Page 38 of Orc's Mate

And now Eleri.

“Tell you what,” I said. “If I win, I’ll dance with you and sing to provide the music.”

“So I get to hear you sing no matter who wins.” She smiled. “I like that. It’s a deal.”

After casting our lines into the calm sea, we settled on the end of the largest and highest rock, letting our legs dangle. Moonlight shimmered on the gentle waves.

“It’s hard to believe a storm will ravage this area soon,” Eleri said, leaning against my side. “It’s calm and peaceful.”

“That’s how it always is. The world lulls you, making you believe the darkness on the horizon is just a tease. Then the storm hits.”

As we waited for the fish to nibble, I sucked in the salty air mixed with the sweet fragrance of the beach flowers blooming nearby. The sound of distant seabirds echoed through the quiet night, adding to the peaceful ambiance.

“Trilden said three of your clan have moved to the city,” she said.

“They’re not the first, as you probably guessed. The population is slowly diminishing on the island, not growing as I’d like. If most of our females hadn’t been killed, perhaps things would be different.”

“Things always look better when the laughter of children rings out in the air. I won’t be the first mate from the village. Maybe Trilden and some of the other males will bond with women over the next few years. They’d bring their mates here, and the population would slowly replenish.”

“I live for that day.”

“Why haven’tyouleft? I know you’re the leader of your clan, but you could move everyone to the city if their lives will be better there.”

“Willtheir lives be better?” I thought about it for a moment. “Look around you. What could be more wonderful than sitting here fishing with the moonlight shining down on us?”

“You could sit in the moonlight and fish on the shore outside the city.”

“But I wouldn’t feel free.” How could I explain what was only a feeling? “The sounds of the city would encroach. People talking, laughing, moving about.”

“All good things.”

“Here, there’s nothing but us and the sea.”

“And the storm that will ravage this small island soon.”

“We’ll rebuild if we have to. We’ll go on.”

“I love it here already,” she said. “There’s a serenity, a feeling of peace here that I never experienced in the village. There, it was crowded with small homes built almost on top of each other. Even within our small building, it felt like the world was trying to crowd inside with us.”

Maybe shedidsee.

“There are jobs in the city,” she said.

“I can’t see myself going to work in the morning, laboring all day, only to repeat the same thing again the next day. Doing so until my body is worn out and too tired to savor something as simple as fishing or . . .” I sent her a smile. “Or sitting here with you on the rocks, Eleri.” I continued before she could speak. “I’m busy enough with my caedos duties, but even more, I feel as if I’m a caretaker of these islands and this quieter way of life. I do as my father did before me and his mother before him. Whatever my people need, I find a way to provide.”

Except they kept leaving, and with each one, it felt as if they took a chunk of my heart along with them.

“We need to find a way to get people to move to the island, then,” she said fiercely. “It’s beautiful here even if danger looms on the horizon. As you said, you can rebuild if you need to. It can’t be much different in the city. The storm will pass over us and barrel toward them.”

I didn’t point out that they had the city wall as protection from the worst the rising sea could hurtle their way, that their shiny silver homes shed the rain and withstood the wind with ease.

Instead, I sat on the stone feeling completely humbled because I’d found someone who understood.

My clan pendant may have chosen this woman to stand beside me for the rest of my days, but she wanted to be here with me. There was a difference, and I’d do all I could to keep her from ever feeling any other way.

She was the shelter my heart needed.

Chapter20

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