Despite that, everything felt good. Recovering from all they’d been through was going to take time and Caledonia wasn’t sure exactly how she fit into this picture any longer, but this moment was good.

“You’re glaring,” Oran said from just behind her. “It’s starting to make people nervous. See how they’ve carved a path around you?”

Caledonia smiled. “I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

Oran slipped his fingers through hers and tugged her close. “Did you want me to lie?”

“Never.” She wanted to press her lips against his, but there was still a question between them that hadn’t been answered. “I only want your truths.”

As the sun burned into the horizon it cast a shimmer of gold across Oran’s features. The light caught in his lashes and plunged into the endless brown rings of his eyes. He tipped his head toward hers, just enough that his hair brushed her forehead.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” Caledonia stood rooted in place, every bit of her body aware of his.

“All right,” he said, his smile becoming serious. “Then I promise to be true.”

Oran had worn many faces in the time they’d known one another. He’d been the hopeful prisoner, the steely Fiveson, the shadowed Steelhand. But here he was someone new. He was warm and vulnerable and confident. He was changing and he wasn’t afraid.

Caledonia leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. She didn’t care that the eyes of her entire crew were on them, she only cared that Oran’s arms were around her and hers around him and they would have a tomorrow. It didn’t have to be forever. Neither of them could make that promise, but they could promise to figure that out together.

Caledonia kissed him again, tasting his tongue against hers and breathing in the sea-kissing salt of his skin. Only when the cheering started did she pull away, breathless and smiling.

“I love you,” she said.

Oran nodded as if they were both the most obvious words and the sweetest he’d ever heard. Then, laughing, he pulled her toward her crew and they danced as night fell and stitched them into the black sea.

EPILOGUE

The waters of the Bone Mouth were alive with sunlight. Layers of vibrant blue rocks and sediment ribboned beneath the surface as Caledonia and Pisces dipped their oars in a steady rhythm. Behind them, the Gem rolled out of the sea like the humped back of a turtle with emerald green smeared unevenly down the middle. They drove their small boat into a bank of reeds and pulled it out of the clutches of the tide so they could empty its contents on shore.