Page 121 of Path of the Dark
Ryana smiled back at him and lifted her goblet.
“So you’re pleased you’re here?” Elias asked softly, drawing her attention once more. “That you’re my wife?”
Ryana’s mouth curved. Leaning back in her chair, she picked up her goblet and took a sip. Like the food, the wine in this city was delicious: deep, rich, and spicy. His question surprised her a little. Wasn’t it obvious from her beaming face that she loved it here? Even his shrew of a mother couldn’t dim her joy.
“Do you even need to ask that?” she asked after a pause.
He leaned close and reached up, stroking her cheek. “Aye … for sometimes I look at you and wonder if this is all real. I never thought I’d wed … frankly, I never thought I’d live this long.”
Ryana caught his hand with hers and placed a gentle kiss on his palm. She too had thought she’d never find someone to share her life with. She’d carried too many ghosts of the past with her. But now she’d left all of that behind, she could love and let herself be loved in return. It still frightened her sometimes, the depth of what she felt for this man. But she would never give it up, would never go back to her old life.
“I love you, Elias,” she whispered. “And I’ve never been happier.”
The End
