“You know what would be really useful right now?” said J as they made the journey out of the valley. “An airship. Didn’t we have one once? Oh, yeah — we did. And someone crashed it.”
“I did not crash it, J,” Rémy sighed. “We were hit by a flaming arrow.”
“Yeah,” grumbled J, “an’ then you crashed.”
“Hush,” said Dita, who was walking beside him. Desai was a little way ahead of them, leading the way. “The walk will do us good.”
“Hrumph,” J muttered. “What we just went through, we need sleep, not bleedin’ exercise.”
“Oh, yes, I was forgetting,” said Dita, her voice caustic, “what a hard time you had back there, dirty boy. All that running around was terrible, yes? Far worse than getting bitten by a snake and being turned into a monster.”
“I ain’t dirty, an’ that wasn’t what I meant,” J protested. “And you wasn’t a monster! Not even close!”
“What was I then?” Dita asked, slipping her hand into his. “A freak? Like one of those poor beardy women you see in a circus?”
“Bearded women,” J corrected. “And no, you wasn’t a freak, neither.”
They carried on bickering as they walked, their chatter fading into the background with the chirrup of the crickets as Thaddeus tuned them out. They had been walking for a long while already, and it would be longer still before they reached the valley’s edge and moved out of the mountain’s shadow. Thaddeus was tired, but happy — relieved to be leaving this place behind, and also at Rémy’s reports of what had happened inside. That Upala was truly dead was a tragedy, for sure, but knowing that the rest of the cult had been similarly subdued was cause for relief.
Thaddeus became aware that Rémy was no longer at his side. He turned to see that she had dropped back, putting space between herself and the rest of the group. Thaddeus slowed his pace, falling into step with her.
“Everything all right?” he asked, anxious when he saw the thoughtful look on her face. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing’s the matter. I’ve just been thinking, that is all.”
“Oh? What about?” Thaddeus glanced up the slight hill they were climbing to where her brother Kai soldiered onward, stoic despite his grief and pain. No doubt Rémy was thinking about him. What must it have been like, to think you were alone in the world and then to come face-to-face with your twin? It must have been —
“Will you marry me?” Rémy asked.
Thaddeus stopped dead in his tracks, looking at her in astonishment. “What?”
Rémy stopped beside him and shrugged. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but … something that Kai said, back there, made me realize that I should just go ahead and ask,” she said. “So do you want to? Get married, I mean?”
Something fierce and hot radiated out from Thaddeus’s heart as he caught her arm and pulled her to him. “Do I want to? Rémy — of course I want to! But I thought — I wasn’t sure that you …” He took a breath and willed his heart to calm down as he stepped back and looked at her, smiling widely. “Rémy Brunel. Nothing would make me happier than to be your husband, and to call you my wife. In fact …”
“What is it?” Rémy asked, puzzled as he pulled away and reached for one of the pockets in his trousers.
Thaddeus found what he was looking for. Pulling out a small twist of paper, he unwrapped a small ring. It had been formed of two thin bands of gold, twisted together in a wreath to hold a tiny diamond. He hesitated for a moment, and then reached out to take Rémy’s left hand. He looked at her face and saw the delight spreading across the features that he had come to love so well. Smiling, he slipped the ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly.
“I know it’s only tiny, but I thought,” he said quietly, “that you deserved to have a diamond that you didn’t have to steal.”
Rémy stared at the ring, holding it up so the little stone could catch the light. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered. Then she cast him a look. “How long have you had this in your pocket?” she demanded. “And where did you get it from?”
“Ahh,” said Thaddeus, holding up both hands. “That would be telling. I’ve got to have some secrets.”
Rémy grabbed his hands, laughing. “What, even as my husband?”
Thaddeus laughed with her, wrapping her up in his arms and kissing her soundly. “Well, perhaps not then …”
“Why did you never ask me?” Rémy said. “If you had the ring …”
Thaddeus shrugged. “I could never work out how.”
Rémy rested her forehead against his. “I find that simply usually works.”
“Yes,” Thaddeus laughed. “Apparently so.”
“The only thing is,” Rémy added, “I am not sure I could ever be ‘Rémy Rec.’ It just doesn’t …” she trailed off with a grimace.
Thaddeus made a face. “Ugh. No, I can see what you mean. I’m not sure you could ever be anything other than Rémy Brunel anyway. Maybe I should take your name instead.”
