She sighed, incapable of keeping her throat from bobbing. “I wish they could see this. Your parents, Dhalia.”
Freyah reached for her friend’s hand. “We’ll bring them here, Lissa. When this is all over.”
She nodded, and a moment of silence fell between them. “Why can’t every moment be like this? Easy… peaceful.”
“It will be. Someday.”
“Do you miss our life in Bryniard?” Alissa asked, reminiscing on how everything used to be.
“Honestly? I don’t,” Freyah said, shaking her head. Her admission surprised even herself. “I see now how we were madeinto our own prisoners. Living a limited life, we made ourselves believe that was the only one there was to live.” Their gazes met, the weight of reality settling between them. “I do miss the people we left behind. But that is temporary.”
“Life on this side of the wall doesn’t seem so fair either, Frey.”
“It doesn’t. But they have something we never did. Not truly.”
Alissa frowned. “And what is that?”
“Freedom,” Freyah spoke in a breath.
“How do you think it will be when we are back? We can’t let people keep believing there is nothing out here.”
“I don’t know, Lissa. I haven’t stopped to think about that. Perhaps we should face our challenges one at a time.”
Alissa watched her friend in all her wisdom. The dark hair now grazing her brows, the eyepatch she wore whenever no one was around, and the dimples that perfectly fit her vibrant personality. “I never thanked you for coming with me.”
A crease formed between Freyah’s brows. “You don’t need to thank me. You’re my sister, I would do anything for you.”
“I know. Although you shouldn’t have risked your life like that…” She took a deep breath. “I’m so glad you did. I couldn’t have done this without you,” Alissa said, squeezing Freyah’s hand more tightly.
“I would have never let you leave without me.” Freyah smiled. “When we were little, you used to say I was the other part of you, remember?” she whispered as they embraced each other like they used to when life was carefree. “I still am.”
Alissa’s voice wobbled. “You know that I love you, right?” The love for her friend had always been obvious to her, but she realized then that this might have been the first time she said it out loud.
Surprised by the rare display of affection, Freyah felt tears slide down her cheeks. “I love you too, Lissa.”
They watched the sun rise in silence, Freyah’s head resting on Alissa’s shoulders until darkness had been fully replaced by the light of day.
A few minutes later, Eldric was jolted back from his wandering thoughts when the woman he loved threw herself into him with such force that he had to step back to keep his balance. His eyes widened, and he wrapped his arms around her waist. Alissa’s body was cold and wet, and she smelled of sand and sea, but he didn’t mind. If anything, he found himself loving her more with sand sticking to her hair.
She looked up at him, her chin resting on his chest, a radiant smile on her face. Eldric had never seen her so happy, her expression lit up in a way he hadn’t thought possible after she spent months mourning a death that hadn’t even occurred. His chest tightened, and his heart skipped a beat, grateful that he could bring her happiness, even as she was consumed by the darkness within her.
“Thank you for bringing us here. It meant the world to me. To us,” Alissa said, her voice filled with gratitude.
Eldric looked over her head to see Freyah, her emotions visible on her face, and he smiled. Freyah had been a friend to him, perhaps even a better friend than any he had made in decades of living in Golheim.
His gaze drifted back to the woman in his arms, his bright smile stubborn to leave whenever she was close. “Any regrets about waking up early?”
“No. Actually, I might even like you a little now,” she teased him, saying things that did not nearly reflect the way she felt about him.
All Eldric could think about as he looked at her was that he could never be mad at this woman again, not when his feelings for her were so deeply beyond repair.
“Well, not that it’s a competition, but I like you a lot now,” he whispered in her ear, sending shivers through her.
She pushed him back, blushing. “We should get going. There’s still a life we need to save.”
Chapter 29
Threads of Life and Death