I want to shout with relief when I break the surface and drag Vali upward until she crashes through. She immediately coughs and chokes, spewing water from her mouth and nose.
“I’ve got you,” I tell her, anchoring an arm at her waist that will keep her head above water.
She sobs as she coughs, clinging to me and sputtering. More water pours out of her and her ragged breaths sound wet. She’s shaking all over and the realization that I almost lost her hits me. If I hadn’t been standing there, Vali would be gone. Dead. Balo—or any other human—can’t swim fast enough to catch up with a panicked thunderfish. She would have just disappeared, never to be seen again.
The idea terrifies me. I shake her, frantic. “What were you thinking, Vali?!”
She coughs harder, managing to sputter, “Lord…Vor…”
“I said I would take you! What, you think a few days with a spear and a few swimming lessons and you can suddenly do whatever you like? Don’t be foolish, Vali!”
She pushes at me, another sob breaking her throat. “Can’t you wait until we get back to the flotilla to get mad at me?”
“You almost didn’t make it back! I almost lost you!” I give her another little shake. “Do you understand that?”
Vali splashes water at me, as frustrated as I am. “I know it was wrong now! Quit yelling!”
“I’m not yelling!” I bellow.
“I’m just trying to prove my worth!”
“Your worth?” I roar, trapping her above the water’s surface with my right arm while my left arms swim frantically for the safety of the flotilla. A brief glance shows me just how far Vali’s been pulled, and it makes my leg ache just seeing how far it had taken her so quickly. “You don’t need to prove anything! To anybody!”
Vali lets out a scream of rage…that she ruins by coughing. “I don’t understand you, Ranan! If we’re not here so I can prove myself to your people, then why are we here?”
She clings to me, even as she argues, and I don’t mind that with every cough she’s spraying my face. I welcome every ragged breath she takes. Even though I’m furious, I’m starting to grow angry at myself, too. Vali thinks that I brought her here to see how she’d fit in with my people? Doesn’t she realize I don’t care if she fits in with them or not?
“We’re here,” I say, rolling onto my back so I can let her rest her upper body on my stomach as she shivers and quakes, “because I am proving myself to you. I am going to marry you in front of all of my people so you will no longer think I am trying to get rid of you. So we’ll have truth between us and you won’t feel the need to pretend out of fear that I’ll give you away. So you’ll realize what I’ve been trying to tell you all along. That you are my wife, now and forever.”
She stares at me as she clings to my abdomen, and I anchor my arm tighter around her waist. I can’t help but notice that she’s still wearing the foolish dress she insists upon, though now it is bunched and gathered at her waist, stuck around the belt. Her magnificent breasts heave against my chest, and she sputters. Her hand slaps against my chest, though it doesn’t hurt. “You…idiot! Are you serious?”
“Very.”
Vali bursts into tears and holds onto me tighter.
I…hope that’s a good sign. I run my knuckles along one cheek even as I continue to backstroke the long way back to the flotilla. “You’re not hurt, are you? I can’t bear the thought of you hurt.”
“I’m fine,” she sobs, even as I continue to swim us to safety. “You could have told me.”
“I’ve tried. I’m terrible at this. At us. At telling you how I feel. You deserve better.”
Vali just shakes her head and holds onto me tighter. “I don’t want better. I want you. I thought you hated me. That I embarrassed you in front of your people.”
“Never. And…I don’t care what they think. I just want you to realize that I want you.”
“Even if I’m a bride and not a bribe?” She sniffs hard, lifting her head.
“You are the greatest prize I’ve ever pulled off a boat. I didn’t realize I wanted you at first, but now I’m glad I have you.” I give her another little shake, still terrified at the sight of her disappearing under the water, tugged along by the thunderfish. “And for the love of all the gods, do not go fishing without me!”
“Oh no, your leg!” she blurts out, her hands moving frantically over me and nearly causing me to dump her back into the water. “Is your leg all right?”
“I’m fine. I’ll live. It doesn’t matter. All that mattered was saving you.”
She clings to my wet chest and gazes up at me with dark, aching eyes. “Please tell me this isn’t you misspeaking. Tell me the truth, Ranan. I can handle it, I swear.”
Exasperated, I roll forward and grab her in all four of my arms, holding her tight. My leg throbs and aches, but I ignore it so I can look her in the eye. “Woman, I am going to drag you in front of my people and marry you because I love you. Will you be my bride, Vali? My wife?”
She squeals and flings her arms around my neck.
Chapter
Twenty-Nine
VALI
My wedding day is a magical one. Even though I have yet to give Lord Vor his fish, it feels as if the gods are smiling down upon myself and Ranan. The weather is beautiful, the sun shining and a light breeze making the warmth pleasant. Ranan’s mother Ajinai is in our tent with me. I’ve placed my tiara in my hair and woven the ribbons Ranan gave me through my curls. Ajinai helps me dress in the traditional garb of a woman of the seakind—several long, thick necklaces made of shells and pearls, and a long, pearl-lined wrap skirt made of fish leather. She has made these garments in anticipation of Ranan’s future bride, and so they’re all a bit oversized. The skirt is so long it drags on the ground behind me, made for a much taller woman. I don’t care. Ajinai looks at me with approval and happiness, and I feel beautiful.
“You will keep these,” she says to me. “Use them as an example so you can make them for your daughter when she is old enough.”
I’m not sure if we’ll want children, but I like that this is mine to keep. I give her the cobweb of gold collar because I’ll never wear it, and she smiles with radiant happiness, immediately putting it on.
Now we’re both adorned for my wedding, and I feel a little closer to Ranan’s mother.
We emerge from the tent to the gathered flotilla’s occupants, and everyone looks happy to see us. I don’t even mind that I’m topless under the necklaces—I feel like I fit in. Ranan devours me with a hot look as I come to his side, and a few steps away, his father stands behind him. Lakos has never said two words to me, his expression as impossible to read as Ranan’s. Lakos says he’s shy and suffers from the same tongue-twisting his son does, so he rarely speaks in the presence of others. Today he gives me a small nod of approval as I put my hand in Ranan’s.
And then I stop looking at the crowd and pay attention to my bridegroom, because he looks magnificent. There are no bandages on his leg, only an ugly, jagged, bright-pink scar. He leans on a crutch that has been decorated for the ceremony, and he wears several necklaces that match mine. Instead of a wrap at his hips, though, he wears a slender fish-leather loincloth decorated with seashells. His skin has been rubbed with oil and he gleams in the sunlight, all gorgeous muscles and shining skin. More attractive than any of that is the smile that curves his mouth as he looks down at me, his expression flicking between happiness and possessiveness.