House of Salt and Sorrows (Sisters of Salt #1)

“Hold on tight, don’t let them go just yet!”

“But I have my wish already! I don’t want to forget it!” Verity exclaimed, jumping impatiently from foot to foot.

“Me too!” Honor held on to the edge of her paper lantern with just her fingertips, dangerously close to releasing it.

“You have to wait for mine to be lit, and Annaleigh’s,” Mercy snapped. “You just want your wish to get there first!”

A summer breeze danced around us, light with the scent of seaweed and salt, and for a moment, Mercy’s wick wouldn’t catch. It sputtered out once, twice. When it finally lit, the paper lantern filled with warm air, and I handed it off to her. I hurried to light mine before the Graces’ patience wore out.

“All right, do we all have our wishes?” My sisters nodded eagerly, their eyes reflecting the happy glow of the flames. “Then, on the count of three, we’ll release them. One…two…”

“Three!” we cried together, and let go.

The little white lanterns slowly rose into the sky, twirling and twining around each other, caught in a dazzling ballet. They floated higher and higher to join with the stars.

Was Versia looking down on us right now, on this beautiful and clear summer solstice? From our perch on Old Maude, the sky seemed dizzyingly infinite, a sparkling forever. The stars twinkled with an extra amount of radiance, as if they too knew it.

A lump grew in my throat as I thought of my wish. I wanted Cassius here beside me on this exquisite perfection of a summer evening. Nights like this were meant to be shared, remembered, and talked about for years to come. Skies like this were made to be kissed under.

“What did you wish for?” Honor asked.

Verity shook her head. “You can’t tell or it won’t come true!”

Honor sighed and turned her face back up to the sky. “How long do you think it takes for the wishes to come back?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s part of the fun, isn’t it? Every time you see a shooting star, you can be happy because someone’s wish is being returned to them.”

We watched until the lanterns could no longer be distinguished from the stars.

“I hope my wish comes true first,” Honor said, rather uncharitably.

Mercy’s mouth dropped. “No, mine!”

“Bedtime,” I announced before a squabble could break out.

With minimal grumbling, the Graces headed back into the gallery, still sharp with the scent of fresh paint, and down the lighthouse’s inner spiral staircase. We marched back home, to our little cottage on the cliff, and they readied for bed. After a story and a kiss on their foreheads, each fell asleep with childlike swiftness, leaving me to my work as Keeper of the Light.

After that horrible night at Highmoor—as threads of Kosamaras’s false memories came back to my sisters—it became clear Old Maude would need a new Keeper, and quickly. Camille, as Duchess of Salann, gave me her blessing immediately, sending the Graces with me. With all the construction going on at Highmoor, they’d been hopelessly underfoot, and I think she was glad to have them out of her hair as she settled into her new position.

Now that the weather was warm again, Lenore visited often, bringing Hanna and baskets of treats from home. Each time she came, her eyes looked a little less haunted, a little more present. During her last stay, she’d mentioned she was thinking of leaving Highmoor once the renovation was complete. She wanted to stay and help Camille but felt trapped under the weight of memories. She didn’t know where she wanted to go but was excited to discover more of Arcannia.

I understood how she felt. I’d always love my childhood home, but I was glad to be free of it. Though the work on Hesperus was often hard, I felt flush with purpose and woke each day with a happy heart. I often imagined Cassius working alongside me, hauling oil for the flame, tracking ships and the tides. His absence lingered, filling me with an ache deeper than anything I’d ever known. I knew I’d spend the rest of my life pining for him.

As I made my way back to Old Maude, a friendly breeze played with my braid, inviting me to go off course. It was too pretty a night to go back inside just yet. On our afternoon walk, we’d spotted several sea turtle nests on the beach, great mounds nearly as wide as Verity was tall. The sand on top of them shifted as we watched. The hatchlings would soon be ready to go out to sea.

Wandering down to the black sands, I kicked off my shoes. The warm waves washed over my bare feet, tugging at the thin linen of my dress, pulling me out to deeper water. Cicadas hummed in the trees farther inland, competing with the soft lapping of water against the shore. I closed my eyes and drank in the wonder of this night. The ocean’s brine filled my nose, my lungs, my whole being, and I breathed it all in, completely at peace.

A disturbance in the water broke me from my reverie, and I opened my eyes in time to see a shooting star streak across the dark sky. I smiled as it raced toward the horizon. Some lucky person was about to have their wish returned to them. Hearing another splash, I turned, hoping to see a little army of hatchlings making their way down the beach and into the waves.

I froze, spotting a tall figure standing ankle-deep in the water, silver starlight caught in his wayward curls.

Cassius.

Every fiber of my being longed for it to truly be him, not a fantasy haunting my eyes as he did my heart. It wasn’t him. It couldn’t be.

But he looked so very real.

A seagull cried out overhead, and for one intoxicating moment, the stars seemed to glow brighter, dazzling the sky with an unnatural luster. A small sliver of hope sparked inside me, burning brightly. Had Versia received my wish? Was that shooting star for me?

“Cassius?” I dared to whisper, half certain this was a dream.

Don’t wake up….

When he moved, wading into deeper water, my breath caught in the hollow of my throat. He wasn’t going to reach me. He’d open his mouth, but I’d never hear his words. I would wake up in the watch room of Old Maude, all alone, all over again. My heart panged in anticipation of the painful disappointment to come.

Don’t wake up….

With a smile that began deep in his sparkling eyes, Cassius pulled me into a close embrace. I ran my hands over his arms in wonder. They were impossibly covered in smooth skin, without a trace of burns.

It was a dream. It had to be.

Then he ran his thumb across my cheek. His eyes were bright with a heated joy, and his lips parted, about to speak.

Don’t wake up!

When I didn’t, I reached up, my fingertips tracing the back of his neck, feeling his curls against them. Cassius released a murmur of pleasure before sweeping me into a kiss. His mouth was soft against mine before his arms tightened around me, pulling me into a more intimate kiss, a sweeter ache.

“You still taste like the Salt,” he whispered.

“Is this actually happening?” I breathed. “Are you really here?”

Cassius nodded. “I’m really here.”

“For how long?”

His grin deepened. “For as long as you’ll have me.”

My fingers trembled as I cupped his face, looking up to meet his eyes. I wanted to memorize everything about this miracle in front of me. “Truly?” He nodded. “How?”

“Of all the wishes tonight, yours was almost the loudest, nearly the most hopeful.” He smiled. “The second easiest to grant.”

A chorus of splashes sounded from the shoreline. We turned and saw a dozen small sea turtles paddling into the sea, swimming out into open water. One brushed my leg, giving my ankle a friendly tap with his flippers before heading off into the blue unknown.

“Almost?” I asked, looking up at the night sky. Starlight rained down around us, and I couldn’t imagine a more achingly perfect moment than the one I was in now, nestled between the stars and the salt with the man I loved, who was equal parts both.

“There was only one louder,” he murmured before his lips descended once more. “Mine.”