Page 28 of Reign of Light
Eirlick is the first to break the tension. “You coming down, or what?”
No one moves, as if they’re still trying to reconcile how their beliefs don’t match up with what is right before their eyes.
Veck calls out next. “Rylan, get your ass down here!”
It’s as if a dam breaks the moment the Voyagers realize the beach is full of people they know, friends they haven’t seen in years. People they were tricked into hating because of Dane’s manipulations.
Rylan takes off down the steps, and watching one of their own decide to take a leap of faith was the only sign the rest needed. The other Voyagers take off behind him, jogging down the steps until they’re all in the dark, wet sand below.
Tears prick my eyes as I watch everything unfold. My fears and worries about how the Voyagers and the Castaways would fare sharing the island all but disappear. Embraces, tears, laughter, playful pushing and shoving. It’s as if no time has passed as friends and chosen family reunite. There’s no need for bitterness, distrust, or fear. There’s no need to be hunted or to do the hunting. We’re all the same, trapped here through no choice of our own.
Stassia and Auralie walk up to Lilly, no doubt introducing themselves the same way they did with me. Veck has his arm slung around Mara’s shoulders, and she looks relieved, and if I can believe it, comfortable. Echoes of ‘Is that really where you lived?’ and ‘Can we see the ship’ flitter through the air from some groups of younger boys, and I can imagine home will be quite crowded this evening.
Sig is beside us in the next moment, throwing her arms around Weston with a huge smile on her face.
“It’s over, Cap,” she says into his chest. “We made it.”
“Couldn’t have done it without you, Signee,” he grumbles into her hair. His arms wrap around her, squeezing her in a tight hug as she swipes at her face with one hand.
“Thanks for not stabbing me and finishing the job in the last twenty years,” he says with a smirk, and Sig barks out a laugh before pushing him away.
“Shut up, asshole. If you only knew how many times I thought about it.”
“And I probably deserved all of them.” His smile widens as his hands settle on his hips.
“You did!” she calls over her shoulder as she saunters back across the beach to Jorn.
No one could have predicted how everything turned out, but it would not have been this way if it weren’t for Sig and Weston. If they hadn’t held strong, if they hadn’t done what needed to be done to protect the healing waters, Dane could have had them years ago. My life wouldn’t be the same, untouched by every one of these people on the beach.
My crew. My family.
My loneliness would have been unchanged without them.
With Sig gone, Weston turns his attention back to me, and the playful happiness fades from his face, and my stomach flips with unease.
“What?” I ask warily as his eyes darken.
“You.” He takes a predatory step toward me.
“Me?” I take a step backward to match his. “What did I do?”
“You started all of this,” he says with another step, which I match again, when I see the gleam in his eye. The corner of his lips lifts as he prowls toward me, and I stumble backward through the sand. I have no clue what is running through his mind until his eyes flicker over my shoulder to the crashing waves behind me.
I throw my arms up in mock surrender. “You can’t blame me! I did nothing wrong. I can’t help it if I was a pawn in his plan!”
He chuckles and reaches over his head, pulling his shirt off and exposing the array of rippling muscles that I have become intimately familiar with.
“Weston…” My tone is a warning, but he ignores it, tossing his shirt to the ground before stepping out of his boots. His eyes stay locked on me, his predatory smirk in full force, no doubt trying to use his body to distract me from his plan.
I turn to run, but I’m not fast enough. He darts forward, and I shriek loudly as he scoops me into his arms, fully clothed and boots still on. He barrels down the beach and crashes into the waves, the water instantly soaking me through.
I gasp and splutter as we surface, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling my body flush against his bare skin.
“You asshole!” I yell, swiping my hair away from my face, but the sound of his laughter makes my irritation melt away, accompanied by the grin spread across his face. We’re past the breaking point of the waves, and he wraps my legs around his waist before wading farther into the cove.
He leans in, pressing a firm kiss to my lips, and I sink into him a little deeper, tightening my arms around his neck.
“Look at all of them,” he murmurs against my lips, and we turn toward the beach where no one has stopped their celebration. I take them all in again, these people I care so much about and get to spend eternity with, and watch them enjoying their first real day of freedom since calling the Guardian. “This wouldn’t have happened without you. If you hadn’t left Blackwood to come here, if you hadn’t put yourself at risk to get the dust, we’d all still be confined to that ship.”
