Page 22 of The Endless One

“No, my love. You are still yourself.”

But not entirely right. He didn’t remind her that there was still the issue of their severed connection. He didn’t know why that had happened or what Ajax had done. Neither of them could focus on that right now, though. They needed shelter. They needed to heal her. Food. Water. All the things that mortals required.

After a few moments, Jessamine lifted her head and looked around them. “Where even are we?”

If only he knew. Elric looked around as well, surprised to see they appeared to be in the middle of nowhere. They were on a sand beach, but all of Orenda was surrounded by sand beaches. Behind them was a cliff’s edge that rose so high he couldn’t even see the top. It was massive, so tall it blotted out the sun from where they were resting in its shadow. The waves surrounding them were a peaceful touch.

White sand. Soft swells. The scent of salt water in the air. It was as good a place as any to rest.

“Let’s find somewhere to settle for a bit,” he murmured before gathering her up again and standing.

Jessamine hissed out an angry sound. “Your fingers, Elric.”

He shifted that hand so it was tucked beneath her arm. He was missing everything but his pointer finger and thumb on his left hand, and he knew that had to be garish to look at. “I know a spell to grow them back, nightmare. Don’t worry, I’ll still be able to wear your ring when you finally propose to me.”

“Propose to you? I do believe that’s supposed to be done by the man.”

“I don’t think that’s entirely true.”

“I’m a princess. You’re supposed to treat me like one.”

He leaned down and bumped their noses together. “I’m a god. I think that beats princess.”

Her eyes widened. “Damn, you might be right.”

“I usually am.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.”

It was times like these when he loved her even more. Jessamine didn’t realize what she did to him with those little giggles. The slight coughing sound at the end, like she couldn’t catch her breath laughing, undid him. So did the way her eyes wrinkled in the corners when she found him funny. Such a small gesture, yet her finding him funny somehow made him feel like he was human, not just a god.

Elric walked for a while, enjoying the feeling of her in his arms, before he noticed a small path leading up to a seaside cottage. It had a great view of an island far out in the distance, and he thought this would be a rather peaceful place to rest their heads.

He walked all the way up the cliffside path, breathing hard by the time he got to the top. The burn in his muscles was enjoyable, though, and he turned them to face the sea.

Jessamine gasped and then burst out into laughter.

“What?” he asked.

She just pointed at the island, still laughing too hard to speak.

He stared where she was pointing, but he didn’t understand what would be so funny until she finally choked out, “That’s Inverholm.”

Of course it was. He’d gotten her close enough to see her homeland so she could heal. He chuckled with her, turning toward the house and hoping no one was inside. “Why is that so funny to you?”

“Well, now I get to see what I’m protecting and what I would have died for to make sure it was safe.” She shook her head and then settled back in his arms a little more securely. “This is possibly the only home in the entire kingdom that can see my own. And you somehow brought me here, of all places.”

He had. Maybe some part of him when he’d been creating that portal had longed to bring her home. He just wasn’t strong enough to do that. At least, not yet.

He walked up to the cottage and marveled at how well kept it appeared to be. The white wood on the outside was only slightly ashen from the salt water that likely wore away at the grain. The windows were clean, and so shiny they became like mirrors to hide the interior. Not to mention the golden thatched roof that was quite adorable. There was a small garden out front, thriving in the healthy earth and providing good supplemental food to the owners.

Unfortunately, that did mean it was likely there were people living within it. A pity. He would have to send them on their way.

Jessamine touched his chest, patting him to get his attention.

“What is it, nightmare?”

“Don’t make them leave.”