TWENTY EIGHT

It was a rough trip for ships filled with humans that had never traveled so far by sea, but after days of travel, the island Destin had told Adriana about came into view. She was sitting out on the deck as the boat moved along at a steady pace, wrapped in several blankets, as was her little girl. Shian had fallen asleep beside her while Destin was guiding the Guardian, and she smiled as she looked over at him.

Shian was wrapped up tightly as well, but the constant spray of the sea was enough to ensure that he only ever slept lightly on the ship. The sleeping baby girl tucked against his chest looked more like him than he felt comfortable admitting, since he had never been intimate with anyone on the Isles other than Adriana. The mother of the baby that Malcom had cared for never came looking, even when the ships all gathered together on the ocean to distribute supplies. Instead of allowing the baby to be taken away, Adriana and Shian had decided that they would care for both of the girls as though Adriana had given birth to both.

She nursed both, snuggled both, and kissed them as though they both were her own. She’d lost three other children, two of which could have been among the other freed humans and she would never know, but these, these she could keep, and she wanted to.

“Shian.” She said softly into his ear, and she nudged him carefully to wake him but not little Sheena in his arms. “Shian. I can see the island.”

He woke up with a start, but looked down immediately to make sure Sheena hadn’t woken up with him before he rubbed sleep from his eyes and looked around to see what Adriana was talking about. The island was barely visible against the horizon, a low, flat thing seeming to come just barely up out of the ocean. It was small wonder no other wolves had ever stumbled upon it.

He looked around the rest of the ship and saw a dozen other transport ships from the Reef nearby, all of them waiting on Destin’s to approach first, since they had traveled to the island on his word alone, with no other guarantees that the humans would be safe or even welcome there.

“It’s just an island.” He said with skepticism heavy in his voice, since he had no idea of the actual reception that was waiting for them. He believed Adriana when she said she trusted Destin, and he had certainly made good on his word so far in freeing them from Chainhome and carrying them away from the Isles, but Shian’s trust in a wolf would never go so far as to be absolute, on such short acquaintance. “It could have a thousand wolves on it, as far as I care right now, so long as it has some food and water.”

“Don’t be so grumpy.” She kissed him on the cheek, and got up slowly to watch as the boat moved the rest of the way to shore.

It looked like they had stumbled upon just a scrap of land, but as soon as Destin swam away from the ship and onto the shore, the island seemed to come to life. Surely the people had seen the ships off the shore as they approached, and apparently they’d been waiting patiently to see who was coming to their island.

Destin came up out of the surf onto the sandy beach and walked up slowly once he allowed the water to recede back into the ocean. He was glad to see Elyra foremost among the people who had gathered, and he smiled as he saw her. “In all fairness, I did warn you that I would be back.”

“You did. And we have been waiting.” Elyra said with a smile as she looked back at his ship. “You had to travel a long way. There are houses that have prepared rooms and beds, and we’ve even erected some shelters for the people that won’t fit into houses. We’ve put all of our efforts into getting ready while you have been gone.”

Destin was glad to have been taken seriously, and he took Elyra’s hand warmly to thank her. “There are only so many wolves with me as were needful to move our ships. If you’re ready, I’ll start bringing people ashore. Me and my crew would like permission to remain out here on the coast, at least until we can be certain our people have been settled.”

She nodded and smiled even brighter as she looked at the wolf in front of her. “It was a hard sell, convincing the other Elders to let you and other wolves stay on the shore, but they’ll let you. For now.”

Destin pulled the massive ship closer through the water, until several wolves dropped from the prow and began to alter the shape of the beach in front of them. The sand moved away to accommodate the Guardian and flowed in again around it to hold it in place on the beach as several ladders dropped down from the railing.

There were some shouts of surprise behind him from the humans, obviously not accustomed to working with many wolves, but he ignored them as the other ships drew closer and Shian started down the ladder.

