Page 70 of The Flame and the Forsaken

Erran had been waitingfor Mariel to return to the upper deck. His heart had been a mess the whole time, only half present in his retelling of events to his mates. They were restrained in their teasing, but it just made him more anxious, like they could read straight through to the uncertainty in his chest that felt an awful lot like grief.

Mariel had her arms wrapped around herself as she approached, like she wanted to make herself smaller. Guardians, how he wished he knew how to tell her he adored her for her larger-than-life self, that even a couple of hours without her had left his world unbalanced.

“Hi,” he said when she looked up. His heart brightened at how she seemed to light up for him, but it fell again when she glanced around, as though worried about what others would think.

“Hi,” she said and sidled in beside him. She talked, but then he did too, which led to an awkward dance of pointing and false starts until he finally held up his hands in surrender. “We need to all get our stories straight before we make port.”

Erran knew heshouldhave been thinking about preparations, but all he’d been able to focus on was figuring out how to reassure her nothing had to change, that they could still be whoever they wanted to be. “Aye, we still have some time.”

“Samuel said no one has tied me to Banner, and Destin has offered to say theMistwitchwas his ship, so I don’t have to explain how I came to have it.” She chewed the inside of her lip, gazing stoically into the calm sea. “As for how we came to beonthe ship, you and me, Destin had another good idea. We can say he wanted the ship moved from Sandycove to Whitecliffe and needed help, and you offered because he’s family. When he was thrown in jail, we decided to take care of it so he’d have it waiting when he was released. We got caught in a storm, pulled into the Eastern Shelf, and the rest is... exactly as it was.”

“That sounds reasonable,” he said distantly. With every word she spoke, he felt the distance yawning between them, the unscalable chasm that had framed their marriage. It was happening so fast—too fast. “Mariel, I...” Erran abandoned the words, as they would have been inadequate, and drew her face to his. He brushed his lips to the tip of her nose, then the outer corners of her eyes before swooping down to reclaim her mouth with a fiery kiss that softened the edges of rigidity he knew was born of nothing more solid than fear.

“What if they’re watching?” she whispered, her lips brushing his.

“Let them watch,” he growled and claimed another kiss, which set his entire body on fire. “I’m not ashamed. Please tell me you’re not.”

Mariel rested her forehead against his chest. “Just... scared, Erran.”

“About what?”

“Everything.”

Erran gathered her hands in his and brought first one and then the other to his mouth. Behind her, the sun had just begun its gentle dip into the horizon, and the sky was a concerto of oranges and golds. A strange vision came to him, of the two of them standing upon the cliffs, repeating their vows with full hearts, but she was already scared, and he was determined to take the burden of her fears if it returned the smile to her face. “Listen to me. Mariel, look at me.”

She blinked hard and did as he asked. Oh, how the tears there broke him. He would fix that too.

“I meant what I said on the island. I mean it still. Whatever comes, we’ll face it together. We’ve weathered a shipwreck and boars and... There’s nothing ahead of us we can’t handle. Do you understand?”

Mariel swallowed as she nodded.

“I need to hear you say it.”

She nibbled her lip again. A bead of blood surfaced on the soft flesh. “I understand.”

“Trust me.” Erran ran his thumb along the tiny wound and kissed her once more. “And I swear to you, we will weather this storm too.”

Lighting a Spark to Kill the Fire

Chapter15

Like a Dream

Three hours of interrogation, and Mariel was exhausted.

Four times she and Erran had recounted their story to Rylahn, Damian Law, and Argus Strong, the men hanging off their words like they expected them to change. Samuel had advised them to keep the core details the same but to add minor details to color out their stories on each retelling. He explained that was the way memory worked, revealing more and more layers as you explored deeper, and the stewards would know that as well.

They’ll be hard on you, dears, but you will understand in the end,Hestia had warned them both, her red-rimmed eyes swimming with unspilled tears. She’d forsworn her colorful attire for a black gown that was borderline prophetic.Trust it’s necessary and do what is asked.

“What’s still unclear to me is why the two of you decided to address the matter of Destin’s ship when he was jailed for suspicion of brigandry.” Damian Law shifted a deep frown from Erran to Mariel. His eyes gradually pinched into slits. “Would it not have been a more suitable endeavor for once his name was cleared?”

“I knew—” Mariel said right as Erran blurted, “You see?—”

Erran bowed his head in contrition and nodded for her to go.

“I knew my brother was guilty only of public indecency, a terrible result of his overfamiliarity with spirits. And while his disruptive behaviors were uncalled for, anyone who has spent five minutes with him would ken he’s not half fit to care for himself, let alone...” She left the words to finish themselves.

“And you decided to spite me?” Rylahn asked, looking at his son. “When I told you to leave matters alone?”

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