Page 46 of Taken By the Storm King

“You’re beautiful,” Thalassar said when I reached him, the words too low for anyone else to hear.

“So are you,” I answered, reaching for his hand.

Elder Veda stepped between us, her formal robes billowing around her diminutive form. “We gather beneath the heart of our kingdom to witness the bond between Thalassar, lord of these waters, and Lucy Stewart of Earth.”

The ceremony proceeded in a blur of ancient words and symbolic gestures. We shared water from a ceremonial cupdrawn from the pools at the tree’s roots. We exchanged woven bracelets of seaweed and pearl. Together, we pressed our palms against the tree’s trunk, and I gasped as energy flowed between us --- a warmth that traveled up my arm and settled in my chest, as if the tree's ancient energy blessed our union.

When the time came for vows, Thalassar spoke first in his language, the words flowing like water. Then, he repeated them in careful English:

“I bind myself to you, not as ruler to subject, but as equal to equal. My strength is yours. My kingdom is yours. My heart is yours. As the tides return to shore, I will return to you, always.”

I swallowed hard, fighting tears. I’d memorized the traditional response, but added my own words:

“I bind myself to you, across oceans and stars. I will stand beside you in peace and in war. My loyalty is yours. My future is yours. My heart is yours. As the rivers find the sea, I have found my home in you.”

Elder Veda nodded, satisfied, and presented Thalassar with a gleaming object --- his mother’s royal emblem. A crescent of pearl and gold, inlaid with tiny blue stones.

“With this, I name you Queen,” Thalassar said, his deep voice carrying through the chamber as he placed it around my neck. “Bound to me and to our kingdom.”

He kissed me then, a gentle press of lips that sealed our bond. Around us, the gathered crowd raised their voices in a harmonic chant that vibrated through the water, through the stone, through my very bones.

I belonged here. For the first time in my life, I belonged.

The celebration swirled around us in a whirlwind of color, music, and delicacies I couldn’t name. Thalassar’s hand rarely left mine as we moved among his people --- now my people, too. The emblem at my throat felt both strange and right, its weight a reminder of all I’d accepted.

“My queen prefers the red kelp wine,” Thalassar told a server who offered us drinks, his possessive tone sending warmth through me.

“You know me so well already,” I teased.

“I intend to know everything about you.” His black eyes held promise. “Every preference, every dream, every inch---“

A guard rushed toward us, cutting off what promised to be an interesting declaration. “My lord, my lady,” he said, bowing quickly. “There’s been a signal.”

My heart raced. “From where?”

“Your device, my lady. The one you modified.”

I exchanged a look with Thalassar. Without a word, we followed the guard, weaving through the crowd and down a corridor to the communications room. My pulse pounded in my ears. After weeks of silence, could it really be...?

The room hummed with equipment, both familiar Earth tech and alien devices that I couldn’t identify. My modified communicator sat on a central console, its indicator light flashing.

“It started receiving twenty minutes ago,” a technician explained. “We’ve been trying to clean up the signal.”

I lunged for the controls, adjusting frequencies with practiced hands. Thalassar hovered behind me, close enough that I felt his warmth.

“Come on,” I muttered, fine-tuning the receiver. Static crackled, then cleared briefly.

“---anyone, if you can hear this, we’re alive.” A woman’s voice broke through, distorted but unmistakably human. I couldn’t tell which of my teammates it was. “We’ve found something incredible about the connection between our people and---“

The signal died in a burst of static.

“No!” I slammed my hand on the console. “Get it back!”

The technicians scrambled, but the transmission was gone.

“They’re alive,” I whispered, turning to Thalassar. “My team is alive.”

His face showed complex emotions --- joy for me, concern about what this might mean, determination.

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