loved you,” I said, shrugging. “Children need to be able to play and stretch their wings.”
“You never did,” he pointed out, and it was true.
“I want to say that I was never a child,” I said slowly, “but of course I was—just not the normal sort.”
“What is normal?” he mused quietly. “Neither of us have had anything like a peaceful life, but we have this.” We had emerged from the winding trail onto the dunes, following Vesno as he blazed across a set of wooden bridges and onto the soft sand, and Con waved a hand as if he’d created it. The beach was entirely empty, with no one in sight, not even a boat on the water. “Paradise,” he said, dimple flashing in delight. “And all to ourselves.”
“More of your doing?” I asked.
“Yes. I spotted this beach on the map in the tower. It will be romantic. We’re going to swim naked, and have a picnic on the beach, just you and me.”
“And Vesno,” I noted as the wolfhound barreled gleefully into the gentle surf.
“He never gossips,” Con replied in a confiding tone. “There’s no currency for it in the world of wolfhounds.”
I giggled at that image, surprised to hear that sound emerge from me.
Con’s grin widened. “Race you to the water?”
“Naked first. I’m not ruining a second gown in one day.”
“Like you don’t have thousands more.”
I snorted at him, pulling off my gown and laying it on the blanket he spread on the sand, then removing the rest of my jewelry. It felt strange to be naked out on this open beach—odd, since I was well accustomed to nakedness, especially with Con—but also wonderful. Freeing, as he’d said.
He took more time than I had, wrestling off his boots, shedding his weapons, then his other clothing—so I took off running. Ignoring Con’s shout of protest, I ran to the water with a glorious whoop! Vesno, radiating delight, dashed up to circle me and plunge into the surf also.
The first wave took me by surprise, tumbling me over and filling my mouth with sand and salt. Calanthe’s sea filled my heart and mind also, the water carrying to me the myriad thoughts and sensations of all the ocean denizens—and their memories. It was the dreamthink magnified, and I wondered why I’d never tried this before.
Con seized me, catching me up in his strong arms. “Cheater!” he accused, acting horrified and astonished.
“It’s not cheating when you win,” I informed him. “I like to win.”
“Do you know what happens to cheaters?” he growled. Before I could answer, he launched me into the air, sending me flying and then plummeting into the sea. I came up sputtering and spitting water, and he pointed at me and laughed.
“You’ll pay for that!” I shrieked and threw myself at him.
We played like that, like kids yelling and splashing in the surf. And then not like children at all, as our touches grew hot and hungry, the teasing kisses lasting longer, going deeper and welling with both newfound tenderness and the anticipation of goodbye.
We made love on the blanket in the sand, the warm tropical night enfolding us, an exhausted Vesno sleeping in the sand nearby. And then we ate the picnic by the light of a candle, drinking wine and watching the glitter of stars on the water.
It was romantic, fun, and carefree in a way so few things in my life had been. And when Con whispered to me that I’d given him as many reasons as the stars to want to live, I only hoped that I wouldn’t be the weakness Anure would use to strike him down.
* * *
We returned to the palace in the early hours before dawn, Con and I parting to prepare for the day. Since Ibolya was off preparing for her own journey, my other ladies assisted my bath. None of them commented on the sand they washed out of my hair. Ibolya would have, and I already missed her gentle amusement and steadfast presence.
I selected my gown carefully. So many times my courtiers had traded analyses of my gowns, how they reflected my mood—and predicted which direction their petitions would go. While I had little desire to return to the elaborate scaffolding of my previous wardrobe, I also felt this occasion required a sense of ceremony. My brave adventurers deserved a send-off from their queen worthy of the risk they took. If I must stay behind on my island while they sailed away, I’d remain in style.
Nahua and