“Ready to go back to port?” the captain called from behind the wheel.
Fiona’s head snapped up and she realized she’d been ignoring Claire. The sympathy in her new friend’s eyes made her own sting. Relief rushed through her when Claire turned away and yelled an assent to the captain. Holding it together was always easier when people weren’t being nice. It was like the dam she’d built up against her feelings got a crack in it every time someone was sympathetic to her misery.
Nothing was like she’d expected it to be when she’d dreamed of finding the book again. True, she felt the contentment she’d always expected from fulfilling her fate. She no longer had the threat of madness looming over her shoulder. She had her job back. She’d saved the world from the threat of divine war.
So everything should be perfect, she thought as she gazed out at the sun sparkling on the sea. She’d accomplished more than she’d ever hoped and had been reinstated to her old post with commendations and glory. Ian must have kept the collar and slipped it back on when Karrem and Loras had captured him. It was the only explanation for why she hadn’t been fired for letting him escape. They thought he’d simply overpowered her.
Yet without Ian, the victory was hollow. She enjoyed the work, but the evenings were spent with food and her cat. Both of which were good, but didn’t quite cut it.
Fed up with her own moping, Fiona pushed away from the boat’s rail and went up to the bow to grab the bow line and help Claire and the captain bring the boat into the dock.
They motored past dozens of small boats that sat cheek by jowl in their slips, all rolling on the light wake of the barge, their metal dangling bits clanking musically against masts and hulls.
It really was beautiful, she thought. Fat lot of good it did her. The captain pulled the boat into the slip and she and Claire tied off.
“I’ll take care of the dive kit,” she said.
“Are you sure?” Claire asked.
“No problem. I know you’ve got a date.” Claire had been over the moon about the fact that her boyfriend was visiting from Scotland.
“Thanks! I’ll make it up to you!” Claire grabbed her day bag and ran up the dock.
After checking the lines and the engine, the captain trundled after her, his lunch sack flopping against his thigh with every step. He’d leave her to clean up her dive gear, since his only concern was the boat.
Fiona sighed and turned back to the boat. She was hauling the air tanks off the deck when she caught sight of a tall figure striding down the dock, passing behind the occasional mast or pilothouse, which cut him off from her view.
They’d been coming out here every day for a week and had yet to see the weekenders on their boats. It was Friday and only about two in the afternoon, so maybe he was getting the day started early. Just another boater.
But she squinted harder, unsure of why he caught her eye. She could barely make out his face or his—
Her heart dropped her feet.
Ian.
It was Ian striding down the dock, his steps long and sure on the bobbing surface. But how? He should be locked up a thousand miles away back in Edinburgh.
She stared dumbly. Ian was only five meters away now, so close she could see the green of his eyes. A smile kicked up the corner of his mouth and still she stared, blindsided and stupid.
Soon, Ian was standing in front of her, something she’d dreamed about in her wildest imagination yet never expected in a thousand years.
“Hello.” He held out a hand for the heavy tank in her arms.
“Hi.” She dumbly handed it to him.
He set it down on its side.
“Oh my gods, you’re here!” It finally hit her and she leapt off the boat, stumbling onto the dock like a moron but past caring.
She threw her arms around him, laughing when he swept her up and squeezed her to him.
“How?” she asked against his shoulder. “How are you here?”
“Long story.”
“Gods, you have to tell me all of it. I just canna believe it. Are you out? For good?” She leaned back and looked at his face, thinner than when she’d last seen it, but so handsome her heart felt like it would burst.
“I am.”