When Shian reached the beach, he breathed a sigh of relief and held Sheena tighter against his chest. He crossed the short distance to Destin and the woman beside him, who was older than any human he’d ever seen in his short life.

“You really are here.” He said quietly, obviously still caught up in disbelief as he looked around at the group of humans moving toward the ships to help his own companions down, including Malcom and Adriana, who were among the next humans to descend to the sand.

“I can understand why you did not easily trust a wolf.” Elyra looked down at the tiny baby in his arms. “You should not be out here with such a new little thing. Come with me to my house. There are beds prepared, and I have food.”

Shian waited for Adriana to catch up before he followed, but soon they had both girls down to sleep in a pile of warm furs near Elyra’s fire. Destin watched in silence as the tide of humans poured off the ships by the dozens, by hundreds, so many that he was amazed they had all been packed at one time into Chainhome. Many of them were still just as skeptical as Shian had been about their new home, but Elyra’s people took all of them by the arm and led them to the shelters, each of which was already worlds better than Chainhome, rudimentary and crude as most of them were.

When the ships were empty, Destin smiled at the sight of Taimon and Kaia coming down the ladder last of all, with Daiva and Hassir coming from another ship in the distance to meet him. The lord of the Reef had wanted to see the island with his own eyes to be assured of its placement outside of his dominion, and Destin was glad of Hassir’s silence as the man approached. It meant the humans would be left alone to live in peace, even by the Reef.

“I think we brought more than they were expecting.” Taimon chuckled as he reached Destin, looking over the shelters already overflowing around the seaside village. He could hear some discussions among the townspeople of how they were going to accommodate the rest of the humans. Though there was a great deal of stress in the air, everyone was working on the problem rather than arguing, at least for the time being.

“I am sure they will figure it out.” Daiva did not like the idea of being around so many humans and so few wolves any more than the humans liked the idea of the wolves being around. “They’ll be safe here, and they won’t get in the way when we have to fight the Isles again.”

Destin sighed as he looked over at his sister. “Even here, outside of anything the Isles have ever known, you still can’t imagine peace? I realize that Melyssa and Cadmos are still alive somewhere, but even with their power and the entire population of the Isles, it’s going to take them a long time to rebuild their fleet and regain the confidence of their people to come after us.”

“I’m being realistic, Destin.” She replied sharply, though she honestly could not imagine a life that was just…peace. It sounded boring, really. “You did a good thing for these humans, I think. That’s what you should be happy about, but realize that peace comes and goes.”

Kaia rolled her eyes as well. “You are truly terrible to be around sometimes. People died. Good wolves died. You don’t have to be so severe.”

Taimon cleared his throat and looked back and forth between Kaia and Destin sheepishly. “She’s just being a ruler now. Better than Melyssa and Cadmos ever were, obviously. If they had still believed it was possible anyone could attack them and live to tell about it, none of us would be here right now. It’s good to be worried about that kind of thing when you have to think about other people’s safety all the time.”

Daiva looked over at Taimon with obvious surprise in her eyes, but she appreciated he acknowledged what she was taking on, and that she wasn’t trying to be cruel or violent. She was trying to be an efficient ruler. She gave Taimon a slight nod before she looked past her siblings and along the shore. “I am assuming we are meant to find or make our own shelter. I’ll find something.”

“I’ve gotten permission from the local Elders to make a home for my crew along the shore, so long as it’s something low in profile that won’t attract too much attention from the sea.” Destin clarified before she moved away. “Miris and the Stoneborn you assigned to him will assist you, if that’s alright. He’s going to be one of my commanders aboard the Guardian now, so he’ll be staying here with us.”

“Really?” Kaia asked a little too loudly, but it was hard for anyone to tell if she was surprised in a good way or in a bad way. She looked down at her bracelet again and stole a look over at Taimon who just shook his head. “What can I do, Destin?”

Destin smiled at the question, and gave her and Taimon a look that lasted long enough for both of them to start looking confused. “Sorry, I’m just remembering the little sister I had a year ago who would have run off to amuse herself as soon as she was finished with her chores rather than asking how she can help.”

