Page 58 of The Arrow and the Alder

S eph sat upon a veranda attached to a little house near the seaside village of Peressian, which looked over the vast and tranquil waters of Canna’s Andulian Sea. A brilliant sun touched the horizon, turning the sapphire sea amber. It warmed her face and burned through the thin slip of a gown she wore. A soft and salty breeze kissed her skin and ruffled the fronds of the planted palm beside her, and Seph could not recall a time when she’d felt more contented.

Beside her, secured by a conch so that the wind couldn’t snatch them away, was the stack of letters Alder had written when he’d gone to Gorsich to recruit his uncle’s aid. He’d given them to her the day he’d made her his wife, but there hadn’t been much time to read them.

She had that time now.

And she savored each one, opening a new letter every day. There, upon the safety of that neutral canvas of vellum, Alder shared his long life, his hopes, and his dreams. His heart bled beautifully over each page, and Seph could hardly believe she’d ever found him callous and unfeeling. There was nothing unfeeling in the professions he’d given her. Bold were the poetic strokes that confessed his love and admiration, like the ones she was reading now.

My haunting little arrow,

I miss you.

I often marvel at the man I was before our paths intertwined. How he could move through this world wholly unaware of the life he did not yet possess. The one with you in it, shining over everyone and everything with that brilliant light that pours right out of your beautiful soul. He was ignorant of you, of the joy and goodness you would bring him. If he’d known what was to come, how the best part of his life was about to begin, he surely would’ve cast it all aside and torn the worlds apart to find you. I can’t help but think of all the pain you might’ve spared him, but the Fates have their reasons, and it is not for us to unravel.

Today, I had the displeasure of training a cohort of my uncle’s best fighters. They say an army’s temperament is a reflection of leadership, and they’re all as damned stiff and tedious as he is. I suppose it’s what one wants in an army, but it doesn’t make for interesting company, and it surely doesn’t distract my thoughts from lingering on you.

It’s your fault, you know. You are the most fascinating woman I’ve ever met, and the most beautiful, and I can’t stop thinking of you in that nightdress. The silhouette of your perfect form haunts me. Every line, every slope and curve. The vision torments me now as you tormented me then. It took every ounce of willpower to leave you that night. You are exquisite, my darling. A celestial work of art. One I cherish more than my own flesh, and when I return, if you’ll permit me, I want to show you just how magnificent you are. I want to worship every inch of you with my lips. Praise every bend of your shape with my hands. Hold you against me until the moon falls away and the sun lifts its head again, and even then?—

Seph sensed Alder a second before she felt him behind her. His face pressed into her hair as his arm wrapped around her. “Ah, I see you’ve reached my more…agonizing moments.”

Seph grinned. “Quiet, you’re interrupting.”

He squeezed her tighter, his mouth at her ear. “It can’t possibly be better than the real thing, love.”

Seph’s face flushed and her belly fluttered with the memory of last night. Or was it early morning? Seph didn’t know; it all blurred together in a beautiful night of passion, where he had kissed her and touched her just like he’d written in his letter. She turned her face to look at him, and he smiled wickedly before dangling a chalice of wine before her eyes.

“Oh, thank you,” she said eagerly, tucking the letter beneath the conch and taking the chalice from his fingertips.

He sat down beside her, though angled toward her, one leg bent and the other outstretched. His feet were bare and he wore loose breeches rolled halfway up his calves, and his cream-colored tunic was untucked and untied, showing off the strong chest beneath. The waning light gilded his skin, and the breeze tousled his hair.

Sometimes when she looked at him, she couldn’t believe he was hers. And sometimes when he looked back at her, she forgot to breathe—like now.

His lips twisted into a lopsided grin that was so very boyish it made her heart swell.

He raised his chalice. “Cheers.”

“To?”

A gleam lit his eyes. “You naked.”

Seph rolled her eyes. “Come on. You can do better than that.”

He raised a brow. “You naked and on top of me?”

Seph gave him a look.

Alder smiled viciously. “I’m sorry, my darling, but you are so beautiful. It’s all I can think of right now.” He reached out and brushed the back of his fingers along her jaw.

Seph couldn’t help but grin as she raised her own glass. “What about: cheers to a lifetime together.”

“…a lifetime with you naked,” Alder added as he too raised his glass.

Seph laughed as their glasses clinked. Alder’s gaze locked on hers as they each took a slow sip, and the way he was looking at her made her blood run hot.

“Alder?”

“Yes, my little arrow?”

“I’ve been thinking…”

“Oh, no.”

Seph sat up straight and folded her legs before her.

“Oh, no ,” Alder said again.

Seph grinned. “It’s nothing serious. I just thought that…well, I’ve been thinking about when we return to Asra Domm?—”

“Why on earth?”

“Because we will return eventually?—”

“Yes, but can we not think about that right now?”

“It’s not as though I’ve been thinking about it all day and night.”

Something feral lit his eyes. “I should hope not.”

Seph cleared her throat. “I got the idea while we were on our way here, and it’s been nagging at me”—at this, Alder raised a challenging brow—“ occasionally ,” Seph added with emphasis, and Alder smirked. “Anyway, I thought that we should consider providing aid for those who wish to return to their homes. Both those who suffered as depraved and those of Light who still want to make a life in that land. We should contact the other courts too because you know…some of those depraved are from the other courts, and I think it would be helpful to send them with some of Weald’s resources as well. Call it a gesture of unity.”