Rémy looked up at him. “Really?”
Thaddeus shrugged. “Why not? Thaddeus Brunel has a bit of a ring to it, don’t you think?”
Rémy raised her eyebrows. “It’s a very French name. I am not sure you could be sufficiently French to own it. For a start you would have to drink less tea.”
“Oh, god.” Thaddeus stopped, a look of mock horror on his face. “I can’t do it, Rémy. I love you, but I just can’t.”
She punched him lightly in the arm as they both laughed. “Stupid man.”
“What are you two laughing about?” asked a voice.
It was Kai, watching them with a slight, subdued smile. Thaddeus and Rémy parted, still holding hands. Thaddeus saw Kai’s gaze drop to the little ring on Rémy’s finger.
“Ahh,” he said with a smile that managed to be both wider and sadder at the same time. “I see that congratulations are in order.”
“Kai, I am sorry,” Rémy said, faltering over the words. “I know — I know that you … that you …”
Kai stepped forward and grasped his sister’s hand. “There is no need to be sorry for anything, little sister,” he said softly. “I am glad that you have more sense than me — in some things, any way. I am very happy for you both.”
Rémy let go of Thaddeus to hug her brother fiercely. “Thank you, brother. That means much to me.”
When they parted, Rémy took Thaddeus’s hand again and the three of them started to walk, following the others once more.
“So,” Kai asked, “what are you two going to do now? Besides tying the knot, I mean. Will you go back to England?”
Thaddeus glanced at Rémy, who looked back with a shrug. It was a good question, and one that neither of them had considered at all.
“There’s not much for me in England,” Thaddeus admitted. “They’ll never make me a policeman again.”
“Are you sure?” Rémy asked, looking up at him with concern etched on her brow. “You were the best they had, Thaddeus. You might be surprised — I bet they would be glad to have you back.”
“I doubt it,” he sighed. “Besides, after all the things we’ve seen, all the places we’ve been, knowing what else is out there in the world … Well, I’m not sure I want to go back, really. What about you, Rémy? It’s not just about what I want — what do you want to do next?”
Rémy’s gaze drifted toward her brother. “I don’t know,” she said, “although I would like a chance to get to know the only family I have …”
Kai gave her a smile, and then a smirk. “Well,” he said slowly. “You know, I do have need of more good hands aboard my ship. I always told Upala that if she left me, I’d have to find two to replace her. I wasn’t lying.” He shrugged. “You could join my crew. I’d be glad to have you — both of you.”
Thaddeus grimaced in answer to Rémy’s raised eyebrows. “Look … I may not be a policeman anymore … but I don’t think I could be a pirate.”
“Really?” Rémy teased. “And there I was thinking you were looking quite piratical these days, what with your torn shirts and your constant tan.”
Thaddeus laughed, squeezing her hand. “I’m sorry, Rémy, but I couldn’t.”
She smiled at him softly. “I know. You’re just too good a man for thievery and plunder, whatever the cause. I’m sorry, Kai,” she said, addressing her brother, “but I think we have to say no.”
Kai nodded with a grin. “I expected as much. Pity. Although …” He trailed off, looking thoughtful.
“What?” Rémy asked.
Kai shrugged. “I think I might be over the pirate life too, at least for now. I have another ship — smaller than the Black Star, but just as sea-worthy. The Silver Cygnet. I could take her and sail anywhere I wanted to — as long as I had a crew to help me, of course.”
“A crew?” Thaddeus asked. “How big of a crew?”
“Not many. Four should do it, with me besides.” Kai’s gaze drifted ahead to where J and Dita were still bickering merrily as they walked along, their feet kicking up trails of dust that flurried in their wake.
Rémy frowned. “And where were you thinking of taking this ship of yours?” she asked.
“I’ve not decided yet,” Kai said quietly. Then he pulled Upala’s opal from his pocket and held it up so that it swung in front of him. “Perhaps I will simply trust the wind to take me wherever it wishes to go.”
Thaddeus looked down at Rémy, who looked back with a question on her face. He felt like laughing, and wondered how it could be that since he’d met her, life didn’t seem to have even taken a breath, let alone stood still.
“What do you think Dita and J want to do next?” she asked him.
Thaddeus raised her fingers to his lips and kissed them. “I don’t know,” he said. “Let’s ask them and find out.”