Page 78 of House of Roots and Ruin
They were enormously fat. I hoped it was merely an illusion of the thick glass, but their pectoral fins seemed larger than even Alex’s hands, also now spread out on the windows, drawing more of the beasts to him.
“They used to terrify me as a boy,” he admitted. “Now…I find them fascinating.”
I stepped away, letting my eyes trail up to the center of the dome. The light was brighter there and I could make out the caps of waves at the waterline. Smaller fish swam by, chased by what appeared to be a duck.
“I’ve never seen webbed feet from this angle,” I giggled.
“The heart is up there,” Alex explained, following my gaze. “The dome holds it up. When Father is down here with the gas lamps on at night, you can see the glow of it around the statue, as if Arina is truly here at the shrine, shining her light everywhere.”
“It’s amazing, Alex.” I smiled as the wonder of the room sent thrills through me. “What will you do with it?”
He looked surprised. “Me?”
I nodded.
“I…I’m not certain. I suppose it will have to be something elaborate and grand. It’s such an extraordinary place…. It seemsdestined for extraordinary things.” He swallowed and his eyebrows furrowed together as he shifted about in his seat. “Well. It’s not mine. Not yet. But I think I know what I’d like my first extraordinary act here to be.”
Alex blew out a deep, shaky breath and removed a small velvet box from the inner pocket of his tuxedo jacket.
I froze.
This was it.
It was really happening.
Here, in the most magical and romantic spot I could have ever dreamed of.
“Verity…I don’t know how things like this are done between the People of the Salt, but here in Bloem, when you know you’ve found your love, you act on it. Life is unpredictable, so you need to seize hold of what you love and cherish every moment together.”
He reached up and cupped my cheek, stroking its curve.
“I’ve found my love. I’ve found you and I want to celebrate that, here: in a spot that is both waves and blossoms. It’s you and me. I couldn’t imagine a better place to ask this of you…Verity Adelaide Thaumas, will you let me love you for the rest of my life?”
My breath hitched at his unusual phrasing, catching in the hollow of my throat and stopping any hope I might have had in answering him. After a moment, I nodded.
He took my hands in his, clasping them in the gentlest of holds. “Will you let me cherish you, adore you, respect you, and honor you most earnestly?”
I nodded again, tears pricking at my eyes.
“Will you let my life twine with yours, two threads making up one cord, fine on our own, but so much better together?”
I pressed my lips into a tight line, fighting their trembles. I’d never heard a more perfect ode to what a marriage ought to be.
“And will you promise, from this day onward, to be my dearest, my other half, my…wife?”
Tears streamed down my cheeks. “I will.”
I expected him to open the box and reveal the engagement ring, but he remained still, just holding my hands, my gaze, my heart.
Eventually, he smiled, leaning forward to whisper, “You’re supposed to ask the same of me.”
“I am?” I asked with alarm, a little bubble of laughter rising up. “In Salann it’s such a simple, prosaic affair.”
Alex looked horrified. “Prosaic? How can a proposal be prosaic?”
I shifted my weight to one side, my hands still entwined with his. “Usually the man gets down on one knee and says something perfunctory about how beautiful the woman is or how happy she makes him, and then he pulls out a ring and asks if she’ll marry him.”
His hands flew from mine. “Should I have gotten down on one knee? I…I could try.”
