by Sonya Blake
He gathered her against his chest as the weeping took her in earnest. “You did it to save my life,” he said, pressing his lips against her hair as he wrapped his arms around her. “You didn’t know who he was.”
“Alexander,” she cried, sobbing. “His name is Alexander.”
“Alexander,” Sam repeated. “And Alexander was most certainly going to kill me. In fact,” Sam added, “he did kill me, Kaia. And you brought me back. Tommy told me. Tommy said he was trying to pull you off me, that he was sure I was gone, but you wouldn’t stop. You didn’t stop. You saved me, Kaia. And, I don’t know if you want to hear this right now, but I’ll always love you for that… and for a whole lot of other things.”
She let a little sound escape her throat, something between a whine and a purr.
Sam’s voice rumbled against her cheek. “Should we get out of here?”
There was a tremulous blossoming in her chest, something breaking open inside her heart. She pictured them getting into the Angeline and coursing through the starlit harbor, entering the cabin on Thursday Island without speaking, kissing their way through the kitchen, kissing against the bedroom doorframe, tumbling onto the bed.
“I’m sorry, Sam,” she said at last, her voice choked as she stepped away from him and the night air hit her again. “I can’t. It’s too painful. I swear, I’m going to be here for you, to help you get your freedom from Violet once and for all, and maybe then—well, I just don’t know. Maybe then you’ll be gone.”
“Or maybe not,” he argued, eyes glimmering fiercely. He reached for her, but she inched back.
“Or maybe not,” she whispered. A prayer. One she could not, in all reason, hope would be answered. She rested a hand on his arm, where his firm muscle was warm enough to make the winter seem to dissipate at her touch. “Time, Sam. I need time. I can only hope…” Kaia trailed off, unable bring herself to say the words that they’d be together again because in all honesty, she didn’t know if it’d be possible.
He nodded, dipping his head as a sparkling tear fell from his eyes.
“And I’m not going anywhere,” she said, moving closer again, taking hold of his other arm. “I swear, I’m going to see you free.”
Sam pulled her to him, taking her into the shelter of his warmth. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, where she felt his tears cooling as they dropped onto her skin. “I doubt Violet even knows what love is,” Sam said. “But I do.”
Kaia felt his warmth surround her and let her eyes drift to the starshine on the surface of the ocean, fractured like a million diamonds. The world might be cold and harsh, but for now, for just this moment, she felt warm and held safe. She let Sam’s words sink deep, letting the truth of them take root inside her soul where she could keep them always, no matter what was to come.
*
Later that night, alone on the very tip of Foley’s Point, Kaia stood looking out at the ocean. Wapomeq Bay was quiet and dark except for the lights of Sam’s cabin on Thursday Island, sitting between her and the horizon. She crossed her arms over her chest and hugged herself to keep out the cold. It was fierce when the wind blew, yet it didn’t bother her. Nothing could really bother her right now.
Sure, she wished things were different between her and Sam. She wished Violet Wilde didn’t have his sealskin. She also wished things hadn’t gotten so out of hand with the sirens, especially Alexander. But even though her heart was grieved at what she’d done—and aching with the hope that he’d pull through and live to be a big scary bastard another day—she wasn’t worried about him at this moment.
This moment was peace. Peace she’d never known. Peace with herself, peace with the land she’d come to see as home, peace with the people she now felt she couldn’t live without, and yes, even peace with the sea—that terrifying grandness stretching out before her. But most of all, peace because the house on Foley’s Point seemed to embrace her, enveloping her like a womb.
She couldn’t sell it. No way. She couldn’t say if she’d ever be able to get beyond what had happened with Sam and Violet; she didn’t know if Alexander would pull through or if the sirens would keep their end of the bargain and let her swim freely; but she did know this: she belonged here. Not Quolobit Harbor, not Maine—but right here, on Foley’s Point, close enough to the waves to hear them in her sleep. She was part of the water’s wildness. Just as a piece of her mother still lived within her, coursing through her veins, so too did this vast and untamable water. Though she could admit to herself that it frightened her, she knew that she belonged to the sea, and it belonged to her.
THE END
Acknowledgements
This book is in your hands thanks to everyone who pledged to my Kickstarter, who saw the value in my dream of bringing this story to life, and gathered to make this happen. You showed me I had a community I didn’t even realize was there, and proved to me that sometimes things actually do go right and that dreams can come true.
To my editor and friend, Emma, I am so grateful you came into my life. Working with you has been a pleasure, and your attention to detail and commitment to quality have given me the confidence I’ve been looking for.
Thank you to my beta readers: Emily, Lizzy, Monique, Elise, Anathea, Kara, Lizz, Morgan, Laurie, and Amanda. Your insight gave me direction, encouragement, and confidence. Some of you read this book more than once, in many different iterations over the years, and I thank you for your dedication and friendship, and for sticking with Kaia and Sam’s story as long as I have.
Hannah, thank you for your endless patience in fine-tuning, especially the opening of this book. Your edits and observations have made me a better writer. Also, thank you for feeding me and taking care of me when life got really tough and I couldn’t feed or take care of myself. You are, literally, an angel.
I am grateful for the loving support of my parents and my brother, who have seen this story through its many stages and stuck with me on the rollercoaster of being a writer and my life in general. Your humor, compassion, and support are what keeps me going most days. To my husband, Kalin, I give you my deepest gratitude for encouraging me to write, for believing in me when I have doubted myself, and for treating my writing like a priority. Without your support, I would have given up long ago.
Emily, I can honestly say that not one single word would be on these pages if it wasn’t for you. There was a time, a long time ago, when I had stories inside my head and wanted to write but was afraid to, and you changed that. Every single word is for you, always. Thank you, soul sister, for reading every one. Like, five times. And then five more times.
To the Kickstarter backers who pulled the heavy weight to make this book happen, I bow down in gratitude:
Abby Jarrett
David Iskowitz
Beth and Brad Batastini
Maureen and Kevin Buzdygon
David Ripley
Breana Felix
Heather and Dale Issler
Meg Evans
Melissa Hooper
Sheila and Gordon Cook
Carl Ohlson
Monique Delorenzo
Michelle Finnerty
Judy Pomeroy
Jason Pomeroy
Adrienne Scott
Christy Belardo
Hannah Ayer
Elizabeth Bowman
Elizabeth Wood
Alison Grech
Richard Pomeroy
Janna Miller and the Calgary Midwives Collective
Jenna Shiappacasse
Abby Murtagh
Carroll Davenport
Trina Borenstein
Trish and Gary Pomeroy
Emily and Nate Pearson
Amanda Sidebottom
Noreen Mulvanerty
About the Author
Sonya Blake lives nomadically with her husband, baby son, and Siberian Husky. She takes great joy in singing, cooking, and sleeping more than two hours in a row.
Stay in Touch!
Instagram: @sonya_blake_author
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Website: sonyablake.com
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