“What, right now?” I glance down at his leg.

“Not right now. When I’m stronger.” He leans back against the wall of pillows. “We’ll do it then.”

“Of course.” But for now, I can take care of him. Unsettled, I move to his side and adjust some of the pillows against his back before they slide away. “Let me just⁠—”

He grabs my hand before I can reach behind him, and forces me to meet his gaze. “Are you lying?”

My cheeks feel scalding hot. “No. Not lying. If you still want to, then we will.”

“I’ll want to.”

What can I possibly say to that? I bite back a shy smile.

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Chapter

Twenty

RANAN

Ihate lying on my back like a beached whale. I feel helpless, and pathetic, and my limbs twitch with the need to do something. I need to swim, to hunt, to walk…anything. Instead, I lie here and feel my bad leg throb in time with my heartbeat.

I lie about while my wife runs herself ragged around the cave, taking care of me.

My wife. I taste the words and I rather like them. They’re strange, much like a new hunting knife or uncharted waters, but I don’t mind it. I’m grateful to Vali. She’s saved my life in multiple ways. Not only did she come after me, but she’s worked on healing me. If I’d been alone…the flotilla would have run across my bleached bones eventually.

I glance over at Vali, who is working on some sewing nearby. There are hollows under her eyes from lack of sleep and she yawns as she stitches, but even now, she works. There is hot tea bubbling and a soup of seaweed, fish, and clams simmering over the coals in a kettle. She never stops to rest, even when she’s falling over with fatigue, and I admire her more with every day that passes.

True, she might lie as easily as she smiles, but Vali has more good qualities than bad. Her actions tell me more than her words ever would. I can learn a lot from her. Not the lying, of course, but the determination. The strength to push through even when I’m exhausted.

It’s time for me to do something.

The way I see it, there are two routes to my recovery. I can lie here, useless, and hope that my leg works properly after I have slowly healed, or I can test it now. If it can support my weight, we go to the flotilla sooner rather than later. I see the healer there. I marry Vali in front of my parents so she no longer questions me. I return home with a happy, eager wife.

I like that version of events much more than the other.

So I sit up and curl the toes on my bad leg, testing things. Pain lances through me, but all my toes obey—some more than others. It’s a good thing, though. I try to push off the floor as normal and am unable to do so, however. I glance over at Vali. “Help me up?”

“Wait? What? No!” My pretty little wife scrambles to her feet, tossing aside her sewing. She races to my side, an intense frown on her face. “Lie back down! You’ll hurt yourself.”

“I’ve lain down long enough. I want to test my leg.”

“Ranan, no.”

“Valessa, yes.” I hold a hand up to her. “Are you going to help me or are you going to sit and watch me do this on my own?”

She scowls, but holds out her hand. “You’re a stubborn bastard. If you bust the stitches, I’m going to be incredibly pissed at you.”

If I bust the stitches, it’ll make the choice easy at least. I’ll have no recourse but to lie on my back, staring up at the ceiling, thinking about the sea dragon that even now lurks far too close to my territory. I haven’t told Vali about it yet because I don’t want her to panic. Truth is, once I’ve recovered, we’re leaving this place. If the waters here aren’t safe enough for a sea-ogre, they’re certainly not going to be safe enough for a delicate human female who can barely swim in a shallow puddle.

I take Vali’s hand and she braces her feet wide apart. Even though I’m twice her weight, having her to balance myself against helps and I’m able to heft myself to my feet. I keep my weight off my bad leg and gingerly test putting my toes down on the stone floor of the cavern.

“The stitches look like they’re holding so far.” She sounds proud.

“Aye, they seem to be.” I put more weight on my leg, and crushing pain flares through me. I force myself to continue to press my foot to the ground, testing how long I can put any weight on it.

“How did that happen anyhow?” Vali asks. “Was it a trap of some kind? A shark?”

“Big shark,” I agree, since it sounds less fearsome than a sea dragon. “I wandered too close into his territory.”

“Lord Vor is sending you a message,” my wife tells me. “He wants you to keep close to me, obviously, since he’s the one that brought us together.”

I eye her. Is she teasing or does she truly think that? “I doubt the gods care that much.”

“Yes, well, you can think that all you like. All I know is that I promised Lord Vor a fish and I haven’t given it to him yet. I don’t want to face his wrath for not fulfilling my side of the bargain.”

She does have a point. “Lord Vor will understand that you haven’t had a chance to honor his wishes yet.”

“You hope.”

“Aye, I hope,” I chuckle. “But the good news is that I can stand upon my leg.”

“Now who’s the liar?” Vali asks, voice tart. She takes a step back from me and I wobble. “A stiff breeze could knock you over, husband.”

She’s not wrong, yet I’m still encouraged. “It will get stronger every day,” I reassure her. “I simply need to exercise it.”

Vali looks unconvinced. She drops to her knees in front of me, pulling aside the bandages so she can inspect the stitches. “Everything still looks pretty bad. I worry I’ve stitched it wrong. Or what if there aren’t enough stitches to keep everything together?” Her fingers move lightly over my flesh and I hiss in pain. She draws back and eyes me, clearly worried. “Perhaps I should find the nearest town and pay the healer to come out here.”

“There are no towns near here. That’s the point.” The thought of Vali venturing off into the human lands alone terrifies me. I remember how those men on the shore treated her. “And I don’t want a human healer. I have you.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“You know what I meant.” I reach down and lightly touch her ear. “You have saved me. You know I am thankful.”

She gazes up at me, smiling, and her mouth is so inviting and pretty that I graze my thumb over it. My cocks respond when she blushes, but another jolt of pain shoots up my leg and puts an end to any amorous thoughts.

“Let me try to walk around the grotto,” I tell her as she continues to kneel in front of me. “See how far I can move.”

“Please, please be careful,” Vali breathes as I move out of her grasp.

I take one wobbling step, hissing with pain when I have to put my bad leg down. A second step proves to be too much and I nearly topple. Vali is right there as I do, putting her arms around me to steady me. I lean on her heavily…and then we both spill to the ground, legs flying into the air.

“Gods!” she cries, even as I snort with laughter. Her gaze searches my face as she struggles to sit up. “Are you all right, Ranan?”

“Nothing hurt but my pride,” I tell her. “But I am encouraged. It is painful, but I can use my leg.”

“Well, I don’t want you doing it! You’re just going to make things worse!” She fusses over me, her hands moving over my bare chest as she frets. “You just need to sit down and relax and⁠—”

“No,” I say, capturing her hand in one of mine. “I have sat about enough. We will pack tonight, and tomorrow we will head out to the flotilla upon Akara’s back.”

“I still don’t know how to swim,” she reminds me, her expression doubtful. “Are we sure that’s wise?”