Page 109 of Storm to Victory
“It is good to see you safe and well, neshena.” Prince Farrendel patted her back in one of his awkward hugs.
Pip stifled a smile. Good to know the awkwardness wasn’t just for her.
Jayna moved from Prince Farrendel to give Fieran a hug. “Good to see you alive, cousin. I’ve heard lots of frightful rumors and stories over here in Mongavaria. And I know Pip was very worried for you.”
“And I was worried for her. Thanks for looking after her.” Fieran gave Jayna a returning hug. “Keep looking after yourself.”
“Always.” Jayna released Fieran and turned to Pip, sharing a grin. “Well, we did it.”
“Yes, we did.” Pip hugged Jayna, standing on her tiptoes because the other girl was so much taller than her.
Jayna stepped back, still grinning. “I’ll try to return in time for your wedding. I wouldn’t want to miss it.”
Fieran coughed, as if he was choking on his own spit.
Pip’s face heated, and she couldn’t bring herself to look at either Fieran or Prince Farrendel. “Well, uh, we haven’t…we aren’t even…”
“I know. Don’t rush things, all right? I need a few months.” When Jayna smirked, the expression was the exact mirror of her father’s.
Pip looked up, meeting Fieran’s gaze. He reached out and clasped her hand again, smiling.
No, Pip didn’t intend to rush. She wanted to savor every step, every moment, especially now that she and Fieran wouldn’t have a war hanging over their heads. Someday, likely sooner rather than later, she and Fieran would have that dream wedding. But Pip wanted every other dream along the way, no shortcuts.
As Jayna turned to say farewell to her dacha, Pip leaned her head against Fieran’s arm. “Let’s go home.”
Chapter
Thirty-Three
Fieran stood beside Pip on the deck of the ship anchored in the harbor beneath Landri Castle.
Ahead of them, a table had been laid out beneath the warship’s turret in the shadow of the long guns stretching toward the bow of the ship. Dacha, Prince Edmund, and Admiral Brynjar Vulred—supreme admiral of the Kostarian Fleet and shield brother to King Rharreth—stood on one side of the table as the representatives of each kingdom in the Alliance. On the other side, Empress Bella glared, flanked by her son.
With a booming voice, Admiral Vulred read the contents of the surrender out loud, his voice piped through the ship so that anyone not assembled on deck would be able to hear. A nearby radio sent his words to all the ships in the fleet, both those in the harbor and stationed in a cordon farther out to sea.
Fieran gripped Pip’s hand and tried to take in the words, but the unreality of it sent the sounds ringing in his ears without processing in his brain.
After all the fighting, the deaths, the blood on Fieran’s hands, the war would end today.
When he’d finished reading it, Admiral Vulred placed his piece of paper on the table once again, lining it up with the other three copies of the surrender that lay there.
Uncle Edmund held out a pen to Empress Bella, holding her gaze.
For long, tense moments she kept glaring, unbending, unyielding. Then she took the pen and stiffly signed each of the four copies of the surrender terms.
Once she’d signed all of them, Uncle Edmund, Dacha, and Admiral Vulred signed the surrender, making it official. As Admiral Vulred scrawled his signature on the final piece of paper, Fieran released a long breath and squeezed his eyes shut.
Shouldn’t he feel giddy? Happy? Relieved? Right now, there was just a strange numb incomprehension. He couldn’t quite process that the fighting was over.
Perhaps the relief would come later as the reality settled in.
For this moment as the guns of the fleet boomed a salute and the six aeroplanes led by Rothilion flew overhead, Fieran merely clasped Pip’s hand and breathed deeply of the salty sea breeze.
It was done. The war was over.
Fieran leanedon the metal railing at the prow, the light spray splashing him with chilly droplets.
In the sea around the ship, other smaller warships created a protective formation. Farther out, several submarines ran on the surface while overhead four airships provided air cover. All this extra precaution was to guard the three copies of the surrender that were currently locked in Rokyd’s safe.
