He doesn’t have to tell me twice. I relax back, spreading my thighs obediently so he can clean away the mess of our lovemaking. “We should do that again,” I say. “Maybe not every time, because I won’t be able to walk straight, but we’ll definitely need to do it more.”

Ranan’s sail flicks and he’s quiet. Feeling shy again. He brushes his fingers over my ear, and that small touch tells me everything.

I curl up on the blankets and turn towards him, hands under my cheek. He puts away the water and towels, then approaches the pallet of blankets and joins me on it. I smile when he lies down and faces me. “How’s your leg?”

“Better every day.”

That’s the same answer he gives every time I ask. “I mean right now. Does it hurt?”

“No.” His gaze roams over me. “Do you have regrets?”

“Why would I have regrets?”

His expression turns solemn. “Because now you’re stuck with me.”

I reach out and flick his nose. “Don’t be silly. I’m here because I want to be. Or is this you fishing for compliments? If you are, I am happy to reassure you that the sex was incredible and I want to do all of that over and over again.”

Ranan’s hard mouth curves into a wry smile. He brushes a lock of tangled hair back from my brow. “I am not fishing for compliments. I just…want this to work. It feels too good to be true.”

“You won’t be saying that when I get cranky over eating fish every day,” I joke.

“Yes, I will.”

Gods, he’s making me want to kiss him all over again. Then again, there’s nothing stopping me from doing so. I lean in and press a kiss to his mouth, touching his chin as I do. “Don’t worry so much. I’m happy to be your wife.” I brush my fingers over his jaw and trace the lines of it. “So what happens now? Is this our new home?”

He pauses. “Do you want to stay with the flotilla?”

“I don’t know. Do you?”

“I want what will make you happy.”

By Belara, we’re still dancing around each other’s feelings, aren’t we? I move a little closer to him, until our noses touch and our breaths mingle as we lie down and gaze at each other. “I want us to be honest with each other.”

Ranan thinks for a moment and then says, “My mother would like for us to stay with the flotilla, but I’m not sure I’m ready to abandon Akara. She’s too young to join the flotilla.”

“I don’t want to abandon Akara either,” I tell him. “And I don’t mind going around on her back, but it’s nice to have a permanent home. We can’t stay at the grotto?”

He shakes his head slightly. “Not with a sea dragon in the area. It’ll chase off most of the larger fish—or devour them—and it’ll be dangerous for swimming. But there are plenty of other grottos along the coast. We can pick a new one and make it a home.”

“What about the stuff you have in your old one?” It seems so strange to me to just abandon it. I think of all the statues he has there, the trunks full of goods, the jewelry, the coin, the delicate dishware…

He moves closer, his nose rubbing against mine, as if he just wants to be that much closer to me. “We can retrieve what we need as long as we are quick and stay in the shallower waters. There’s nothing I require from there. If you want anything specific, we can always get it later.”

I consider that, running my fingers along his smooth jaw and stroking his skin. “I suppose we can always get that stuff later. There’s nothing I wanted. It’s just that it seems like a lot of treasure to abandon.”

“No one will find it. The grotto is impossible to access except underwater. It’s safe there.”

True. “And will you continue to rob ships? To pirate?”

He grins at me. “I like doing it. Most of the ships along this coast are merchants or slavers, and I don’t feel bad about robbing them.”

I wouldn’t feel bad about robbing them, either. “Can I help out?”

“It can be dangerous.”

“Not if we’re smart about it.” I tap the tip of his proud nose. “I’ll get some of those sea herbs you mentioned so I don’t conceive until we’re ready and we’ll work together. We can come up with some sort of storyline—that I’m your slave and being forced to help you out. I can do the talking for you so you can just stand there and look scowly and fearsome.”

He’s surprised at my enthusiasm. “You want to do the talking?”

“Yes, because if you ask for another bride, I’m going to pull her hair out.”

Ranan chuckles and then touches my ear. “I have the only bride I want.”

We gaze into each other’s eyes for a long moment, and it feels natural when he leans in and kisses me. Our lips meld, and time slips away, and there’s nothing but my husband and his hungry, tender mouth on mine. He pulls away and rubs his nose against mine once more.

“I still need my fish for Lord Vor,” I whisper.

Ranan groans, and then his hands are on me, tickling.

Epilogue

RANAN

Weeks Later

“Are you ready to do this?” I ask Vali as we float in the waters outside our new grotto. The waters here are a bit cloudier than the crystalline waters near the sea dragon’s nest, but the cave here has easier access for my human bride. It’s a large opening hidden behind a tumble of rocks off of a coast of steep, forbidding cliffs. No ship comes near enough to this particular cave because the rocks are too jagged, but those rocks also provide a natural barrier to keep us safe. The interior of our cave is smaller than the last, but cozier, and Vali has been working hard to make it a home.

She floats in the water next to me, a sling-spear in her hand and her new swimming gear on her sun-browned body. Instead of her foolish dresses, we’ve made breast-bands of fish-hide leather and a small loincloth so she has freedom of movement. I’ve crafted her a pair of reinforced feet fins like the ones Balo uses when he swims, but this time there is no retrieval line on her spear. If she tosses it too far, I will get it for her. I’m not about to let my pretty bride get dragged away by another fish.

“I’m ready,” Vali tells me. Her eyes glitter with excitement. “Do you think the shieldfish are still here? Or do you think the school has swam away?”

“They’ll be nearby,” I reassure her. There’s a cool current running through the waters, and the shieldfish like to drift in and out of it, plucking at smaller fish as they do. “You know what to aim for, yes?”

“The face.” She makes a stabbing motion with her spear. “And if it swims away, let it.”

“Exactly. There are many, many fish in the sea, my sweet wife. If you do not catch the perfect one for Lord Vor today, you will tomorrow.”

Vali nods and swims the short distance over to my side. She slides her wet arms around my neck and pulls me in for a kiss. “Let’s do this.”

“I’m going to swim at your side the entire time,” I reassure my too-eager wife. I am the one that is always thinking twice about things, the one that hesitates. Vali loves to fling herself into a task without stopping to think of the consequences. I love that about her, even as it terrifies me. “Remember the signal to make if you have concerns and I will surface immediately⁠—”

She kisses me to stop my lecture. “I know, Ranan. Let’s go.”

“Let us go, then.”

Even so, I watch until my wife dives, swimming deeper, before I follow after her. I’m doing my best to try not to hover over her or to be anxious about her fishing. She’s come so far in the last few weeks. Vali now swims for much longer lengths and can hold her breath for twice as long as before…but she is still my fragile, lovely wife and I fret over her. She does not have the lungs or the strength of one of the seakind. She has to come up for air frequently. But she is very determined that Lord Vor should wait no longer for his fish, so we are seeking one today.