He chuckled at the memory and nodded toward the slight rise in the shoreline where Daiva started drawing stone out of the ground to assemble their home. “Make sure Daiva leaves space behind our new home for your garden. It’s likely she’ll forget. Until everyone’s settled here and we can go south to the Reef, I want you to stay here with me.”

“What about me?” Taimon could tell he was being excluded from that invitation, and the implications didn’t settle well with him.

Destin’s smile dimmed, but he had spoken about their brother with Daiva on the way to the Free Isle. “When Daiva leaves for the Reef, you’ll go with her, if only for a while. You still have a lot to learn from Hadria and the other masters of your kind who are part of Hassir’s councils. When Daiva decides you’re ready to be on your own, you can live wherever you like, on the Reef or with the other exiles on Daiva’s estates, but for now, you need to focus on your studies.”

Taimon was clearly crestfallen at that, but he nodded without trying to argue. “Alright, if that’s what you want me to do, I can do that.”

Kaia clearly wasn’t happy about that either, and she immediately went to Taimon’s side, since they had never been separated before. She didn’t want Taimon to be all the way at the Reef while she and Destin were not with him. “But Taimon and I…” She grabbed Taimon’s arm and looked back at Destin, even though she knew he wasn’t likely to change his mind.

“I know.” Destin said with an apology in his eyes, but he shook his head afterward. “There’s no place for you on the Reef, except at the Falls, and I don’t trust strangers with your education. Maybe when we’ve come to know them better, you can go to study with Felja and Torren, but for now, I want you where I can take care of you, and Taimon needs to be on the Reef.”

He and Daiva had been lucky enough to remain home for their entire childhood, but such a change for their siblings was one more casualty of the war they had started. “It won’t be forever. For either of you.”

Kaia was still frowning as she clung to her brother, but she looked up toward the house Daiva was building. “Can he come with me, then?”

Destin nodded and waved the two of them off. “Go on. Daiva won’t leave for a few more days at least.”

Kaia didn’t start to cry until she was walking away with Taimon, and she buried her face into his arm as he led the way. She was already trying to think up an argument that would convince Destin to let Taimon stay. “I don’t want you to go.”

“I don’t want to go either.” He held his sister against him, but he was trying not to cry, trying to be more like Daiva and take on the responsibility that Destin handed him. “But Destin’s right about a few things. I do have a lot I still have to learn. But I won’t be staying on the Reef for very long once Daiva says I can live on my own, I can promise you that. I’ll come back and get her to build me a house near yours with the rest of the exiles, or maybe we’ll both go live on the Falls and let Destin and Daiva worry about fighting wars while we take care of feeding the kingdoms.”

They stopped midway to the house so they could sit near some of the trees, though they were small and sickly-looking because they were so close to the sand and seawater. She leaned back on a thin tree trunk, and she sighed when she felt it against the back of her head. As soon as Taimon sat down, she grabbed his hand again, her new bracelet jingling softly as she reached out. “You can learn anywhere. The wind is everywhere. And Hadria is mean. I thought you would finally be rid of her. What if something happens to you at the Reef? I’m scared I’ll never see you again.”

“Something could happen to us anywhere.” He said darkly as he squeezed her hand, shrugging afterward, since it wasn’t in his nature to be so morose about anything. “I think if all this has taught me anything, that’s it. I love Destin, but Daiva’s right. Nowhere is going to be safe, not completely. And something could happen to me on the Reef, but I’m going to do my best to make sure it doesn’t.”

Taimon looked around at some of the hovels the humans were moving into, huddled together for warmth even though the days were finally getting warmer toward spring, and he thought about the Reef and the future ahead of him. The Reef was known for being severe and inhospitable. It was going to be his life until Daiva said otherwise.

