our legs were tangled beneath the sheets, the rising sunlight spilling from the porthole and across the floor of our cabin.

Most of my life was spent on the move, my mind constantly working through problems and my attention often pulled in multiple directions.

But right now…I wished I could freeze time.

Catch us in this single breath, this perfect moment where his chest rose with mine and his eyes danced like the waves of the ocean rocking beneath us.

“We’ll be there soon,” I whispered, softly scraping my fingernail against his bottom lip. “How do you feel?”

He kissed my finger and put an arm around my waist to pull me closer. The bed shifted with the motion as my hair fell onto the space between us. “I’m not having second thoughts, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

A laugh bubbled out of my throat. “Well, that’s a good thing. The only way you’re getting back to Mysthelm is if I toss you off this boat.”

Folding my elbows into my chest, I rested my head against his heart. I’d gotten so used to these moments in the two weeks since the wedding. The quiet space between sleep and the movement of the day, where we could just…be. Together. No hiding, no curses, no manipulations and secrets.

“What are you thinking about?” I asked.

His thumb swirled around the top of my shoulder where his shirt had slipped down my arm.

“I’m thinking about this freckle on your shoulder.

” He kissed the spot. “I’m thinking about how I can’t wait to watch you squash your council like bugs.

” I chuckled at that. He knew my stab-like tendencies with some of them.

“And…I’m thinking I’m a little anxious.”

I pushed up onto my elbow so I could see him. “Anxious? Why?”

Sighing, he put an arm behind his head, his forearms flexing against the pillow.

“We saw how my kingdom struggled to accept you. Part of me has been nervous about bringing my daughter into a new land with new threats I can’t control.

The magic you’ve told me about…it sounds wonderful, truly.

But it’s also unknown to us. And being surrounded by strangers who can wield it… it’s a lot to come to terms with.”

I couldn’t blame him for his fears. He’d seen firsthand how difficult it was for me in Mysthelm, and I’d be lying if I said their first few weeks here would be sunshine and rainbows. But nothing worth fighting for ever was.

“I know what it’s like to not be accepted,” I started.

“It’s terrifying. But that’s what I’ve been working toward.

I want to make my empire a safe place, where people don’t have to fear the kind of mistreatment I and so many others have faced before.

My people are good people. They trust me, and most of them want the same things I do. ”

I put a hand on his neck. “This could be another step in our people realizing we don’t have to be enemies.

We don’t have to live apart just because we’re different or because our past dictates we must. I think…

I think you and Marigold could have a good life here.

There would be more than enough people to spoil her and look out for her the way she deserves.

To love her the way I do,” I said, my vo ice dropping.

“Because I do, you know. I love her. And I would never let anything happen to her, Thorne.”

His eyes softened. “I know you do. It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with you in the first place.”

“I promise you, I will protect you both with everything I have.”

“Shouldn’t that be my line, Empress?” he said with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes. “Please. Don’t get all alpha male on me now. You’re the hopeless romantic, remember?”

His fingers dug into my waist, then he leaned forward and ran his lips along the side of my neck. “I have layers, you know,” his gruff voice said against my skin.

I laughed again. “Like a beautiful onion.”

He pushed himself up to tower over me, caging me between his arms. The humor faded from him, leaving behind a look I couldn’t quite place. “You’re good at this. Easing people’s fears. I can see why others have always been eager to follow you.”

My cheeks heated beneath his praise. I ran my fingers over the ridges of the four scars on his bare chest. “Maybe I’m just good at getting what I want.

And what I want is for you to feel comfortable.

” I rose up to kiss the top of his sternum.

“And safe.” I kissed his neck. “And be with me.” My lips met his, and his weight settled on top of me.

“You have me, Empress.” He smiled into my lips, and the thought of his joy despite his fears—joy of simply being with me —was almost too much to comprehend. “Now what will you do with me?”

Everything , I wanted to say. Wake up to him every morning, argue and make up and cry and laugh. Show him my world and make it ours. Watch his daughter grow up and give her the best life she could ask for.

I wanted to love him. Both of them . For the rest of my life.

“I want to marry you,” I suddenly said, his lips on my neck and hands at my hips.

He froze. His chest moved as he breathed in deeply. Arms straining, he slowly lifted off me, and his hair swung in my face, covering us like a curtain.

“You…what?”

“I want. To marry. You .” My lips curved into a smirk at the look on his face.

His mouth opened and closed. “Clarissa, that’s?—”

“If you say ‘that’s my line,’ I might have to smother you with this pillow.”

“There’s that violent streak again.” He shook his head with a small smile and a dazed expression. He pulled away to sit back on his heels, and I leaned against the headboard.

“We’re both lying if we say that isn’t where this is headed,” I said.

“It doesn’t have to be now. It doesn’t have to be a year from now.

But you and Marigold are my family, Thorne, whether you like it or not.

Fates, I asked you to move across kingdoms to be with me.

You’re not getting rid of me anytime soon. ”

He stared at me, and I bit my lip, laughing at my own outburst. Raking my fingers through my hair, I said, “I can’t believe I just asked you that.

I’ve never been this…impulsive.” I let out a breath.

“The first time I agreed to marry anyone, it was a calculated decision based on how it would be good for my empire. And I was willing to go through with it. I was willing to spend my entire life in ignorance of what it felt like to truly love . Because that’s my purpose. That’s my duty.”

I got to my knees so I was face-to-face with him. “You know what? Screw my duty. I can lead my people and still have the love I deserve. And that’s with you . So, yes. I want to marry you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and Marigold.”

A slow smile grew on his face, and he raised a hand to cup my neck. “Just when I think you can’t surprise me anymore,” he murmured. “I suppose you do always get what you want.”

I eyed him hesitantly. “Does that mean…”

“Thorne Aris has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” he said with a chuckle.

My eyes widened. I opened my mouth to respond when a jolt slammed into my body. I sucked in a breath and doubled over, my hands shaking as familiar power filled my veins.

“Clarissa? What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice urgent.

“It—it’s fine. It’s my magic,” I choked out, my body working to suppress a sudden shift. I didn’t need to shred these bedsheets and scare him away. Or hurt him again.

Scrambling off the bed, I stumbled to the porthole and shielded my eyes against the sun. Sure enough, the dark outline of an oncoming shore appeared on the horizon.

We’d crossed the borders into the Veridian Empire, and my magic had returned.

I closed my eyes and breathed it in, feeling my fox half leap inside of me as my Shifter powers flooded my senses.

It was even better than I remembered. Better than the small spurts of magic I’d gotten in Mysthelm when I siphoned the curse.

That well in my chest exploded with endless power.

My skin buzzed with heightened senses—the air in the cabin swirled around me, bringing with it the distant scent of salt and brine on the sea, the drops of sweet wine at the bottom of the bottle Thorne and I left outside the door, and him .

The overwhelming smell of sweet grass, like the kind I trampled beneath my paws in the field by my cottage, and of musky leather from the notebooks my father kept in his office.

Everything was brighter. Sharper. Clearer. I’d forgotten how intense it could be. I had to grip the edge of the porthole as my arms shook from the force of it, taking a breath to steady my racing pulse.

Thorne climbed off the bed and approached me carefully, placing a hand on my forearm. “Does it hurt?”

I let out a breathless laugh. “It doesn’t hurt.

It’s just…a lot. But it’s amazing.” I beamed at him as my magic finally settled into place.

“It feels like everything is right again.” I grabbed his hand, and he wrapped both arms around my stomach, holding my back to his chest as we stared out the porthole and into the oncoming shoreline.

“It feels like home,” I said quietly. “Like I’m finally going home.”