Alder was silent.

“Think about it, Alder.” Seph leaned forward. “It would be a very practical way to build trust with the other courts, with all of us working toward a common goal. And since the Court of Light is gone, creating an equal balance of power between the remaining courts…well, I see it as a new path forward for Canna. And for mortal kind. We are no longer a people who take, but one who gives .”

Alder eyed her a long while, and then he laughed. “‘ Nothing serious ,’ she says.”

“It really isn’t,” Seph persisted. “You’ve already been so generous with the people of Light and the depraved?—”

“ We ,” he corrected, touching her chin and lifting it so slightly.

“Well, yes, but anyway, they have everything they could want here, but Weald is not their home. And as for the people of Light, I would love to rebuild—not as another power, mind you, but it is their land, Alder, and they miss it. I see it in Rian’s eyes, and I daresay my grandfather would love to finish out his days in the land he was from.”

With the curse gone, the Court of Light was no more, but the land itself still existed, though left to ruin. Seph and Alder had given Light’s fugitives a place amongst Weald, but it was not home for them.

It was not theirs .

Alder studied her. A small crease formed between his brows, and he said, carefully, “Where does that leave you?”

Suddenly, Seph understood his reaction. “Oh…I wasn’t thinking about me . I just thought we could help.”

He looked settled. Somewhat. “And who would govern them?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps my grandfather could advise in that regard, and I think Linnea might prefer it if he did. It would give her a place to go—with family—but without me always bossing her around.”

Seph’s family had come back with them to Canna, though Mama and Papa and Levi had gone on to tour the land. Nora had asked to remain in Weald, and of course Seph had wholeheartedly agreed. Nora had shown a penchant for tending to plants and flowers, and the Weald air did wonders for her lungs. She’d also developed a sweet friendship with Rasia, that Seph delighted to see.

Linnea was the only one who had not voiced any decision. She seemed trapped in some kind of limbo, without a compass to show her where to go. With the end of the war, Linnea had been granted the freedom to break her engagement to Lord Bracey—which she did—but sometimes Seph noticed Linnea watching her and Alder.

Linnea would need to carve her own path, in her own time.

Alder studied Seph. “Are you sure that you don’t wish for that leader to be you? And let me be clear in saying if that is what you want, I will fully support it…it may just make things a little complicated?—”

“Alder.” She set down her chalice, sat upon her knees, scooting close enough that their knees touched. “Let me be perfectly clear. I have no interest in governing the people of Light. I hardly have any interest in helping you rule yours, but I love you, and you promised not to hold me to any crown and to let me serve the people in my own way, and I would like to serve in this way, if you would help me.”

Alder placed his chalice beside hers and then grabbed her waist and pulled her into his lap. Seph wrapped her legs around him, and he dropped his forehead to hers. “Josephine. My darling.” He rubbed his nose against hers. Waves crashed in the background. “My stubborn little arrow.” He dragged his nose along her cheek, and Seph closed her eyes, breathing him in, giving in to the sensations of him. His warm palm sliding up her back, his breath upon her cheek, and the softness of his lips as he gently kissed the delicate space below her ear. “I would do anything for you.” He kissed her neck. “Anything you ask of me.” He slipped one hand beneath her gown and pressed his palm to her bare lower back, sending a shiver down her legs. “Anything at all. Everything I have, everything I am…is yours.” He nuzzled into her shoulder, and Seph sighed. “It’s quite disconcerting, really, and your not serious ideas will definitely cut our itinerary short.”

“I realize that.” Her voice quivered, because his other hand had taken to sliding up her thigh.

“And so we should probably make the most of every moment.” He kissed the place where her neck sloped into her shoulder. “Because it will be hard to have much privacy once we return.” And then he kissed lower, upon her collarbone. “And you’ll be utterly distracted.”

“I can think of something else that is utterly distracting…”

“Can you?” He kissed the soft indent at the base of her throat.

Seph dragged her hands over his broad chest, feeling his heart beating hard and fast beneath her palms.

Just like her own.

She wondered if she would ever grow used to him. She doubted it.

Alder lifted his head and looked deep into her eyes, a look that made her feel like she was the most treasured thing in all the world—Seph forgot everything else. “Of course I’ll help you.” Mischief danced in his eyes. “For a price.”

Seph couldn’t help but smile. She slid a hand into his gorgeous raven locks and turned a clump of it between her fingers. “And what is your price, husband?”

Alder tipped his head closer, moving his hands from her face, down her back and to her waist, where he squeezed. “I will do everything in my power to help the people of Light rebuild a life, as well as send every resource I’m able to support the former depraved as they return to their respective courts, and in exchange, you promise not to say another word about it until noon tomorrow.”

Seph laughed. “I accept your terms—” She’d barely finished the word when Alder caught her mouth with his. The ocean waves crashed while the sun dipped below the horizon, and as Alder scooped her up and carried her through the open doors and into their bedchamber, as rose petals sprang forth at his feet, Seph was glad to be finishing this conversation on the morrow.

THE END