“I think the two of them figured out a long time ago that nothing is alright and nothing is completely safe, and we have to learn to deal with that. Maybe this is our chance to figure that out.” The wind whipped through Kaia’s hair to push it back out of her face before she could reach up to do so, and he smiled over at her. “I’m going to miss you.”

She curled in close and started crying again, even when he put his arms around her and held her. Kaia didn’t say anything for a long time, mostly because she couldn’t. “Mom, Dad, and Devon are already gone. Now you and Daiva are going to be far away. Who am I going to talk to about everything that goes on? Who am I going to run with during the Fulness? Destin has Adriana now.”

Taimon rolled his eyes at that, since she was pulling out every line of reasoning possible, but that was Kaia’s way. “You could just lock yourself in a tree for three days. That’s always an option.”

“Lock myself in a tree? Do you hear yourself?” She was laughing softly anyway, even with tears on her cheeks, but she sighed as she lifted her head up to look at her brother again. “I can’t do that. That’s boring.”

He rolled his eyes at her and conjured a breeze to whip the tears right off her cheeks. He stood up again, pulling her up with him afterward. “Come on, let’s go help Daiva, it’s too cold out here for crying.”

After getting settled into Elyra’s house, eating a full meal, and helping as much as she could, Adriana could hardly believe she wasn’t in the middle of a dream when she walked away from Elyra’s house to the shore. Shian and Elyra were enjoying each other’s company, captivated as he was by her stories, and both Shanna and Sheena were fed and sleeping snugly together near the warm fire. The wolves were busy making sure that their homes were satisfactory, the humans were settling in with their generous hosts, and for once, the world was quiet without feeling empty.

Destin was already sitting on the beach as the water came up and slipped over his legs and went back out again, and Adriana didn’t say anything until she sat down next to him and leaned into him. “I feel like I’m dreaming.”

He turned toward her and rested his cheek against her hair, taking in a deep breath of the scent of her as he closed his eyes. “A good dream, I hope.”

“The only dream I ever wanted to come true.” She wrapped her arms around his torso as soon as he turned toward her, and she held onto him as tightly as she could. “Well, there were others that I liked too, but this is definitely one of the best.”

“We’ll work on the others.” He wrapped one arm around her shoulders, the other propped back to keep them up on the sand. “I have a few in mind, myself. Out here at least we have space to consider them. Work toward them for a change.”

Adriana was quiet for a moment as she relished the fact that Destin was able to hold her out in the open and that no one was going to step in and stop them. No one was going to take her away and throw her back in a cell. They could be together. “And the time, I hope.” She moved after that and slid into his lap to kiss him gently. Her body was far from healed after everything that she had endured, but she was glad to have some private time with the man that she loved. “When I’m better, I want to…”

“I know.” The surf came up around them both again, but the water quickly left her dress so that she could stay as warm as possible in his arms. “I haven’t forgotten, and I will keep my promise.” He kissed her again and almost crushed her against him in his embrace, the coarse hairs of his beard harsh against her neck.

Following the bristles of his beard, she felt the teasing scrape of his teeth along her skin, sending ripples of power through her that her body had felt many times before, mostly during their lovemaking. The power of a wolf was not something a human body could endure for very long, but it would be a part of her turning, when that day finally came.

It also had a high chance of killing her.

She felt chills run down her spine as his power coursed through her, if only briefly. “I love you so much.” She said without feeling like she needed to whisper it, and she trembled a little as he held her. “We can finally be together.”

“For as long as you can put up with me.” He leaned back to look up in her eyes, reaching up to run his fingers through her hair. “I love you, Adriana. I’ll fight as many wars for you as I have to, but if it’s up to me, I’d rather stay on a beach just like this one until I reach my decline and you’re finally relieved to be rid of me.”

“Never. I’ll never want to be rid of you.” She looked into his deep blue eyes a moment longer before she rested her head onto his shoulder. Their breaths rose and fell together, in time with the surf beside them, a slow rhythm that laid a spell of peace on both their hearts and minds that neither of them held any desire to ever see broken.