Seduced by the Sea Lord

Chapter 21

Torun awoke to his Lucy's soft hands caressing his abdomen. Her brown eyes flew to his face. "I didn't mean to wake you."

This was his beautiful wife, in his arms, sharing herself with him. "It is an awakening I have waited for my whole life."

Her smile softened. "Me too."

He stroked her flowing brown hair. He provided her with a castle, with a house guardian, with anything her heart desired. Surely she would be happy here, like this, with him, forever.

Her stomach growled.

She laughed with embarrassment. "I guess I'm hungry."

He disentangled from her. "Let me feed you."

"Ooh, you know how to seduce a woman. You'll never get rid of me now." Her smile faded as soon as the words were out, and her eyes turned haunted.

She still feared the Life Tree would reject her. That Torun would reject her. He needed to ease her fears.

"We will collect the Life Tree blossom today," he said.

Her expression froze.

He took her hand reassuringly. "It will have blossomed, Lucy."

"Oh, I know." She tried and failed to laugh. "Breakfast first, then give me an orientation to this amazing castle. You can check later. Okay? That blossom's not going anywhere. Right?"

"Yes."

On the journey, he led his queen through her castle, spreading her light through the winding passages and chambers.

In the courtyard, they visited the house seed. Lucy approached reverently, as before, and caressed it. She glanced at him, blushed, and tilted away to whisper something for only the seed to hear. He heard it too, though.

"I hope your tree healed me. I want to stay."

His heart thumped hard. He leaned against the doorway, struggling to control his feelings.

She would stay. No one would take her from him.

By the time she bore his son, the council would be convinced that she was the future for their city. She chose this life of her own free will, and she would not leave him or their young fry.

"Of course I won't leave you." She left the seed on its small dais and bounced over, snuggled against him, and traced her fingers across the nearly healed white scars from Prince Jolan's and Malem's attacks on his wide abdomen. "Wherever we go, we'll travel together. Right? So, how about breakfast?"

She patted her rumbling stomach.

He followed her to the pantry, absently helping her tidy as they swam the canals and corridors in between. "Wherever we go? This is our home."

"Oh, sure. I just meant if you had to leave. You're fighting with your council, and that's hard. Plus, you seem like an explorer, and I'm a bit of a wanderer myself."

"I have been known to explore," he conceded. "More than once, when I could not argue effectively with my superiors, I embarked on a small quest to prove my point. And, yes, I have neglected my family castle for years longer than I had intended. But with you here to raise our young fry, I will stay and devote myself to rebuilding this place."

She cupped his cheek, a lopsided smile on her face. "Just so you know, you have options. Home is where we make it."

How odd. He clasped her hand. "Then we are home."

"Okay." She turned and approached the pantry.

The house guardian bolted from his hole and twirled around the chamber.