Page 2 of Fate Promised

Sneaking out of his house was easy. After years of battling to keep him in bed all night, last month Ma had relented and now he was allowed to roam until they doused the gas lamps at midnight.

A twig snapped, and Juri straightened. Triska trudged up the dune, her shoulders slumped and her head down. He’d always been a lot taller than her. He liked to rub it in her face how fast he grew, but tonight she looked smaller. Frail.

“Your old man try to keep you in?”

She shook her head. “No, but there were a lot of people in the house, baking bread and leaving food. I had to wait until no one was looking to duck out the back.”

He flung himself down on the sand and patted the ground next to him. “Come sit.”

Triska frowned. “It’s high tide, what if a big wave comes? The sea will drag me in.”

Juri studied her. She loved the ocean, and she’d never worried about it before. Besides, the tide never reached this high. “I’ll keep you safe.”

After a moment, she nodded. She settled next to him and sidled close until she pressed against his side. His stomach did a funny little flip. “How are you doing?” His voice came out strange—soft in a way he’d never spoken before.

She shrugged and leaned against him.

They sat like that for a long time, Triska staring at the ocean, her eyes wet. Ma was right; he didn’t have to say anything. All he needed to do was sit beside her for as long as she wanted him to.

Triska sniffled. “I should probably head back.”

“I wanted to give you something before I leave.” Juri reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring he’d had the blacksmith fashion out of a nail for a horseshoe. He’d had to sweet talk the smithy for ten minutes, and then sweep the shop and wash away the seagull crap from his stoop as payment.

Seagulls were the worst.

Her eyes were big and blue as she stared up at him. There were so many things he wanted to say, but the words seemed all tangled up. He cleared his throat. “When we’re grown, things will be different.”

She nodded.

He handed the ring to Triska, and their fingers touched. “I promise when we’re old enough, I’m going to marry you.”

Triska slid the ring onto her middle finger, her long lashes lowering as she examined it. She made a soft sighing sound. “I love this ring.”

A sense of everything being … right … slid over him, warm and comforting. “I won’t be away long.” The words seemed to come from somewhere else, somewhere deep inside him. “I promise I’ll always be here to protect you.”

Her head snapped up. “You need protection, too. I pull you out of the water every time you capsize my skiff.”

He ruffled his hair. “Well … boats don’t like me. That’s not protection, you’re just helping.”

Her mouth puckered in a way he knew meant she was about to argue. “What about the time you were pretending to slay a dragon near the stables, but you were only slashing around with a stick near the smithy’s mean donkey, and I pulled you back right before it kicked you in the head.”

“Okay, two times you’ve helped—”

“No, what about the time—”

“Fine!” He crossed his arms and turned back to the ocean.

Triska nudged him with her shoulder. “I agree to marry you.”

He hadn’t realized it was a question. “Oh. That’s good.”

A shimmery golden light filled the overlook. Juri shot to his feet and grabbed Triska, tucking her behind him.

She clutched his waist and peeked around his arm. “What is it?”

A golden symbol hung in the air, a circle with a wavy line moving horizontally across its middle. Juri swiped at it, and his hand passed right through, but the symbol didn’t go away. “Dunno.”

It began spinning, then split in two and shot toward him and Triska. One beam of light hit him square in the chest, and the other hit her. He yelped, but it didn’t hurt. It was warm. Pleasant.

---