“And so hehas,” said the Whale, gently.
She bowed over Wen, clinging to him, grief overwhelming her.
“Do not despair, daughter of Endain. Love can change many things. Even fate.”
She lifted her head and the Whale was gone, like he had never been there at all, nothing but the endless iron sea stretching into the horizon.
She glanced back into Wen’s pale face, memorizing the freckles scattered acrosshis nose, his half-grown beard and the snow clinging to his eyelashes.
“I love you,” she said softly. “Forgive me, Wen. Forgive me for waiting too long. For not understanding sooner.”
And she bent her head and softly kissed his lips.
His mouth was cold and smooth, but it warmed faintly against hers. Her heart seized. She didn’t draw away. Slowly, impossibly slowly, she felt life and breathcome whispering into him. Beneath her hand, splayed across his chest, his heart began to pulse, steady and strong.
She raised her head, a cry choking out of her, and Wen’s eyes flew open. He gasped for breath, gulping it in like a drowning man. He sat up, chest rising and falling, drinking the air. Alive. Whole. Well.
She stared at him, her hand going to her mouth. She was crying again. Shecouldn’t stop.
His eyes found her face, and held there. “Talia?” he whispered, his voice hoarse, like he hadn’t used it in a long time.
“I thought you were dead,” she sobbed. “I thought you were dead.”
His jaw worked, tears sparking in his own eyes. He reached out one hand, and smoothed his fingers over her cheek, wiping the tears away. He touched her eyelashes, gentle as a whisper. “I’m notdead.”
A sob choked her, and Wen leaned closer, fingers trembling over her chin, caressing the curve of her neck. “I’m not dead.” He lifted his other hand and wrapped both around her face.
She stared into him, her joy hot and bright.
He kissed her forehead, her eyelids, one and then the other. He kissed her cheek and her neck, and his lips were soft as the snow, but infinitely warmer.
Shewrapped her arms around his shoulders and leaned into him, crushing him so tight against her she could feel his heartbeat.
And then his mouth found hers. Light sparked through her body, her heart pulsing hot. He tasted like fire and storm and music; she could feel his strength, and his softness, too.
Snow swirled around them, thick and wet, but she didn’t feel it, swallowed up in the fiercenessof their kiss. She never wanted to let him go.
He drew back before she was ready, looking at her with bright eyes, his smile overwhelming her.
“I love you,” she told him, her mouth mere breaths from his. “I have since the day you showed me the mirror room. Since before. But I didn’t know it, not then.”
He rubbed his thumb over her cheek, the smile not straying from his lips. “I’m afraid I’veloved you a little longer than that.”
She laughed, and he grinned and then kissed her again, lingering and long.
When he pulled away, he put his arm around her and drew her close. She lay her head on his shoulder.
“Will you stay with me?” he asked her.
She stared out into the sea, snowflakes vanishing into the silver-gray waves. “Gods, Wen,” she whispered into his neck. “I could never be happyanywhere without you.”
Chapter Fifty-Five
THEY WALKED UP TO THE HOUSE THEback way, and found that the garden had collapsed into the temple. Slabs of stone poked up through dead roses at odd angles; dust swirled strangely with the snow. The door was broken in half, unable to bear the weight of the hill, and the air smelled of roses, and fire.
They stood and stared at it awhile, Wen’s hand caught fast in hers. “TheTree is gone from the world,” he said. “I guess it doesn’t need temples anymore.”
Ahned met them at the front door, peering at them strangely. He didn’t ask any questions, just led them up to the tower library. Shards of black glass littered the floor, remnants of the mirror room. No need for a guardian anymore, either, since Rahn was destroyed.
