Page 122 of A Kingdom Restored

Merletta tilted her head back toward the beach. “Well, for a start, we’re going to rebuild Vazula. The triple kingdoms are in desperate need of space to expand, and while discussions are already underway for how to safely expand underwater outside the barrier, there’s enough interest in the island, and the idea of living on land, to start construction straight away.” She smiled ruefully. “Not that we have any idea what we’re doing—we’ll have a lot to learn.” Meeting his eyes again, she added, “So I’d like to stick around to help at least get that process started.”

“And then?” Heath prompted, his eyes more intense than ever.

Merletta removed her hand from his chest, instead sliding both arms around his neck. “And then I’m free to follow my heart. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what I actually want, and all I need for the future I want is you, Heath. I’m willing to live in Valoria if that’s what it takes.”

Heath’s arms were suddenly around her, and he pulled her tightly against him. For a beautiful moment he just held her close, his face buried in her hair and his whole frame taut with some intense emotion. Then he drew back, his hands dropping to her sides and his heart in his eyes.

“Merletta,” he whispered. “What I’ve done to deserve your love, I’ll never know. But you can’t live in Valoria. You’re too much a creature of the sea. Not to mention the politics would drive you mad, and the clothes would suffocate you.”

Merletta laughed. “There is that,” she acknowledged. “But surely we can make it work. After all, we’ve faced worse together.”

“True enough,” Heath agreed with a smile. His fingers tightened against her bare skin, squeezing her sides. “But the place would dry you out, and that’s the last thing I ever want to see. The thing is, I’ve been doing some thinking of my own. The king has requested me to take over my father’s role as one of his key advisors, in light of how my magic can benefit the kingdom.”

“Heath, that’s amazing,” said Merletta, her expression earnest. “You deserve no less honor, and it’s a real mark of trust in—”

“I’m not going to do it,” Heath interrupted her bluntly. “I don’t want to. I care about Valoria—I always will. But I don’t have to hold the two camps together. I can’t. I’ll do what I can along the way to help, of course. But everyone has to acknowledge that the tension won’t go away overnight. It goes too deep for that, and the kingdom needs to face it and work through it, not avoid it.”

The warmth was back in his eyes as he tugged her a little closer.

“Just like we’ve had to face our divided loyalties since the moment we met each other. We’ve both had to decide what’s really important enough to prioritize. And Merletta, I choose you. Without reservation, without a shadow of doubt. I came here not knowing what solution to suggest, just knowing my heart, and for the first time in my life, giving it the right to rule my choices. But now I know that you’re not tied irrevocably to the underwater world…”

Excitement grew in his eyes as he spoke, and Merletta could feel herself catching it. “Merletta, we should live on Vazula! Together. We could build a life here, if the others who wanted to live here would accept me. We know from the history of this place that it’s perfectly possible to coexist peacefully. And it’s not like there would be lasting tension. Our children will be able to transform like you, and I can handle being the only one stuck on land from time to time.” He gestured around at the lush jungle, and the peaceful lagoon. “There are worse places to be stuck, after all.”

Merletta was staring at him, hardly able to comprehend his words. It was too implausibly perfect, too impossible to think they could actually live the dreams that had seemed so hopeless since they’d first lost their hearts to one another. To hear Heath talking so confidently of their children, their home, theirfuture, quite literally took her breath away.

“Merletta?” Heath asked, a hint of uncertainty creeping back in at her prolonged silence. “I may be getting ahead of myself.” His hands once again tightened on her sides, in nerves this time, she thought. “You said you were willing to come to Valoria, but I shouldn’t have assumed that meant you wanted to make promises about forever, which I suppose is what—”

“Heath,” Merletta cut off his rambling forcefully. She laid her hands on either side of his face, holding his gaze with hers. “There’s nothing I want more than forever with you. And nowhere I’d rather spend it than here.”

A broad grin split Heath’s face for a moment, then he pulled her all the way against him, crushing his lips to hers. She reached up eagerly, drinking him in, his touch as life-giving as fresh water after a day in human form. He was everything, absolutely everything, and she was almost dizzy with the rush of realizing he was as willing as she was to leave everything behind to be together.

After a heavenly minute, she pulled back, panting slightly as their foreheads rested together.

“But your family,” she said. “Your responsibilities. You’re a nobleman, Heath.”

“There are plenty of noblemen,” he murmured, his lips tickling her skin as he spoke. “They can manage just fine without me.” He pulled back a little further, his eyes aflame as they roamed her face. “Although we may have to go back there to get married, assuming you’ll have me.”

Merletta laughed, a delightful shiver running down her. “Didn’t I just promise you forever? Of course I’ll have you.”

Heath seized her hand, squeezing it. “Well, the wedding will need to be in Valoria, given I can’t go underwater. In fact, I imagine I’ll need to go back and forth a fair bit for some time, if Reka’s willing to help with that.”

“Well, I am,” said a gravelly voice, causing them both to jump.

“Reka!” Heath cried. Outrage crossed his face as he took in the dragon draped over the rocks a stone’s throw away, his tail dangling lazily into the lagoon. “Dragon’s flame! How long have you been there?”

“I followed you when you walked here,” Reka said, sounding faintly surprised. “Why?”

For a moment Heath struggled for words, until Merletta broke the moment with a snorting laugh that she just couldn’t hold in.

Heath met her eyes, shaking his head in disbelief at his dragon friend’s tactlessness. He gave a groan, but there was humor in his eyes.

“Why can’t you get married here?” Reka asked, apparently accepting that Heath wasn’t going to explain himself. “If this is where you wish to live?”

“It’s a bit challenging given the island’s inaccessibility,” Heath explained. “The power-wielding side of my family could get here through the magical barrier, I suppose, but no one else can, and bringing supplies will be complicated.”

“It’s a shame,” Merletta agreed. “That kind of access would be enormously helpful for us if we want to build a new land settlement here. There’s only so much we can acquire underwater.”

The dragon uncoiled himself, rising to his feet and shaking himself off a bit like the dogs Merletta had seen in Valoria. “The obvious solution would be to unseal Vazula,” he commented. “Then it would be a mere three day voyage for a human ship to travel between Valoria and Vazula.”

---